Maybe the Rams merely needed their old ringmaster back in the building to resemble ``The Greatest Show on Turf.''
In a shootout befitting Mike Martz's return to St. Louis, Isaac Bruce caught a five-yard touchdown pass with 1:56 to play as the Rams rallied to beat Detroit 41-34 on Sunday.
Trailing 34-33 with 4:42 to play, the Rams (3-1) got the ball and marched 56 yards in seven plays, scoring when Marc Bulger threw to Bruce, who wriggled into the end zone for his first touchdown of the season.
Bulger and Bruce then connected on a two-point conversion.
Lions quarterback Jon Kitna was intercepted on the first play after the Rams' score, but the Lions got the ball back with 47 seconds to play after Jeff Wilkins missed a 47-yard field goal try.
Detroit drove to the St. Louis 37, then appeared to get a break when Rams rookie Ty Hill was called for interference against Az-Zahir Hakim in the end zone with 22 seconds left. But after a huddle, the officials reversed the call because the ball was tipped, and Kitna's fourth-down pass sailed out of the end zone.
Bulger was 26-of-42 for 328 yards and three touchdowns. Torry Holt had six catches for 102 yards and a touchdown and Bruce caught seven passes for 100 yards and a score.
Detroit (0-4) has made steady progress on offence under Martz, who took the offence after being fired in St. Louis, where he was head coach for six seasons. After scoring 13 points in their first two games, the Lions have scored 58 in their last two.
Kitna was 29-of-43 for 280 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Mike Furrey and Kevin Jones scored two touchdowns each for the Lions. Furrey, a former Ram, caught two touchdown passes from Kitna in the second quarter. Jones rushed for 93 yards on 19 carries, including 35- and seven-yard scoring runs in the second half.
Roy Williams caught nine passes for 139 yards, his second straight game going over 100 yards.
The Rams went into halftime down 17-16, then retook the lead on their first drive of the second half, with Bulger connecting with Holt on a 16-yard touchdown pass.
A 65-yard kickoff return by Eddie Drummond set up a 20-yard field goal by Jason Hanson, and Detroit went up 27-23 with 4:23 to go in the third quarter when Jones converted a third-and-1 run into a 35-yard score.
The Rams rallied again, aided by a 48-yard pass interference on Jamar Fletcher that gave St. Louis a first-and-goal at the five-yard line, setting up Stephen Jackson's one-yard touchdown run to make it 30-27. Jackson ran for 81 yards on 22 carries.
Detroit responded with a 10-play, 71-yard drive that ended with Jones' seven-yard run on a draw play with 11:11 to play.
Jeff Wilkins' fourth field goal, a 47-yarder cut the margin to 34-33 with 6:16 to play.
Notes: The Lions announced that their game Oct. 8 at Minnesota will be moved to Monday night, Oct. 9, if the AL divisional series between Minnesota and Oakland goes to a fifth game, which would be played Sunday. ... Rams Pro Bowl left tackle Orlando Pace, still feeling the effects of a concussion suffered in Week 2 in San Francisco, was inactive. Todd Steussie replaced Pace at tackle and Adam Goldberg replaced Steussie at left guard.
