Shaun Hill will be the Rams starter versus Denver. (Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports)
EARTH CITY, Mo. — Shaun Hill was named the starting quarterback for the St. Louis Rams, who are sending Austin Davis back to the bench with the Denver Broncos coming to town Sunday.
Davis won three games by a total of seven points but his play in the second half of the Week 10 loss at Arizona opened the door for the veteran Hill to return for the first time since the season opener.
Hill is 8 of 13 with one sack and one interception this season.
Davis was excellent at times in his first three starts. The Rams defeated Tampa Bay when Davis led the team to a game-winning field-goal drive. In the next two games, the Rams lost to Dallas and Philadelphia, but scored 59 points and gained 448 and 466 yards.
Since then, Davis has faced the reality of the NFL when going against good defenses. In the next five games, the offense’s high-water mark was 309 yards in a Monday night loss to San Francisco. Following that game, the total yards have been 272 against Seattle, 200 against Kansas City, 193 against the 49ers and 244 in Sunday’s 31-17 loss to Arizona. The average yards per play in the last three games has been 3.9, 3.7 and 4.2.
The loss of wide receiver Brian Quick for the season has been a factor, but Davis has struggled against the pass rush and has made mistakes that have either prevented key plays from happening or had turnovers result in touchdowns for the opponent.
Sunday, there was an interception return and sack/fumble return for scores in the fourth quarter that saw a 17-14 Cardinals lead become a 31-17 deficit. Prior to the first pick-six, Davis badly underthrew wide receiver Chris Givens for what might have been a touchdown, but instead it was another interception.
The Rams lead the NFL with eight return touchdowns against. Davis has accounted for six of the eight with four interceptions and two sack/fumbles.
