ST. LOUIS (AP) -Steven Jackson doesn’t like to talk about the broken finger on his left hand.
His teammates and coaches on the St. Louis Rams, however, are more than happy to discuss the injury and Jackson’s uncanny ability to play through it.
The team’s leading rusher has played the past two games with one good hand. He amassed 148 all-purpose yards Sunday in a 23-20 overtime loss to San Francisco and has hardly missed a beat since having two pins placed in his ring finger during surgery Oct. 25.
“What he’s doing is so amazing,” St. Louis rookie tackle Rodger Saffold said. “It just makes us all want to block that much harder. No matter what happens to him, he keeps on running. That’s the kind of leader you need.”
Jackson, the 24th overall pick in the 2004 draft, broke his finger early in an 18-17 loss to Tampa Bay on Oct. 24. He thought it was just dislocated and continued to play. But X-rays after the game showed the break, so he had a 20-minute surgical procedure the next day and never looked back.
“He didn’t think it was a big deal. He just kept right on playing,” coach Steve Spagnuolo said. “He’s a warrior.”
Jackson, a two-time Pro Bowl selection, wears a soft cast on the hand during games and plans on leaving the pins in place until the end of the season.
“The pins are adding the support that is allowing me to catch the ball and do some of the things that I’m doing on the field,” Jackson said. “The bone is healing well – had another X-ray this week, and all looks good.”
The 27-year-old Jackson said the injury has not hampered his performance and the numbers back that up. He recently became the Rams’ career rushing leader with 7,464 yards. He passed Eric Dickerson with a 110-yard effort against Tampa Bay.
In honor of Dickerson, Jackson came out in pregame warmups the next game wearing the same old-style goggles that Dickerson wore during his career, which ended in 1987. Jackson scored the 44th rushing touchdown of his career on a 13-yard scamper against San Francisco that gave his club a 17-10 lead. That put him third on the Rams’ list for career rushing touchdowns.
Jackson also played through a painful groin injury earlier in the year and was bothered by a sore back much of last season.
His teammates are so used to seeing him play with pain that his courageous efforts are sometimes overlooked.
“Nothing ever stops him – he just keeps on going,” wide receiver Danny Amendola said.
St. Louis (4-5) will host Atlanta (7-2) on Sunday. The Rams are looking to bounce back from last week’s tough loss in San Francisco. On three previous occasions this year, they have followed up a road loss with an impressive home win.
Jackson thinks the Rams could have a winning record with a few breaks along the way. He says they have been competitive in eight of nine games this season. Four losses have been by a combined 10 points.
“The teams that are winning, the teams with 7-2 records, they’re winning the games we are not,” Jackson said. “We’re going to find a way to turn those games into wins.”
St. Louis is looking for its fifth straight home victory. The last time the Rams won five consecutive home games was 2003.
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