St. Louis is a baseball town with a football problem. While the Cardinals compete for the National League pennant, the Rams founder and flounder once again.

On Monday night, the Rams honored their 1999 Super Bowl championship team. That team anchored a brief but brilliant renaissance for the franchise, bringing it that title and another Super Bowl berth in a span of six years of relevance. It seems so distant, those days of Kurt Warner and Marshall Faulk, Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt.

The Rams haven’t had a winning season since 2003, nor have they been to the playoffs since 2004, when they qualified with an 8-8 record. They didn’t really honor the 1999 team with their performance on Monday night, blowing a 14-0 lead to the San Francisco 49ers and losing 31-17. They are 1-5 and only three teams have scored fewer than their 101 points.

Sam Bradford, drafted No. 1 overall in 2010 to begin the Rams’ theoretical rebuilding, hasn’t been able to overcome injuries. He started every game his rookie season and his third season, missed six games his second year, nine last year and he’s out again with a torn knee ligament. He’d be the most recognizable guy on a team now quarterbacked by Austin Davis.

The Cardinals and Giants resume their series Tuesday afternoon. The teams are tied at one game apiece. The Rams, presumably, will begin getting ready for Sunday’s home date against the Seattle Seahawks, the reigning Super Bowl champions.

A long season is about to get longer and relevance recedes into the distance.