The St. Louis Rams overcame a lot to win their last two games: injuries to Marc Bulger, Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt, and the illness of coach Mike Martz.

Now they have to win at Seattle to have any real chance of taking the NFC West.

“Anytime you get Marc, Torry and Isaac back, that’s an all-star roster in itself,” rookie guard Claude Terrell says. “You’ve been pretty good without those guys, and hopefully that just makes it even better.”

The oddsmakers seem to think it makes no difference, posting Seattle as a 7-point favorite even though the Rams beat the Seahawks three times last season – twice in Seattle. The Seahawks got one of those back in their first meeting, a 37-31 victory in St. Louis a month ago, the last time Martz coaches the team.

Actually, Joe Vitt, the interim coach, has done just fine.

The Rams lost his first game in Indianapolis, the game in which Bulger was hurt. Then they beat the Saints and Jaguars with Jamie Martin at quarterback.

There are questions whether the Rams can do much with the Seattle offense, led by Shaun Alexander, whose 949 yards rushing in a half-season gives him a shot at 2,000.

That’s not a good match. In the first meeting, Alexander ran for 119 yards and Matt Hasselbeck threw for 316 more. Bulger, who threw for 336 himself, is likely to be a little rusty, but only a little.

Shootout.

SEAHAWKS, 38-34.

Dallas (plus 3) at Philadelphia (Monday)

While the Eagles were going through the T.O. saga, the Cowboys were off. Philadelphia, which lost 33-10 in Dallas, looked a lot more relaxed in its loss in Washington last week and seems ready.

EAGLES 17-13

Washington (minus 1) at Tampa Bay

The Bucs are being exposed, and Gregg Williams’ defense will confuse Chris Simms.

REDSKINS, 20-11

New England (minus 3) at Miami

Despite their problems, the Patriots still are the best in the AFC East.

PATRIOTS, 30-23

Houston (plus 19) at Indianapolis

Considering the Colts won by 19 at Foxborough, this huge spread looks legitimate. But the Colts will be down a bit and the Texans are playing better.

COLTS, 27-10

Minnesota (plus 10) at New York Giants

The Giants have won in Minneapolis the last three years and beat the Vikings 41-0 in Giants Stadium in the NFC title game after the 2000 season. Reversal? Not for a team that has been outscored big on the road.

GIANTS, 33-6

New York Jets (plus 9) at Carolina

The Jets have almost as many injuries as the Panthers had last season.

PANTHERS, 29-9

Denver (minus 3) at Oakland

Mike Shanahan is 15-5 against the team that fired him in 1989.

BRONCOS, 35-25

Cleveland (plus 8) at Pittsburgh

Charlie Batch starts again for the Steelers, who play better on the road.

STEELERS, 17-12

Green Bay (plus 91â2) at Atlanta

Does anyone remember that quarterback Brett Favre spent his rookie year with the Falcons?

FALCONS, 33-13

Kansas City (plus 21â2) at Buffalo

Dick Vermeil’s gutsy call propels the Chiefs.

CHIEFS, 22-20

Baltimore (plus 7) at Jacksonville

Kyle Boller should be back for the Ravens. Sighs of relief from Ravens fans?

JAGUARS, 17-9

San Francisco (plus 121â2) at Chicago

When was the last time the Bears were favored by this much? The question is whether they can score 121â2 points.

BEARS, 20-2

Arizona (plus 4) at Detroit

What does it say about the Cardinals that their best player is their kicker?

LIONS, 19-15