ST. LOUIS -- For the first time in several weeks, the St. Louis Rams had the nucleus of their offense at their disposal Sunday against the Dolphins at the Edward Jones Dome. The potency of that offense is questionable, however, because the Rams came into the game as the NFL's lowest-scoring team.

Still, they're more dangerous with running back Steven Jackson, quarterback Marc Bulger and left tackle Orlando Pace -- all former Pro Bowl selections -- healthy and in the lineup. And yet the Rams managed just four field goals in skidding to their sixth loss in a row, a 16-12 setback in front of 61,046.

''We just have to play better in the red zone,'' said Bulger, who sustained a concussion on the first series last week against Chicago but took every snap Sunday. ``When you get [inside the 20], you want to be able to just grind it in or make something happen throwing the ball. They did a pretty good job covering everything.''

BULGER RUSTY

Bulger completed 16 of 35 passes -- the third time in the past five games he has completed fewer that half his throws. He was intercepted three times and wound up with a season-low passer rating of 22.2.

The Rams passed for a mere 149 yards against the league's 28th-ranked pass defense.

Pace figured to be sidelined up to a month after sustaining ligament damage Nov. 16 at San Francisco. But after sitting out last week, he put on a brace and helped keep the Dolphins without a sack. Pace often went head-to-head with linebacker Joey Porter, who entered with a league-high 14 ½ sacks.

''I just wanted to play,'' Pace said. ``The first half was a little different, just getting used to the brace. But after that, it was all right. . . . We've just got to score touchdowns. That's the frustrating part.''

The Rams have failed to accomplish that in three of their past four games. During that span, they've recorded nine field goals and just one touchdown.

The return of Jackson figured to help in that regard. He had missed four of the past five games with a strained thigh muscle, and the Rams failed to top 16 points in any of those outings.

ACTION JACKSON

The Rams scored on three of their first four possessions Sunday, and Jackson was instrumental on each. He had four carries for 23 yards on the first points-producing drive, three for 19 on the second, and seven for 27 on the third.

At the half, Jackson had 72 yards on 15 carries and appeared headed for his third 100-yard outing of the season. He tacked on 21 yards on five rushes in the third quarter. His final carry, for 1 yard, came early in the fourth.

Coach Jim Haslett said Jackson ``was gassed, and his leg started to bother him.''

Jackson disagreed.

''No, I wasn't gassed,'' he said. ``I had 21 carries and felt great. So, it wasn't me and my conditioning.''

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