ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Rams didn't play Sunday, but they still won.
The Rams win every time the Washington Redskins lose this season, thanks to the 2012 draft trade that has been a big boost for the Rams' rebuilding project.
It's the gift that keeps on giving. Well, for one more year at least. And it's also one of the story lines to watch over the Rams' final six games this season.
In exchange for the No. 2 overall pick back in 2012, which the Redskins used to select Robert Griffin III, St. Louis received Washington's top picks in 2012 (sixth overall selection), 2013 (No. 22 overall) and 2014 along with the Redskins' second-round selection in 2012.
The Rams have turned those draft picks into four starters in defensive tackle Michael Brockers, cornerback Janoris Jenkins, linebacker Alec Ogletree and running back Zac Stacy and a promising backup in wide receiver Stedman Bailey as well as running back Isaiah Pead and since-departed offensive guard Rokevious Watkins.
The Redskins are now 3-7 after losing to the Eagles on Sunday and if the season ended today Washington's pick in the 2014 draft would safely fall in the top 10. Since the Rams aren't much better at 4-6, that would mean two top 15 picks.
That will give Rams general manager Les Snead plenty of options next spring. St. Louis should be able to address two significant areas of need with those two-first round picks or, as Snead has shown, he can turn one of those picks into more selections through a trade.
The Rams are currently fourth in the NFC West behind Seattle (10-1), San Francisco (6-4) and Arizona (6-4).
Yes, you read that correctly. The Arizona Cardinals are 6-4.
So while you can't completely dismiss the possibility of the Rams going on a winning streak and capturing a playoff berth, it's not like anyone should be looking at airfare and hotel rates in January either.
But as the beginning of the Kellen Clemens Era has shown us, this team is still capable of competing against good teams like Seattle and beating good teams like Indianapolis.
The Rams will face a difficult schedule the rest of the way.
After hosting the Bears (6-4) they will play at the 49ers (6-4) and Cardinals (6-4), then host the Saints (8-2) and Buccaneers (2-8) before finishing up on the road at the Seahawks (10-1).
St. Louis has had a 1,000-yard rusher in each of the previous eight seasons (2005-2012) thanks to Steven Jackson, but can Zac Stacy continue that streak?
Stacy has stated his case for the Rams' most valuable offensive player since he was installed as the starting running back, rushing for 533 yards in the past six weeks. That's the fifth most in the NFL since Week 5.
The rookie from Vanderbilt will need 463 yards over the final six games — that's an average of 77.2 per contest — to continue the Rams' streak of 1,000-yard rushers.
Robert Quinn's 12 sacks lead the NFC and rank second in the NFL behind Robert Mathis of the Colts, who has 13.5.
The defensive end is one of just four Rams players to record that many since the team moved to St. Louis in 1995, joining Kevin Carter, Leonard Little and teammate Chris Long.
Carter's 17 sacks in the 1999 season are the most over that time. That could be a difficult number to reach for Quinn with just five games remaining, but he has shown the ability to rack up several in games.
The remainder of the season could serve as an audition for the backup quarterback spot next season.
Kellen Clemens has performed like many expected as a guy who has mostly been a backup throughout his career, completing 53.5 percent of his passes, throwing three touchdowns and two interceptions and recording a passer rating of 79.3.
Clemens looks like the logical backup for Sam Bradford in 2014, but will the Rams take a look at rookie Austin Davis at some point in 2013?
Davis was signed off the street when Bradford suffered his season-ending knee injury, but he's yet to appear in a game during Clemens' three starts.
At some point the Rams need to figure out whether Davis can play at this level and see if he's a viable candidate to compete for the backup spot next season. If the team is officially eliminated from playoff contention, it would make sense to throw him in there and see what he's capable of.
You can follow Nate Latsch on Twitter (@natelatsch) or email him at natelatsch@gmail.com.
