August 15, 2010- By Jonathan Lowell

The St. Louis Rams took the field set as betting favorites by USA welcome sportsbooks, but were blown out at home by the Minnesota Vikings Saturday night in their first pre-season game. Sam Bradford’s debut was less than memorable, and the Rams offensive line showed why the Rams only won one game last season.

Missing from the Vikings’ starting roster is one key face that was a major part of their division championship team last season. Brett Favre has yet to announce his return, but the Vikings put up numbers that wold suggest they don’t need him. Still, nothing is set in stone after the first pre-season game.

The opening quarter look promising for the home team, as the defense held Tavaris Jackson and the Minnesota offense scoreless. All four offensive possessions for the Vikings in the first resulted in punts. One of those punts was returned 93 yards for a St. Louis touchdown by Danny Amendola. A.J. Feeley made the start for the Rams. Bradford is currently listed at the top of the depth chart according to the 2010 St. Louis Rams season preview, but Feeley hopes his experience will earn him the starting job.

Amendola fumbled the next punt he fielded at the beginning of the first half. Chris cook recovered the loose ball on the St. Louis 16-yard line. Minnesota rookie Toby Gerhart made a few short rushes to set up a Sage Rosenfels pass to Logan Payne for a touchdown. The Vikings rout was on from that point. Rosenfels hit Garret Mills on a 3rd-and-11 for a 65 yard score. The Ryan Longwell extra point gave the Vikings a one touchdown lead at 14-7. Bradford made his first appearance for the Rams before the half, but was sacked twice while achieving only one first down.

Bradford was sacked twice more on the first drive of the second half, but did manage to achieve a first down. The Rams offensive line did not show much improvement over last season, something the head office is worried about while they groom a young star. After a few three-and-outs by both teams, the Vikings struck with under four minutes to play. Marko Mitchel was on the receiving end of a Rosenfels pass he took 71 yards for the touchdown. That seemed to be the back breaker for the Rams, as they sent their bottom reserves in for the fourth quarter.

With the game out of hand and most of the projected starters subbed out, the Minnesota Vikings’ third team took the . They put together an impressive 63-yard drive that resulted in a Joe Webb pass to Mickey Shuler for a two-yard touchdown. A Rhys Lloyd extra point made the score 28-7, and it would hold for the rest of the game. The Rams answered with an impressive 47-yard drive, but it resulted in no points. Visit the 2010 Minnesota Vikings season preview page to find out more about the little known players on the field in the fourth quarter.

Legal USA sportsbooks had surprisingly set the Rams as a two-point favorite in Saturday night’s game, but the Vikings took care of them easily. The two teams also covered the 31 1/2 point over/under line with 35 total points in the game.