It’s just about time to conclude a typically busy game day, but before we go sleep this one off, a smidgen of notes …

… Rod Smith said Thursday that he didn’t want records, he wanted wins. His desires didn’t come true, as the Broncos lost, but it’s nevertheless worth noting that he caught three passes Sunday to become the first undrafted player to ever make it to 800 receptions.

He’s on pace to achieve even more than that soon. Smith is just 160 yards away from the franchise’s combined yardage record (receiving, rushing, returns), poised to break a standard that Floyd Little established when he amassed 12,173 yards from 1967-75.

Through three quarters:

• Rams lead in total yardage, 196 yards to 178.
• Broncos lead in first downs, 12 to 11.
• Rams lead in passing yardage, 139 to 79.
• Broncos lead in passing yardage, 99 yards to 57.
• Tatum Bell is the game’s rushing leader (77 yards on 11 carries).

But the most painful statistic for the Broncos — besides the score — is turnovers: Broncos 3, Rams 0. It became four after Jake Plummer’s downfield pass for Todd Devoe was intercepted by Corey Chavous, just one play after Mike Bell had ripped off a 36-yard run to move Denver into St. Louis territory.

End of third quarter notes …

Denver’s successful instant-replay challenge allowed them to clinch a stop of the Rams at the St. Louis 41 and force a second conseuctive Matt Turk punt.   Darrent Williams was in to field the punt and let it bounce safely over his head for a touchback that coupled with a Rams face-mask penalty to give Denver the football at its 35-yard-line.

The Broncos used their first timeout with six seconds left in the quarter, getting ready to snap the ball on second-and-10 from the 37.  They are, however, out of replay challenges.

At this moment, the AFC North has one win (Thursday night) and two of its teams ahead by comfortable margins.  Cleveland is the only outfit of the quartet trailing, but the cumulative score right now is AFC North 75, Opponents 33.

One play into the Rams’ second third-quarter possession, they moved back on the Broncos’ side of midfield after a 34-yard Marc Bulger-to-Isaac Bruce connection.  A false-start penalty on Alex Barron, though, meant the Rams did not actually run their next play in Broncos territory, and the Broncos eventually focred St. Louis into fourth-and-25 from their 39-yard-line after a backfield tackle of Steven Jackson, an incompletion and a sack of Bulger by Patrick Chukwurah, the Broncos’ second sack of the third quarter.

Denver begins its next possession at its 19-yard-line.

Tatum Bell gained almost as many yards on the Broncos’ first second-half run (39) as the team gained on the ground in the first half (42).  However, the Broncos couldn’t turn that sprint into a long drive, and the results subsequently turned disastrous, with Plummer being sacked by Anthony Hargrove and Javon Walker going to the sidelines after a second-and-10 play with just under nine minutes left in the quarter, waving his hands in apparent pain.

St. Louis takes over at its 20 following a touchback on Paul Ernster’s punt.

First possession (second half): Rams get back into Broncos territory once again after two plays.First sack: Ebenezer Ekuban, tagging Marc Bulger back at the Denver 35 to force the Rams into a third-and-16; one play later, Champ Bailey clobbered Steven Jackson in the open field, forcing St. Louis to settle for Jeff Wilkins’ fifth field goal of the afternoon, a 48-yarder that put the Rams up by eight points but allowed Denver to remain within one score.

First half: By the numbers, the Broncos’ 79-yard drive in the second quarter’s final moments allowed Denver to close a number of statistical gaps; prior to the march, the Rams were ourgaining the Broncos 123 yards to 30.

First downs: Six of Denver’s eight in the first half came on that final drive.

The Broncos finally got on the scoreboard 26 seconds before halftime — but it took a roll of the dice in their territory to make the score happen.

Going for it on fourth-and-1 from their 30 seemed to galvanize the Broncos late in the first half, as they followed Mike Bell’s 2-yard, drive-resuscitating run by venturing Rams territory for the first time all day, using passes to Rod Smith, Mike Bell and Tony Scheffler to advance to the 20, and then Plummer eluded a near sack, rolled left and found Stephen Alexander to get to the St. Louis 1 with 34 seconds left.

Eighteen inches were gained when the Rams were whisled for offsides; 18 more inches came when Bell pulled a Walter Payton (or a Lars Tate) and flew over a scrum of linemen to narrow the deficit to 12-7.

Denver’s fifth drive ended in a 42-yard Paul Ernster punt that Shaun McDonald returned to the Denver 44-yard-line; it would have been a net of 25 yards if not for a holding penalty that knocked the Rams back to their 29-yard-line — meaning the Rams will take their first snap inside their territory since the 9:53 mark of the first quarter — some 15 minutes and 31 seconds of clock time ago.

The punt was set up when Plummer was sacked for a 10-yard loss on third-and-1 from the Denver 29; cornerback Fakhir Brown came in unblocked from the left side and knocked Plummer to the turf.

Heading into this drive, 22 of St. Louis’ first 26 plays came on the Broncos’ side of the field — including 22 in succession.  It only took two plays for the Rams to get back into Denver territory after Marc Bulger located Torry Holt up the left sideline for 23 yards.

Once again, though, it turned into nothing more than a field goal.  Jeff Wilkins hit a 51-yard kick to put the Broncos down 12-0.  The Broncos gained nine yards on the first three plays of their next possession, opted to go for it on fourth-and-1 from the 30 and kept the drive alive after Mike Bell gained two yards running to the right side.