CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- The St. Louis Rams have reached the point of the season where they can look for ways to create imaginary pressure. For the Carolina Panthers, the sensation is plenty real.

The Rams (9-2) need only a victory or a tie Sunday against Carolina to become the first team in the NFL to wrap up a division title. Should that happen, however, coach Dick Vermeil wonders if his team might be ripe for a letdown, so he's resorting to some mind games over the closing weeks of the regular season.

"We're approaching the final five games of the season as if they're all playoff games," he said. "This team hasn't been to the playoffs in a long time."

St. Louis hasn't qualified for the postseason since 1989 and hasn't won the NFC West since 1985. In those days, Dieter Brock was the quarterback, John Robinson was their coach and Anaheim Stadium was their home.

With that in mind, the current crop of St. Louis players is anxious to erase the memories of a nine-year run in which the Rams didn't finish with a winning record or better than third in the NFC West.

"That's huge. That's plenty of motivation," running back Marshall Faulk said.

While the Rams focus on the division title, the Panthers (5-6) have a different kind of inspiration. They've won three of four to put themselves in position to make a run for an NFC wild-card berth.

Carolina hasn't been to the playoffs since winning the NFC West in 1996, the franchise's second year. The Panthers failed to put together winning records in either 1997 or 1998, and they started this year, their first under coach George Seifert, by losing five of seven.

"We've dug quite a hole for ourselves," wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad said, "but we don't necessarily see the light at the end of the tunnel yet."

To do that, the Panthers first want to get back to at least .500. That's a spot the franchise hasn't been at since December 1997, and it's one Carolina might have trouble reaching this week, given what happened on Nov. 14 in St. Louis.

The Rams got all the points they would need by returning an interception for one touchdown and running back a fumble for another. St. Louis held the Panthers to a field goal over the final three quarters and rolled, 35-10.

The Panthers were upset that Curt Warner threw for 283 yards and two touchdowns and Faulk rushed for 73 yards and another score. But what really appeared to anger the Carolina players was that the St. Louis offense stayed on the field until the late stages, producing an 18-yard scoring run by Faulk with 71 seconds remaining.

Vermeil said he kept his first unit in the game because his starters needed to work on their run blocking.

"We used two tight ends and went very, very simple fundamental football and made them come off and block. I didn't expect them to score. They did," Vermeil said, adding that he would not apologize for wanting to make his players better.

"My squad's morale sometimes is more important than overlying factors," he said.

Some of Carolina's players have softened their tone in the days leading up to the rematch.

"We don't expect teams to have pity on us," linebacker Dean Wells said. "They decided to keep playing. That's their prerogative. So be it."

Then there are other Carolina players who still appear to have issues with what happened at the end of the game in St. Louis.

"You remember any time a team beats you," center Frank Garcia said. "I think just the fact that they scored another touchdown and the game wasn't over, well, they're going to come in here to our home this week, and hopefully we have that same chance."

Quarterback Steve Beuerlein wants the Panthers to put that kind of talk on the back burner as they try to win three in a row for the first time since the middle of 1997.

"The playoffs are the goal, but right now, that can't be our primary focus," he said. "We've got to take care of all kinds of things first in order to make that a reality, and that all starts with executing on the field. If we don't, then all the other stuff doesn't really matter."

ST. LOUIS Season schedule and results

CAROLINA Season schedule and results

September 12 Baltimore W 27-10 September 26 Atlanta W 35-7 October 3 @Cincinnati W 38-10 October 10 San Francisco W 42-20 October 17 @Atlanta W 41-13 October 24 Cleveland W 34-3 October 31 @Tennessee L 21-24 November 7 @Detroit L 27-31 November 14 Carolina W 35-10 November 21 @San Francisco W 23-7 November 28 New Orleans W 43-12 December 5 @Carolina 1:00pm ET December 12 @New Orleans 1:00pm ET December 19 NY Giants 1:00pm ET December 26 Chicago 1:00pm ET January 2 @Philadelphia 1:00pm ET

September 12 @New Orleans L 10-19 September 19 Jacksonville L 20-22 September 26 Cincinnati W 27-3 October 3 @Washington L 36-38 October 17 @San Francisco W 31-29 October 24 Detroit L 9-24 October 31 @Atlanta L 20-27 November 7 Philadelphia W 33-7 November 14 @St. Louis L 10-35 November 21 @Cleveland W 31-17 November 28 Atlanta W 34-28 December 5 St. Louis 1:00pm ET December 12 @Green Bay 1:00pm ET December 18 San Francisco 4:15pm ET December 26 @Pittsburgh 1:00pm ET January 2 New Orleans 1:00pm ET

Records source: STATS, Inc.

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