By Nick Wagoner
Senior Writer

The play call was similar to one that running back Steven Jackson had taken 53 yards for a touchdown. It was a power run off right tackle, a mano a mano type of play offensive linemen love and running backs dream about.

With 1 yard separating the Rams from an upset win and the opportunity to break a five-game losing streak to rival Seattle, coach Scott Linehan called for Jackson to get the ball and the yard necessary to escape with a victory in a game the Rams dominated for most of the day.

But instead of a surprise win against the NFC West Division leading-Seahawks, the Rams got more heartache. Quarterback Gus Frerotte, playing for concussed starter Marc Bulger, mishandled the snap, dropped the ball, picked it back up and was tackled for a loss on fourth down to give Seattle a 24-19 win at the Edward Jones Dome on Sunday.

The loss ended a two-game winning streak for the Rams. In a season with nine tallies in the L column, it was yet another different, excruciating way to not come out with a win in season full of agonizing losses.

“It’s unbelievable, an unbelievable ending to a so far unbelievable season,” tight end Randy McMichael said. “I have never ever experienced something like this before and this one hurts. It’s going to take a long time to get over this one.”

Armed with the running back who was the best in the league in 2006 in short yardage situations and a revamped offensive line that had been opening holes on the right side of the line, it seemed a slam dunk the Rams would be able to punch it in and come away with a victory.

With 1:32 to play, Frerotte sneaked for a 2-yard gain and a first down. A booth review proved the spot correct and the Rams had a first down at Seattle’s 4 with 1:03 to play and two timeouts.

Trailing 24-19, it figured to be a prime opportunity to run the clock and the ball and take the lead without allowing Seattle much time for a comeback.

On first down, Linehan called for a pass that had a trio of Rams lined up to the right side with receiver Isaac Bruce running a drag route. The first option was a swing pass to the right to Jackson. With that option and two others covered, Frerotte had Bruce streaking to the left across the goal line.

Frerotte simply missed Bruce as he felt the pocket begin to collapse.

“It was a new play we put in this week and I tried to come back to him, he was fourth in the read and I tried to get him a quick dart,” Frerotte said. “I wasn’t sure how tight it was and I tried to dart it and it died on me.”

On second down, the Rams tried a quick, short slant to receiver Drew Bennett. That pass was complete for a gain of 2, but left the Rams needing to get 2 yards on two plays for the potential winning touchdown.

Finally, on third down, Jackson got an opportunity as he took a delayed handoff out of the shotgun. As Jackson fell to the ground, he reached the ball out in hopes of breaking the plane. Jackson initially felt he was in the end zone on the play, but says the replay proved his first instinct incorrect.

“I saw the replay,” Jackson said. “I had to ask about 20 times but once they showed it – as soon as the ball broke the plane I noticed I was down. It was a good call.”

That left the Rams a yard short with 30 seconds to play and one play to get in the end zone. The call was similar to one Jackson took 53 yards in the first quarter. The design of the play has the guards pulling to the right side while Jackson searches for a soft spot to get the yard necessary.

But Jackson never got that opportunity as Frerotte never got the ball cleanly and dropped it. After picking it up, Frerotte was dropped by Seattle defensive end Darryl Tapp at the 5 to end the game.

“To play in the league this long and have something like that happen in a critical situation is very disheartening for me,” Frerotte said. “That’s not something a professional should have happen to him. It’s very disappointing.”

While the final quartet of plays was frustrating, those plays were more a culmination of a frustrating half than anything else.

The Rams exploded in the first half, jumping out to a 19-7 halftime lead as the offense looked sharp and the defense dominated. Seattle’s only score came on an 89-yard kickoff return from Josh Wilson.

With a lead in hand and Bulger out, though, the offense couldn’t find the formula to add to it. Until that final possession, the Rams had punted on seven of their eight previous drives. The other one ended on Frerotte’s interception to cornerback Marcus Trufant.

More so than what transpired in the game’s final seconds, it was the inability to add to the lead and keep the petal to the metal that bothered Linehan the most.

“I am disappointed in the fact that we didn’t win the game,” Linehan said. “The second half had something to do with that. There are a lot of things I can look back on but not going out and being able to put the points on the board offensively like we needed to be able to finish the game (was the most disappointing).”

In the second half, the Rams gained just 57 yards before adding 53 on the final drive. The inability to get much going offensively only hurt matters more because the defense continued its rapid ascent to one of the league’s most creative and effective groups.

The Rams held Seattle to 302 yards, racked up five sacks, a safety and an interception on top of countless other quarterback pressures.

“I think we have been building toward this,” safety Oshiomogho Atogwe, who had the interception, said. “I think this is a culmination of how we have been playing throughout the season. We have gotten progressively better from week one to week 12 and I think this is more of what you are going to see.”

While that was enough to get the job done last week against San Francisco, it wasn’t quite enough against the defending division champions.

In the end, Frerotte’s fumbled snap was ruled an aborted play. An aborted play in an aborted season that once held so much promise.

“There’s a million plays throughout the season you’d like to have back but I didn’t come through for the guys when they needed me to,” Frerotte said.