"In 2004, when rookie Steven Jackson was backing up Marshall Faulk, the Rams earned a wild-card spot in the playoffs. Jackson, then a 21-year-old running back from Oregon State, figured that was just the beginning of several such postseason journeys.

"My first year, going to the second round of the playoffs, I thought it would be a year-in and year-out deal," Jackson said. "And it hasn't been so."

It certainly hasn't. Only once since then have the Rams even sniffed the playoffs. That was in 2006, when they finished 8-8. Had several things gone their way on the final weekend, they could've sneaked in.

The club's other records during that span were 6-10 in 2005, 3-13 in '07, 2-14 in '08 and 1-15 last year.

So Jackson is drinking in the drama and excitement that's permeated Rams Park, with the NFC West title still up for grabs with two games left. If the Rams (6-8) knock off San Francisco (5-9) on Sunday at the Edward Jones Dome, then prevail at Seattle (6-8) on Jan. 2, they'll win the division and host a first-round playoff game.

"The offseason training that we all go through, the tough training camps, the two-a-days, those things, now you're starting to see that they're paying off," Jackson said. "You feel like you actually put in hard work and now you get a chance to be able to get to the big dance."

Sunday's contest promises to feature "a playoff atmosphere," Jackson said. "It's a team we came up short against in overtime (23-20 on Nov. 14), so it was a very tough game there on the road. ... You can't ask for anything more. For both teams to be fighting for a playoff position and winning the division, it's going to make for an exciting game."

With the stakes so high and with his role as an unchallenged team leader firmly entrenched, Jackson has a simple request: put the load on his shoulders.

"It's a game that we all know is a must-win," he said. "And these kinds of games, these kinds of pressure situations are what I live for. It's something that I thrive in, I believe. I have all the confidence in the world in me and the offensive line - I know I can't do it alone. But when it comes to these situations, I would like to just ...…

"Let's go back to old Steven: I think the best player should have the ball."

"Old Steven" was a younger and more immature Steven, the one who angrily taped the words "Give me the ball" over his locker in 2005. That plea was interpreted as an overt attempt by Jackson to try to pad his individual stats.

Not so, he insists. "I've always been about team," Jackson said. "It was just more so I didn't know politically how to say the right things."

Jackson since has learned how to parse his words properly. And he knows that his teammates will follow his lead."