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ST. LOUIS (Ticker) -- Marshall Faulk rubbed some salt into the wounds of the Indianapolis Colts.

Playing against his former team for the first time, Faulk matched a career high with four touchdowns as the St. Louis Rams rolled to a 42-17 victory over the Colts and clinched the NFC West title for the second time in three years.

"No hard feelings. It's just a game we needed to win," Faulk said of his first game against the Colts.

The win was the fifth in a row for the Rams (13-2), who can seal home-field advantage throughout the playoffs with a victory next weekend against Atlanta or a loss by Chicago (12-3) to Jacksonville.

"It's nice to win the division but we have bigger things in store," Rams quarterback Kurt Warner said. "It's a nice feather in our cap, but right now it's just the first step."

The game matched two of the NFL's top two offenses, but Peyton Manning could not keep up with fellow quarterback Warner, who had Faulk and Torry Holt among his heavy arsenal of weapons.

"He's a great player, no question about it," Manning said of Faulk. "I had a chance to play with him that one year and I know what he's capable of. He allows them to do a lot of things on offense. That's a great weapon to have."

Faulk scored on a pair of one-yard runs, a four-yard run and a five-yard reception, giving him a league-leading 20 touchdowns and tying Eric Dickerson for the most in franchise history with 58. In 2000, Faulk set an NFL record with 26 touchdowns. He is only the second player in NFL history, joining Emmitt Smith of Dallas in 1994-95, as the only players to have consecutive seasons with 20 or more touchdowns.

The NFL's most versatile back, Faulk rushed for 118 yards on 25 carries for his 29th career 100-yard game -- 15 with the Rams and 14 with the Colts -- and caught seven passes for 47 yards, increasing his season total to 1,921 yards from scrimmage. He has surpassed the 2,000 mark each of the last three seasons.

Indianapolis shipped Faulk to the Rams in 1999 at the inexpensive price of second- and fifth-round picks. Faulk and Warner immediately transformed the Rams to Super Bowl champions that season as Faulk set career highs with 1,381 rushing yards and 87 receptions for 1,048 yards.

Last season, Faulk captured NFL Most Valuable Player honors and this season has rushed for 1,114 yards and caught 78 passes for 707 yards.

With the offense clicking on all cylinders and a much-improved defense, the Rams may be on the road to another Super Bowl this time.

Warner did most of his damage in the first half, completing 16-of-19 for 274 yards and three touchdowns, including a pair to Torry Holt for 46 and 21 yards, when the Rams scored on all five of their possessions and opened a 35-14 lead. He finished 23-of-30 for 359 yards.

Warner has passed for an NFL-high 4,550 yards, eclipsing his previous club record of 4,353 yards in St. Louis' Super Bowl season, and a league-best 33 touchdowns.

"I guess you can pick between either him (Faulk) or Kurt this season (for MVP)," Rams coach Mike Martz said. "It is going to come down to one of those two guys I would think."

Holt had seven catches for a career-high 203 yards. His previous best was 172 yards on nine receptions December 10, 2000 against Minnesota.

"Today I was able to come out and put it all together as far as my route running and concentration and focus," Holt said. "We were able to get man-to-man on the outside and we feel like we can beat any corner if we get that opportunity."

"You can't say enough about Torry," Warner said. "He's a big, strong receiver. He runs as fast as anybody and he goes up and gets it."

Manning could not engage in a shootout with Warner. He was 10-of-13 for 140 yards and ran for a touchdown in the first half, but that was not enough to keep the game close. In the second half, Manning was just 5-of-15 for 55 yards with an interception.

"As an offense, it's our job to score points. That's what we're supposed to do," Manning said. "We came out and did it well on the first two series. As an offense, we need to make more plays and score more points."

The loss was the seventh in eight games for the Colts (5-10).

Indianapolis' Marvin Harrison had five catches for 96 yards to reach 100 receptions for the third straight season. He leads the AFC with 1,396 receiving yards.

But he had to take a backseat to Holt, the third-year receiver who had four catches for 160 yards by halftime.

However, the day belonged to the 28-year-old Faulk, who last had four touchdowns in a game on December 10, 2000 against Minnesota. Along with the four TDs, Faulk accounted for all 77 yards on St. Louis' second scoring drive.

"It's always fun regardless if I'm the main focus or not," Faulk said.

Selected second overall in the 1994 draft by the Colts, Faulk rushed for 5,320 yards and 42 touchdowns and caught 297 passes for 2,804 yards and nine scores in five years with Indianapolis.

But Colts general manager Bill Polian was apparently cognizant of Faulk's demands for a contract renegotiation and shipped him to the Rams.

"Marshall is a great player. He was good with the Colts and he's been great here," Colts coach Jim Mora said. "He's a talented player, tough, smart. He very seldom makes mental mistakes. He prepares well. I have nothing but respect for Marshall Faulk."

On St. Louis' first possession, Holt caught a 42-yard pass on a slant over the middle to the Indianapolis 1. Three plays later, Faulk raced behind left tackle Orlando Pace for a one-yard touchdown 5:31 into the game. Warner completed all four of his passes in the drive for 63 yards.

Manning directed the Colts on a 10-play, 68-yard scoring drive on their first possession, hitting Terrence Wilkins with a 28-yuard pass and Harrison on a 24-yard pass on third-down plays. Dominic Rhodes capped it with a one-yard touchdown run with 4:25 left in the quarter.

"We knew it was going to be a shootout," Rhodes said. "Unfortunately, we were not the ones doing the shooting. I think they are going to win the Super Bowl. I bow down to them, they flat out took it to us."

The next possession belonged strictly to Faulk, who rushed six times for 53 yards, including a four-yard touchdown, and caught two passes for 24 yards.

Manning again responded with a seven-play, 83-yard drive that he capped with a one-yard scoring run. Manning hit Harrison with a 36-yard pass over the middle and drilled a nine-yard pass to tight end Ken Dilger to the St. Louis 1 before faking the St. Louis defense with a rollout to his left, tying the game at 14-14 with 9:45 left in the half.

But Warner and Holt needed just two plays to put the Rams back on top. The two connected on a 51-yard pass before Holt beat David Macklin down the left sideline for a 21-yard touchdown just 61 seconds after Manning's score.

"The Rams have a lot of threats," Macklin said. "It's like a track meet out there against them."

After Indianapolis stalled near midfield, Dre' Bly, who replaced Az-Zahir Hakim as the team's top returner, returned the ensuing punt 14 yards to the St. Louis 48. Warner hit Isaac Bruce with a 28-yard pass before connecting with Faulk on a five-yard TD to give St. Louis a 28-14 lead with 1:45 left in the half.

But after Indianapolis went three-and-out, that left the Rams with 65 seconds. They needed just 38 seconds to march 78 yards in five plays. Warner completed 3-of-4 passes for 32 yards before hitting Holt with a 46-yard scoring pass over the middle with 27 seconds left in the half, giving the Rams a 35-14 lead.

The Colts reached the St. Louis 29 on their first possession of the second half after a 20-yard pass from Manning to Harrison, but had to settle for a 48-yard field goal by Mike Vanderjagt 5:08 into the third quarter.

Faulk capped his performance with a one-yard touchdown run 1:39 into the fourth quarter.