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| Sunday, December 24 Associated Press | |||
| NEW ORLEANS -- Marshall Faulk capped the most prolific
touchdown season in NFL history by scoring three times Sunday to
break Emmitt Smith's record.
The St. Louis Rams' star running back fueled a 26-21 victory
over the New Orleans Saints and helped propel the Rams into the
playoffs.
"I had a big game in the big game," Faulk said.
Faulk scored on a 1-yard dive with 3:27 left to give the Rams a
26-14 lead and get the record. He then ran over to the stands and
presented the ball to his mother.
"When you start a game you're never sure of the impact you'll
have," Faulk said. "But coach (Mike) Martz put the ball in my
hands four times on the first drive and I knew what kind of day it
would be."
The record-reaking touchdown was set up by a 42-pass to Torry
Holt to the Saints 1.
Faulk, who missed two games during the season with minor knee
surgery, ran untouched for a 9-yard score with 2:45 left in the
third quarter. He also scored on a 13-yard pass from Kurt Warner in
the first period.
"He is the best in the league, definitely the MVP," Rams
backup quarterback Trent Green. "He played exceptionally,
especially at the end of the game when we needed the first downs."
Faulk, who finished with a career-best 220 yards on 32 carries,
had five carries for 54 yards on the Rams' final drive, enabling
St. Louis to run out out the final 1:03.
"He made some great runs, a lot of great plays," said Saints
safety Sammy Knight. "He made us miss tackles on a couple of big
runs that he had at the end. They went for the world with Marshall
and they won."
The first Rams-Saints game on Nov. 26 was the second since
surgery for Faulk. In that one he had only eight carries for 27
yards.
Smith scored 25 times for Dallas in 1995.
This year, Faulk became the first player in NFL history to score
four touchdowns in a game three times in a season. He's also the
first player in league history to score four touchdowns in
back-to-back games.
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