Jacksonville @ St. Louis preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 1, 2011 ) St. Louis 24, Jacksonville 17

The St. Louis Rams look to take advantage of a rare favorable matchup when they host lowly Jacksonville on Sunday. The Rams are coming off their third straight loss, but two were on the road at Atlanta and Dallas and the other was at home against a hungry San Francisco team that steamrolled St. Louis by a 35-11 margin in a Thursday night affair. After hosting the Jaguars, the Rams have consecutive road challenges at Houston and Carolina, making this one against a reeling Jacksonville team an opportunity for a rare win.

The Jaguars rank last in the NFL in scoring and 30th in scoring defense after a 37-3 drubbing at home against Indianapolis. They managed just 205 total yards and turned the ball over three times in their ninth straight defeat stretching to 2012. Veteran offensive tackle Eugene Monroe was in the process of being traded to Baltimore this week in the first of what could be several moves to continue the rebuild in Jacksonville.

TV: 1 p.m. ET, CBS. LINE: Rams -11.5. O/U: 41.5.

ABOUT THE JAGUARS (0-4): The Monroe deal was taken in stride by most players, even if it potentially offered a glimpse of things to come. "I've been here when we've cut our quarterback Week 1 twice," running back Maurice Jones-Drew told ESPN.com. "I don't think there's too much more that can shock you about this deal." Among the positives on the Jacksonville side this week is the return of standout wide receiver Justin Blackmon, who was suspended for the first four games of the season for violating the league's substance abuse policy.

ABOUT THE RAMS (1-3): St. Louis is the only team in the NFL with a worse rushing attack than Jacksonville, as the Rams average only 47.3 yards on the ground. Zac Stacy, a rookie who has one carry thus far, is expected to get an increase in opportunities as the team continues to struggle to replace longtime rusher Steven Jackson. With virtually no complimentary ground game against the 49ers, Sam Bradford completed only 19-of-41 passes, was sacked five times and turned the ball over twice.

EXTRA POINTS

1. The contest is a homecoming for Jaguars QB Blaine Gabbert, who grew up near St. Louis and played his college ball at Missouri, where he made his first collegiate start at the Edward Jones Dome.

2. St. Louis DE Robert Quinn has five of his team's nine sacks.

3. The banged-up Rams secondary has given up nine passing touchdowns while recording just one interception. Gabbert has zero touchdowns and five picks in his two games.

PREDICTION: Rams 27, Jaguars 13