Rams Beat Buccaneers in Overtime, 26-20 : Tampa Bay Ties It on Last Play, Then Dickerson Runs 42 Yards for the Game-Winning Touchdown
John Robinson says he’s got three signals for Eric Dickerson, and in overtime Sunday, he resorted to the third.
“The first signal is a good run, the second is a great run, and the third is ‘Ohmygosh, Go!”’ the Rams’ coach said, tongue firmly in cheek after his team’s 26-20 overtime victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“I gave him the third signal on that last play.”
Dickerson climaxed a 207-yard rushing day by running 42 yards for a touchdown 2:16 into overtime. He’d scored earlier on a 40-yard run, and had a 26-yard scoring run called back on a penalty.
Dickerson, notching the fourth 200-yard rushing game of his four-year NFL career, took a blue-collar approach to the overtime.
“The overtime is like staying late for work,” he said. “We don’t get paid for it, so we might as well get to it and get it over with.”
Dickerson, who has carried the ball 129 times for 657 yards to lead the NFL, wasn’t particularly impressed with his outing, saying: “It was an OK game for me; at least we won.”
Tampa Bay Coach Leeman Bennett, who watched his team lose in overtime for the second consecutive game, was slightly more impressed with the Ram running back’s performance.
“Basically, it was a day of not being able to stop Dickerson,” Bennett said after Dickerson gained the most yards rushing against Tampa Bay in the Buccaneers’ history.
“When you have a guy a great as him, he’s bound to win some games for you.
“We could have won the darned thing. . . . We were keyed up for the overtime, we knew we were going to win. Unfortunately, we never got our hands on the ball.”
The Buccaneers called the coin toss for the overtime, but lost the call.
“That’s when our captains are best,” Robinson joked, “when the other guys have to make the decision.”
After the Rams took the kickoff opening the overtime at their 27-yard line, Steve Dils completed a 16-yard pass to Ron Brown, moving the ball to the Tampa Bay 42.
On his 30th and final carry, Dickerson burst through the middle of the Buccaneer defense and raced into the end zone to hand the Buccaneers their second overtime loss in a row.
Tampa Bay’s Donald Igwebuike had kicked a 37-yard field goal as time expired in regulation to force the overtime period. The Buccaneers drove from their 1-yard line as Steve Young completed 5 of 9 passes for 60 yards in the 80-yard march that began with 4:34 to play.
Mike Lansford’s 40-yard field goal with 9:41 to play had given the Rams a 20-17 lead.
The victory gave the Rams, who were coming off a 34-20 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, a 4-1 record. Tampa Bay is 1-4.
Dickerson, who set the league’s single-season rushing record two years ago and also established a rookie rushing mark the previous year, gained 105 yards in the first quarter Sunday.
Dils, starting for the injured Steve Bartkowski at quarterback for the Rams, completed 11 of 22 passes for just 118 yards, but completed both of his passes in overtime for 34 yards.
Rookie running back Nathan Wonsley was a standout for the Buccaneers, carrying the ball 15 times, gaining 108 yards and scoring on a 59-yard run to tie the score, 17-17, in the third quarter.
Wonsley, signed as a free agent by Tampa Bay after he was overlooked in the NFL draft, broke free up the middle and just made it into the end zone as the Rams’ Jerry Gray made a shoestring tackle.
Officials first ruled the ball down on the 1-yard line, but changed the call to a touchdown after reviewing the instant replay.
Barry Redden gave the Rams a 7-0 lead on a 1-yard run as they marched 66 yards the first time they had the ball.
Dickerson ran 40 yards to make it 14-0 on the Rams’ next possession.
The Buccaneers turned a pair of fumble recoveries into 10 points on a 4-yard run by Young and a 26-yard field goal by Igwebuike in the second quarter and trailed, 17-10, at the intermission.
Young completed 8 of 23 throws for just 83 yards, and rushed 8 times for 37 yards. He was sacked four times.
Dils, in his first start since he was with the Minnesota Vikings in 1983, was intercepted once by Tampa Bay and was sacked once.
After falling behind by two touchdowns, the Buccaneers fought their way back into the game by capitalizing on Ram mistakes in the second quarter.
Dickerson fumbled and Tampa Bay safety Craig Swoope recovered at the Los Angeles 38, then Young scrambled 4 yards for Tampa Bay’s first score.
The Rams came back for a 34-yard field goal by Lansford, but the Buccaneers again got excellent field position on a turnover later in the quarter.
Linebacker Keith Browner sacked Dils, the Ram quarterback fumbled, and Browner fell on the ball at Los Angeles’ 11-yard line. This time, however, Tampa Bay settled for a 26-yard field goal by Igwebuike, trimming the difference to seven points.
Dickerson started with a bang, gaining 14 yards on the Rams’ first play from scrimmage and picking up 53 yards as they drove 66 yards to their opening score.
On their next series, he accounted for 52 yards rushing, including the 40-yard run.