ST. LOUIS – The St. Louis Rams are coming off a laugher against the Oakland Raiders that reminded fans of the Greatest Show on Turf. Enthusiasm must be tempered because Oakland has one win and the Rams have yet to win consecutive games.
The Rams (5-7) do have three signature victories this season, against Denver, San Francisco and defending Super Bowl champion Seattle.
But after each victory came a loss.
St. Louis will try to put together consecutive victories Sunday on the road in Washington against the Redskins (3-9).
"We're always looking to win, not looking to apologize for anything once we get into competition," defensive coordinator Gregg Williams said Friday. "We need to win another game, win two in a row."
The Rams posted back-to-back wins twice in finishing 7-9 in 2013. The Rams did win three in a row in 2012, which was when coach Jeff Fisher took charge of the team.
With a playoff berth an outside possibility even if the Rams win out in December to finish 9-7, Fisher knows the team must first get by Washington.
"Well, then, the challenge is to win the next one," Fisher said. "We're playing consistently. We're playing hard. We just haven't been able to put two in a row. That's our hope and that's our goal this week."
Why the team has yet to produce any kind of a winning streak is a mystery to Fisher. His club is not hard to figure out, he said.
"I know we know what to expect. I mean, we're going to get a maximum effort out of them Wednesday through Sunday," Fisher said. "We're going to get that out of them. That's all you can ask of them. Sometimes there's tipped balls and sometimes guys make mistakes, but they're going to make it going full speed."
The Rams put it all together in thrashing Oakland 52-0 last weekend. It was the second-largest margin of victory in team history.
The win was fueled by five takeaways and six sacks from the defense. Defensive end Chris Long, who missed 10 games with an ankle injury, returned to play. He recorded his first sack of the season and recovered a fumble.
Quarterback Shaun Hill passed for 183 and two touchdowns and rushed for another score. Rookie running back Tre Mason, a third-round pick, rushed for 117 yards and two touchdowns.
Brian Schottenheimer, the Rams' offensive coordinator, said he believes the offense is getting into a good flow.
"I think their confidence is certainly up. I think we feel good coming off that game, ball's getting spread out," Schottenheimer said. "Our big thing has been try to be consistent all year long. Obviously, we played really, really well. (We) Had a good week of practice. Be good to take it on the road and try to do it again."
Notes: The Rams announced after practice that Pro Bowl punter Johnny Hekker, 24, has signed a six-year contract extension. The new deal will keep him with the team through the 2020 season. Subsequent to signing the new deal, Hekker was scheduled to become a restricted free agent at the end of the 2014 campaign. ... It was raining hard in St. Louis so the Rams practiced indoors expect for the final 20 minutes. There is rain in the forecast for Sunday in Washington and Fisher wanted the club to get a taste of working in wet weather. ... The Rams' visit Sunday to FexEd Field is their first since 2009.
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AP NFL websites: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL
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