Raiders Fade Out; Rams Zoom In, 38-16 : Rout of 49ers Makes Difference Because Jets Win

The Rams don’t know who to thank first. It was such a long way from wild notion to wild card. OK, there are the New York Jets, of course, without whom this glorious little playoff spot would not be possible.

The Rams’ 38-16 victory over the San Francisco 49ers Sunday night at Candlestick Park, impressive as it was, wouldn’t have meant Bo Diddley had the Jets not come from behind to knock off the Giants in the final minute, 27-21, as the Rams watched nervously back at the hotel. Good thing you don’t need fingernails to play, because the Rams had none left.

A Giant victory would have been three strikes and out for the Rams, who needed a loss from either New Orleans, Philadelphia or the Giants to stay in the race. The Eagles won. So did the Saints, though they severed Ram nerves by waiting until the last second to do it.

So it was the Jets coming through in the clutch or nothing. Ken O’Brien’s scoring pass to Al Toon in the final minute did it, sending the Rams storming through the hotel lobby toward Candlestick; a team with a dream.

“When Toon scored, I picked up my bags and went straight to the stadium,” cornerback LeRoy Irvin said. “Because we knew there was going to be a fight. We’d screwed up so many times, we didn’t deserve to be in. But we hoped and we prayed and here we are.”

In the playoffs, that is, with a date to face the Minnesota Vikings next Monday in the wild-card game. But the Rams won’t stop cheering until tonight’s Chicago-Minnesota game is over. If the Vikings lose, the Rams will play host to the wild-card game on Dec. 26.

All this on the heels of an 0-for-November losing streak.

“There’s no way in 2 minutes that I can tell you what this means to us,” quarterback Jim Everett said. “It was a terrible November.”

Now, the Rams are talking about January. But back to the thank-you notes.

There were the 49ers, who had absolutely nothing to play for Sunday night, having already clinched the NFC West title and home-field advantage for the first-round game earlier in the day.

The 49ers put on the best face possible, actually taking a 10-7 in the second quarter. But they were going up against the likes of Lazarus in the Rams, who sacked 49er quarterback Joe Montana seven times in the first half and claimed the game for themselves.

So were the 49ers really ready?

“We broke down completely,” defensive end Pete Kugler said. “We couldn’t stop the run. We couldn’t stop the pass when we had to . . . it was a nightmare. It was a complete reversal of last year’s situation (49ers 48, Rams 0). They came up here and laid down and we beat the hell out of them.”

Linebacker Kevin Greene remembered. He was so keyed up he needed ankle weights to keep him from floating out of Candlestick. Greene had 4 sacks of Montana in the first quarter alone. He joined Gary Jeter on an assist in the second half and finished the season with 16 1/2, a full sack better than Lawrence Taylor and second only to Reggie White (18) in the National Football League.

Greene wishes both Taylor and White well in the Pro Bowl. Greene isn’t going.

“They voted one game too early,” Jeter yelled at Greene afterward.

Greene just snarled.

“I’m a little upset about it, but I’m not going to let it bother me,” he said. “I’m just going to go out and buy a Christmas tree and enjoy the extra $6,000 I just won.”

The defense finished with nine sacks in all, squashing the 49ers out of their game plan and keeping the ball in the offense’s hands, a good idea on this night.

The Rams unveiled what Everett called his “secret weapon” in tight end Damone Johnson, who shocked the world with 3 touchdown catches on just 4 receptions.

Johnson hasn’t caught three touchdown passes in a game since Santa Monica High beat Pacific Palisades back in 1979.

In the second quarter, Johnson simply ran over two of the league’s biggest hitters--Ronnie Lott and Jeff Fuller--on his way to a 16-yard touchdown to give the Rams a 7-3 lead.

The 49ers demanded the number of the truck. It was No. 86. He would haunt them later.

The Rams took the lead for good with 1:05 left in the half when Everett scrambled out of the pocket from the 49er 9-yard line and found Henry Ellard in the end zone. Ellard picked the ball off of corner Tim McKyer’s shoulder for the touchdown, putting the Rams up, 14-10.

Then, surprisingly, the 49ers fell apart. Punter Barry Helton muffed a low snap on the next series and had to eat the ball at his own 31 with 33 seconds left. Bad move.

A pass interference penalty--Darryl Pollard on Ellard--gave the Rams a first down at the 1. Greg Bell scored with 20 seconds left.

Did the Rams thank Pollard enough times? They should. The second-year corner from Weber State was in the game only because Don Griffin and Eric Wright were out with injuries. In a move that didn’t require much intellect, Everett decided to test Pollard’s skills all night.

“He hadn’t played that much and they picked on him,” 49er linebacker Charles Haley offered. “Everett might not have had that great of a game if Eric Wright had been in there.”

Haley was in the game, though, and he and the pass rush never did quite get to Everett, who left the game without being sacked.

In fact, the second half pretty belonged to Everett and Co. The Rams pretty much put the game away with 5:28 left in the third quarter when Everett passed 11 yards to Johnson for a touchdown, putting the Rams up 28-13.

It was 31-13 after Mike Lansford’s 49-yard field goal and 38-13 early in the fourth quarter on a 5-yard Everett scoring pass to Johnson.

“When I wake up, maybe it will hit me,” Johnson said of his night. “It was just one of those nights you dream about.”

The Rams couldn’t get enough celebrating. On the drive leading to Johnson’s last touchdown, Henry Ellard took a 12-yard pass from Everett for his fifth reception of the night, thus breaking Tom Fears’ 38-year-old, single-season reception record of 84. Ellard had 6 catches on the night and finished the season with 86.

And just think, the day started with the Rams back at the hotel, wringing their hands while three other teams helped decide their fate.

Kevin Greene said he couldn’t stand it all and watched a fine program on public television about an Eskimo boy.

Coach John Robinson sat in his room, alone, staring at the phone as if the next ring was a pardon from the governor.

“I got a call from a disc jockey who had a satellite dish,” Robinson said. “He said the Jets had scored the winning touchdown. But I was just in my room, just calmly watching it all.”

Ram Notes

Eric Dickerson, who left the Rams in a big huff in 1987, will make his return to Anaheim Stadium next season when the Rams play host to the Indianapolis Colts. A portion of Rams’ 1989 schedule was released Sunday, with game dates to be determined later. The Rams are also assured a home game with the New York Jets and will play on the road at Buffalo and New England. . . . Fullback Robert Delpino (turf toe) was placed on the inactive list before Sunday’s kickoff. Twelve-year veteran Gary Jeter’s sack of Joe Montana in the first quarter was Jeter’s 11th of the season, tying Jeter’s career high set in 1985. . . . Receiver Aaron Cox suffered a concussion when hit after a reception in the third quarter. . . . Receiver Henry Ellard tied Tom Fears’ single-season reception mark of 84 with an 11-yard reception with 8:55 left in the third quarter. . . . Jim Everett’s 11-yard scoring pass to Damone Johnson in the third quarter was Everett’s 30th touchdown pass of the season, tying Vince Ferragamo’s team record set in 1980. . . . Sunday night’s crowd of 62,444 at Candlestick was the third-largest in 49er history.