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CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (Ticker) -- It had been 14 years since the Rams won a division title. This year, it took them just 13 weeks. Kurt Warner threw three first-half touchdown passes and rookie Dre Bly had a pivotal interception return for a touchdown as the St. Louis Rams became the first team to clinch a postseason berth, winning the NFC West with a 34-21 victory over the Carolina Panthers. The Rams (10-2) had not won the NFC West since 1985 and had not been in the playoffs since 1989, when the franchise was in Los Angeles. A move to St. Louis in 1995 did not stop the losing but the acquisition of Warner did. A product of the Arena Football League, the unknown Warner became the starter went Trent Green went down with a knee injury in preseason. Warner has been simply magnificent, leading the NFL in touchdown passes while staking his claim to the league's Most Valuable Player award. "I thought we would be a good football team with Kurt," Rams coach Dick Vermeil said. Today, Warner did most of his damage in the first half, with TD passes of 14 yards to Roland Williams and 48 and 49 yards to Az Hakim, staking the Rams (10-2) to a 21-0 lead late in the second quarter. "We've had guys making plays all year," Warner said. "It's a blast but we have a long way to go. We've got a great team. We all play together. We've got so many guys that can make plays. We just have to go out and show everybody." "It feels good right now," Hakim said. "It means a lot to me and the team, winning the division. It doesn't stop here. ... Everyone here tries to work with each other. We have a good group of guys here." The Panthers (5-7) closed to 24-21 early in the fourth quarter behind three TD passes from Steve Beuerlein. But on 3rd-and-7, the Rams blitzed Beuerlein and he threw into the left flat, where Bly made an interception in stride and raced 53 yards to his first NFL touchdown. "We thought we had the momentum," Beuerlein said. "I really didn't have a good look at where Moose (Muhsin Muhammad) was. I'm not happy I did that. I should not have thrown it. We were in a position to win this ballgame. The bottom line is we let it slip away." It was the eighth return TD for the Rams this season, most in the NFL. On November 14, cornerback Todd Lyght and linebacker Mike Jones had returns for scores. Jeff Wilkins added his second field goal to seal the win. As the clock wound down, Rams players gave their emotional coach a dousing with the water bucket. Later in the locker room, Rams owner Gerogia Frontiere celebrated with Vermeil and the players. "I'm excited for my team, the ownership and my city," Vermeil said. "We're not finished, though. We're excited about what we've done but we know what we have to do still. We have a good foundation." "This is great. It's great for my hometown," Frontiere said. "It's not over yet, like coach said. We still have work to do. It's been a long time coming. We've made a lot of people happy in St. Louis." Warner completed 22-of-31 passes for 351 yards, Hakim caught four passes for 122 yards and Marshall Faulk ran for 118 yards for the Rams, who swept the season series from the Panthers. Beuerlein was 21-of-43 for 266 yards but was picked off three times. Patrick Jeffers caught seven passes for 107 yards and a score for Carolina, which had a two-game winning streak snapped and has dropped five of seven. "They're a very good football team," Beuerlein admitted. "They deserve to win the division." As they have done so often this season, the Rams struck early. They took the opening kickoff and marched 69 yards, with Warner finding Williams with a 14-yard TD pass just 4:48 into the game. On their next possession, the Rams zipped 87 yards in just four plays. Warner threw a 47-yard pass to Isaac Bruce before he hooked up with Hakim with a 48-yard scoring toss and a 14-0 lead with 5:41 left in the first quarter. Bruce caught six passes for 111 yards. St. Louis made it 21-0 in the second quarter. Two plays after Warner's 18-yard pass to Faulk, he again found Hakim with a 49-yard TD pass with 4:27 left in the first half. "Our approach is to attack early," Vermeil said. "It takes players to win football games and we have great players." The Panthers finally got on the scoreboard as Beuerlein directed a 70-yard drive. He threw a 15-yard TD pass to tight end Wesley Walls with 41 seconds remaining, cutting the deficit to 14 points. In the third quarter, Beuerlein threw a 36-yard touchdown pass to Donald Hayes, his only catch of the game. A 40-yard interference penalty against Panthers cornerback Eric Davis set up Wilkins' 29-yard field goal on the first play of the fourth quarter. But on the first play after the ensuing kickoff, Beuerlein found Jeffers with a 71-yard touchdown pass and Carolina trailed by just three points. "I think they put on quite a good display of offense in the first half," Panthers coach George Seifert said. "The second half was different because we were in the ballgame. As the game went on, it seemed to be falling into place for us." Faulk caught six pases for 79 yards for the Rams, who held a 480-307 advantage in total yards. Muhammad and Walls caught four passes apiece for the Panthers, who were limited to 55 rushing yards while allowing 124.
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