On Monday night, the St. Louis Rams were defeated by the Washington Redskins...as the Gateway City played host to the MNF crew from ABC.

Much of downtown was lit up in anticipation of the occasion.

Rams head coach Mike Martz was lit up after the occasion.

The final score was 33-20...and the Rams march to the 2000-2001 NFL playoffs hit a big-time speedbump in the form of Deion Sanders, Jeff George and their new friends from the District.

Let's break down a small portion of the game.

A big part of the 'Skins offensive success was a result of the ability of RB Stephen Davis (48, below) to saunter through the right side of the STL defense with remarkable ease.

Interestingly, left DE Kevin Carter (93, below) has received the lion's share of the blame for the woeful performance of the Rams defensive line...but Washington and Davis chose to attack the Grant Wistrom-anchored side of the field.

Of course, defensive football at any level is a team sport..so perhaps OLB Todd Collins, who generally plays on Wistrom's side of the field, deserves some of the "credit" for Washington's success in running to their left...

You can bet that the X's and O's new-look Bud Carson-led defense didn't include gaps in the right side of the Rams' D-Line as wide as the one shown above...or require Rams DBs to chase 'Skins running backs across the goal line...from behind.

But the Rams defensive shortcomings, while not supremely obvious, were obvious in the secondary, as well.

Sure, the aforementioned defensive line was unable to apply consistent pressure on Redskins veteran QB Jeff George.

But that hardly excuses the duo of 'Dre Bly (32) and Todd Lyght (41) playing "follow the leader" (below)...

...during plays that resulted in two important Washington touchdowns.

The Rams have now lost two home games during the 2000 regular season.

In his post-game remarks, Rams rookie head coach Martz sounded oh-so-much like a rookie head coach.

When the Rams play well, Martz and former coach Dick Vermeil sound similar...in that both men wear the glow of victory quite well.

When Vermeil's club lost, Vermeil sounded, especially in the 1998 season...very tired...and very old.

Martz, in 2000, sounds, and looks, like the proverbial scared deer.

A young deer at that.

The Rams, and Martz, have five games remaining to see whether, as the 2000 regular season closes, the entire team will be playing "Follow the Leader".