St. Louis ? So far, the switch from offense to defense is working out a lot better than Mike Furrey ever could have expected.

St. Louis Rams coach Mike Martz persuaded Furrey, formerly a backup wide receiver prized for his special teams skills, to make the move to safety in the offseason. He’s proved to be a fast learner, and Furrey will be making his third start today against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

“I’ve never started on offense, so it’s worked out really good,” Furrey said. “When they wanted me to make the transition this was a goal of mine.

“When it was going to happen, it was just something I was working for to be ready when the time presented itself. Here we are, and we’re two games deep at starting, so it’s been good.”

Furrey also made the key play that clinched a 28-17 victory Sunday over New Orleans. The Saints trailed by four points and were driving when Furrey snatched the ball out of fallen tight end Ernie Conwell’s hands and returned it 67 yards for a touchdown that put the game out of reach.

Never mind that it was a controversial play; it was a big score that helped the Rams (3-4) end a three-game losing streak headed into today’s game against the Jaguars (4-2). Conwell had claimed he was down by contact, but the Saints were out of timeouts and could not challenge the play.