Marc Bulger's top 10 games

In honor of #10's retirement yesterday, and because nobody else is likely to do it, here's a countdown-style look back at some of Marc Bulger's best games:

10. Detroit, 10/1/2006. Bulger brings the Rams from behind in a wild 41-34 win over the Lions, whose OC at the time was Mike Martz. Bulger went 26-42-328 with TDs to Torry Holt and, believe it or not, Joe Klopfenstein, and hit Isaac Bruce for the winning TD with 2:00 left.


9. N.Y. Jets, 1/2/2005. In the last game of the regular season, Bulger gets the Rams into the playoffs in a wild, back-and-forth game the Rams win 32-29 in OT. He hit Holt for 2 TDs, Bruce for 1, and went 29-39-450, the third of four times in his career he'd throw for 440 or more in a single game.


8. New Orleans, 9/26/2004. Bulger went 32-49-358, hit Holt for a 32-yard TD, and scrambled 19 yards for what should have been the winning TD with 0:28 left. The Rams' horrifying special teams and a doltish call for a squib kick after Bulger's TD run were too much to overcome, though, and the Saints would win 28-25 in OT.


7. Atlanta, 10/13/2003. Bulger impresses in the Monday Night spotlight, throwing for 23-34-352 and 2 TDs to Holt, the first an insanely-accurate 21-yarder between 2 defenders. Bulger also ran for a TD in the 36-0 win.


6. Chicago, 11/18/2002. With Kurt Warner due to return to action the next week, Bulger makes a strong closing statement for a future starting job, 21-35-347, 2 TDs. The '02 Rams were 0-5 when Bulger became a starter; he led them to 5 straight wins, averaged 300 yards a game and led the NFL with a passer rating of 106.


5. at Pittsburgh, 10/26/2003. Half of Bulger's 22 completions cover 20 yards or more in a successful homecoming win over the Steelers, 33-21. He throws for 375 total, including a 36-yard TD and 40- and 48-yard completions to Holt.


4. at Seattle, 1/8/2005. Bulger brings the Rams from behind for his only career playoff victory, 27-20. His 18-32-313 day included a 52-yard bomb to Holt and a 50-yarder to Kevin Curtis. With the game tied at 20 and 5:42 left, Bulger drove the Rams to the game-winner, a 3rd-and-3, 17-yarder to Cam Cleeland threaded between the LB and the safety. That play proved crucial after Seattle drove back inside the Ram 5 before the Ram defense held to win the game.


3. Oakland, 10/13/2002. In his first career start, Bulger throws for 3 TDs (14-21-186) to lead the reeling 0-5 Rams to a shocking win over the 5-0 Raiders.


2. San Diego, 11/10/2002. Down 10 at his own 6 with 4:58 left to play, Bulger leads the Rams back for a stirring win. Both drives in those final minutes ended with TD passes to Bruce, as Bulger finished the game 36-for-48 with 4 TDs, no INTs, and a St. Louis-era record 453 yards.


1. at Seattle, 10/10/2004. Bulger overcomes a mistake-filled start with what is likely the greatest comeback in team history. The Rams are down 27-10 in the 4th when he hits Brandon Manumaleuna with an 8-yard TD bullet between 3 defenders. In the 4th, he hit Curtis with a perfect 41-yard bomb to make it 27-24. With 1:14 left, clutch completions to Bruce for 26 and Dane Looker for 16 are keys in a game-tying FG drive. Then in overtime, Bulger, who finished 24-42-325, beats the Seahawk blitz and hits Shaun McDonald with a perfect pass for a 52-yard TD and one of the St. Louis Rams' most memorable wins.

Things looked promising for the Rams and Bulger in 2006 - the Rams had a new head coach and Bulger had a new $60 million contract - but the offensive line fell apart and Scott Linehan turned the former Greatest Show on Earth into a ball-control offense, and Bulger into Trent Dilfer. The four years he was at his height, though, Marc Bulger provided Rams fans with plenty of great memories, and leaves the game as one of the very best QBs to have worn the horns.

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