ST. LOUIS (AP) _ Kurt Warner, a veteran of the Arena Football League and NFL Europe, proved he was ready for prime time.

Warner, a third-stringer last year with just 11 NFL passes before Sunday, threw for 316 yards and three touchdowns as the St. Louis Rams opened with a 27-10 win over the Baltimore Ravens.

Dick Vermeil, the emotional Rams coach, choked up as he talked about his 28-year-old quarterback, who became the starter when Trent Green went down with a season-ending knee injury in the third preseason game.

``You talk about coming from nowhere, and stick with it and stay with it,'' Vermeil said.

The loss spoiled the head coaching debut of Baltimore's Brian Billick. The Ravens managed just 223 yards and 13 first downs.

``We don't have enough paper to list my frustrations,'' Billick said.

The Ravens' offensive woes were a combination of bad throws by Scott Mitchell, dropped balls and inopportune penalties _ overall, Baltimore was whistled 11 times for 106 yards.

``The only thing that can hurt us is if we start pointing fingers and say, this guy can do better, or that guy can do better,'' said Mitchell, 17-for-40 for 188 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.

Warner was sharp except for a tentative spell in the third quarter and two interceptions _ only one his fault.

``I know this is the NFL and a lot of people want to make it a big deal,'' Warner said. ``But I've played football a long time and I felt like I was just playing another game out there.''

The Rams took control in the second quarter when Warner threw touchdown passes of 6 yards to Roland Williams and 2 yards to Isaac Bruce. Warner and first-round draft pick Torry Holt combined on a 20-yard fourth-quarter pass that iced the win.

Bruce had eight catches for 92 yards. In his first game with the Rams, Marshall Faulk had seven catches for 72 yards, though he was held to 54 yards rushing on 19 carries.

Faulk also let a pass slip through his hands in the second quarter, and Ravens rookie cornerback Chris McAlister returned it to the Rams 5. He had an open lane to the end zone, but banged into teammate Rod Woodson, making his first start at safety after 12 years as a cornerback.

``We just got tangled,'' McAlister said.

Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis had 14 tackles and intercepted a pass at the Ravens 7 and returned it 60 yards late in the first quarter. But the Ravens failed to score when Matt Stover's 54-yard field-goal try missed.

Mitchell's 28-yard pass to Brandon Stokley late in the third quarter cut the deficit to 17-10. Then early in the fourth quarter, Warner was hit from behind and fumbled, giving the Ravens the ball at the St. Louis 30. But Baltimore moved backwards, and Stover's second 54-yard effort also missed.

Jeff Wilkins kicked two field goals for St. Louis, including a 51-yarder in the fourth quarter.

Baltimore's two-time Pro Bowl offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden left early in the second quarter with a hip pointer and didn't return. The Ravens felt his loss _ St. Louis had five sacks, two by Kevin Carter.

Notes: The Rams ran their sellout streak to 33 since moving to St. Louis in 1995 with a crowd of 62,100. TV station KMOV kept it alive by purchasing the last 3,000 tickets. ... At halftime, a ``Ring of Fame'' honoring 11 greats from the Rams and St. Louis Cardinals was dedicated. ... Rams punter Rick Tuten averaged just 37 yards on four kicks, but all four went out of bounds. ... Kyle Richardson averaged 47.8 yards on six punts for Baltimore with four downed inside the 20. ... The Ravens are 0-3 in domes. ... There was only one replay challenge, and the Ravens lost after contending a disallowed catch by Aaron Pierce in the second quarter.