By JOSEPH WHITE
AP Sports Writer

LANDOVER, Md.(AP) -- After the final whistle, after an afternoon
with as many boos as cheers from the home fans, the Washington
Redskins retreated to a very quiet locker room. Anyone walking
in would think they had lost.

As tight end Chris Cooley put it: "Everyone was a little down in
here."

Then special teams coach Danny Smith spoke up.

"In the middle of Danny Smith's speech, he said: 'Well, we
kicked three damn field goals,"' Cooley said. "And everyone
laughed."

The Redskins narrowly avoided an unthinkable meltdown Sunday,
beating the St. Louis Rams 9-7 in a result that leaves serious
doubt whether Washington can stay competitive this season in the
tough NFC East. Failing to score a touchdown against a team with
only two victories since the beginning of last season was no
reason to celebrate.

"We did what we had to do to win this game," center Casey Rabach
said. "You can't keep on doing this, that's for sure."

Shaun Suisham kicked field goals of 21, 28 and 23 yards as the
Redskins (1-1) had four drives of more than 60 yards that
faltered inside the 10. They put the game away - more or less -
with a 78-yard drive that ended on fourth down at the 2 with
less than 2 minutes to play, leaving the Rams (0-2) with too far
to go and not enough time to get there.

But that wasn't enough to satisfy the fans, who booed even as
the Redskins kicked the field goal that gave them the lead for
good in the third quarter.

"I understand that they want us to beat the Rams by 40," said
Cooley, who led the Redskins with seven catches for 83 yards.
"But we still won, and if we continue to win games, that's
great. The booing was unnecessary."

The Redskins also took a hit to their thin offensive line. Right
guard Randy Thomas strained his right triceps in the first half,
an injury that appears serious. He will be re-evaluated Monday,
but his teammates spoke as if he won't be playing again anytime
soon.

The Rams, who got one of their two wins last season in a
stunning victory at Washington, were the only team in the NFL
not to score last week. Yet those same Rams again were given
daylight by the Redskins' mistakes and were poised to take the
lead early in the fourth quarter before a red zone mistake of
their own: Donnie Avery, trying to reach the first-down marker
after a third-down catch, had the ball stripped by safety Chris
Horton at the 7-yard line.

"DB made a good play on the ball," Avery said. "I know better
than that. Should have had it high and tight. It's all on me. I
lost it for the team."

Coach Steve Spagnuolo wasn't as harsh on his second-year
receiver, but there was no consolation in the fact that his team
came close to giving him his first NFL victory as a head coach.

"I am very disappointed," Spagnuolo said. "There are no moral
victories in this league."

After Avery's fumble, the teams exchange punts. The Redskins
then iced the game with a drive starting from their own 20.
Clinton Portis converted a fourth-and-1 at the Rams' 20, but he
couldn't find a hole when fourth-and-1 arose again at the 2. The
Rams took over but were out of timeouts. Bulger threw four
straight incomplete passes, one of which was batted by prized
defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth.

Steven Jackson finished with 104 yards rushing on 17 carries for
the Rams, including a 58-yard run that set up a touchdown that
gave St. Louis a 7-6 lead in the second quarter.

The Redskins, entering the early soft part of their schedule,
needed the win after becoming the only team in their division to
lose its opener last week. They dominated parts of the game,
much as they did when they were upset 19-17 by the Rams a year
ago.

Devin Thomas and Mike Sellers couldn't hang on to potential
touchdown passes on back-to-back drives. Rocky McIntosh forced
two fumbles in Rams territory in a 2 1/2-minute span, but one
was negated by rookie Brian Orakpo's roughing the passer penalty
and the other was recovered by St. Louis. Santana Moss lost a
fumble on a replay reversal under a rule that wouldn't have
applied last year.

Most of all, there were too many would-be touchdown drives that
dissolved into field goals.

"I have got to look at this thing very hard because it is my
responsibility," Washington coach Jim Zorn said. "I can wave all
kinds of magic wands, but I have to come up with the right
play."

NOTES: Rams C Jason Brown, who was critical of Haynesworth's
conditioning during training camp, was contrite after Sunday's
game. "I was running off at the mouth," Brown said. "I
apologized and asked him for forgiveness after the game." Brown
also left the game in the first quarter with a right MCL injury,
but he returned in the second quarter. ... Bulger (1,861) passed
Jim Everett (1,847) to become the Rams' all-time leader in pass
completions.