ST. LOUIS - Playing for a first-round bye and at least one playoff game at home, where they've won a franchise-record 14 in a row, was more than enough incentive for the Rams.
Marshall Faulk scored two touchdowns, Torry Holt had his 10th 100-yard receiving game and Grant Wistrom tied his career best with 21/2 sacks as the Rams avoided a letdown a week after clinching the NFC West. In the process, they knocked the Bengals from a first-place tie in the AFC North with a 27-10 win.
"We had probably the best week of practice we've had all year," Wistrom said. "We went out focused every day and that's the way this team has played all year long.
"We've always had a very business-like attitude."
Baltimore shut out Cleveland and leads the Bengals by a game heading into the final weekend, with the Bengals finishing at home against the Browns and Baltimore home for the Steelers. The Bengals hold all tiebreakers if the teams end with the same record.
"The mind-set is that things are not in your hands any longer, but take care of what is in your hands, and that is the football that you have next to play," quarterback Jon Kitna said.
Chad Johnson had seven catches for 115 yards, setting a franchise season record with 1,326. Eddie Brown (1,273 yards in 1988) held the mark.
The Rams, who broke a second-quarter tie at 7 and were never caught, finished 8-0 at home. Their winning streak in the Edward Jones Dome broke a record they set from 1998-2000.
The Bengals were held to 99 yards rushing by a team that allowed 160.5 a game in the previous five.
Marc Bulger threws touchdowns of 28 yards to Holt in the second quarter and 9 yards to Faulk early in the fourth. That score put the Rams ahead 27-10.
