ST LOUIS 23, CHICAGO 21

CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Marc Bulger rewarded his coach's faith and kept the St. Louis Rams on top in the NFC West.

Bulger engineered a late 67-yard drive to cap a big second half and Jeff Wilkins kicked a 31-yard field goal with 38 seconds remaining as the Rams rallied for a 23-21 triumph over the Chicago Bears, who had a three-game home winning streak snapped.

The Bears (3-7) had a 21-20 lead and appeared in good shape when Ahmad Merritt downed a punt at the Rams' 1-yard line. But officials determined he was still in the end zone when he touched the ball, ruling it a touchback and giving St. Louis possession at its own 20.

Bulger had key third-down completions to Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce and benefited from a pair of penalties on Chicago as he moved the Rams into field goal position. Wilkins kicked his third of the game and St. Louis (7-3) held on, even after Jerry Azumah returned the ensuing kickoff 38 yards.

"The first (penalty) wasn't bad because they threw an incomplete pass, so the clock would have been stopped anyway," Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher said. "The second one, we got a sack, the clock would still have been running and they would have had a 2nd-and-12 or 13. So that one was a little more significant."

A week after throwing for just 110 yards against Baltimore, Bulger completed just 11-of-21 passes for 101 yards in the first half. But he was 18-of-25 for 139 yards and two touchdowns in the second half.

"He struggled in the first half and I talked to Kurt (backup Kurt Warner) a great deal about it," Rams coach Mike Martz said. "I asked Kurt if he was ready to play and he said he was, but we should stick with Marc. He has done a good job and we shouldn't pull him out now."

"He had lots of ups and downs, but he doesn't get up and down," running back Marshall Faulk added. "And if you're going to be the leader and a quarterback, those are things you're doing to have to deal with in this profession."

Faulk also had a big second half, carrying 13 times for 82 yards. He broke off a 52-yard run on 4th-and-1 from his own 40 and finished with 103 yards - his first 100-yard game since November 3, 2002.

Bulger and Faulk helped the Rams retain at least a share of first place in the NFC West. They have won six of their last seven games.

Chris Chandler passed for 153 yards and a touchdown but was intercepted twice for Chicago, which fell to 3-2 at renovated Soldier Field.

R.W. McQuarters scored on a 60-yard punt return and Anthony Thomas ran one yard for a touchdown as the Bears built a 14-3 halftime lead. Bulger got St. Louis close with a four-yard TD toss to Holt and the Rams surprised Chicago with an onside kick, recovering at their own 41.

"I think it jump-started everybody and took the pressure off the defense to some extent because we did not do a good job in the first half," Martz said.

Thirteen plays later, Bulger found tight end Brandon Manumaleuna for a four-yard score that gave St. Louis a 17-14 lead.

Wilkins tacked on a 44-yard field goal, but Chandler capped an 83-second, 62-yard drive with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Dez White with just under six minutes to play.