Rams' rout clinches NFC West

ST. LOUIS -- Marshall Faulk's teammates knew that playing the Indianapolis Colts was important to him, even if he didn't admit it.

He played like it was a huge deal, scoring four touchdowns and totaling 165 yards rushing and receiving in the St. Louis Rams' 42-17 rout on Sunday.

"I'm sure he was a little more excited to play this game, although he's not ever going to tell us that," quarterback Kurt Warner said. "I'm sure he had a little more bounce in his step."

Faulk insisted, before and after the game, that his first chance to play his old team was just another game. The Rams acquired him from the Colts for second- and fourth-round picks just before the 1999 NFL draft.

"There's no hard feelings," Faulk said. "I didn't feel anything and it didn't mean anything more than any other victory we've had thus far. That's it."

Warner and Torry Holt also had big games for the Rams (13-2), who clinched the NFC West with one game to spare against one of the worst defenses in NFL history. Warner threw three touchdown passes, two of them to Holt.

"We know it's a big victory," tight end Ernie Conwell said. "But it's just one of the steps on the way to our ultimate goal."

Faulk had 118 yards on 25 carries and seven receptions for 47 yards. He scored on runs of 1 and 4 yards, caught a 5-yard touchdown pass in the first half and added a 1-yard run in the fourth quarter, joining only Emmitt Smith (1994-95) as the only players to score 20 touchdowns in successive seasons.

Faulk has four career four-touchdown games, 20 touchdowns this year and 58 in three seasons for the Rams. He's tied for first on the team career touchdown list with Eric Dickerson, who played five seasons with the Rams.

"We were on, and that's what we need," Faulk said. "We want to do those kind of things going into the playoffs, and it's nice to see us come out right where we want to be."

Peyton Manning and Dominic Rhodes each scored on 1-yard runs for the Colts (5-10), who have lost seven of eight. In a game matching the NFL's top two offenses, Indianapolis stayed with the Rams until it was 14-14, but managed only a field goal the rest of the way as St. Louis made up for a poor defensive outing a week earlier in a 38-32 victory over the Panthers.

"The first couple of series, we made some plays," quarterback Peyton Manning said. "But it wasn't easy."

The Rams beat up on a defense even worse than St. Louis' 2000 edition, which allowed 29 points per game and 471 overall, seventh worst in NFL history. The Colts have given up 476 points heading into their finale against the Broncos.

"We just couldn't stop them," coach Jim Mora said. "The Rams are really a good team, and I'm not telling anybody anything that they don't know."

St. Louis still needs a victory in the regular-season finale against Atlanta, or a loss by Chicago, to wrap up home-field advantage in the playoffs.

Warner was 23-for-30 for 359 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. Three of the touchdowns and 274 of the yards came in the first half as the Rams, on the strength of a 28-point second quarter, took a 35-14 lead.

Holt topped 100 yards in the half and finished with 203, scoring on plays of 21 and 46 yards and setting up the first touchdown with a 51-yard grab.

The Rams put the game away with two touchdowns in the final two minutes of the half. Faulk caught a 5-yard pass with 1:45 remaining, and St. Louis got the ball back with 1:05 left. It took only five plays for the Rams to go 78 yards.

They were so dominant on offense that punter John Baker wasn't used until late in the third quarter.

Manning went without a touchdown pass for the second time this season, going 15-for-28 for 195 yards. He was intercepted in the end zone by Dre' Bly in the fourth quarter.

His best play was scoring on a bootleg in the second quarter to tie it at 14.