Rams Stick It Out to Win : NFC playoffs: They beat Giants with 30-yard touchdown pass in overtime, 19-13, to earn rematch in San Francisco.

On the road back to Candlestick Park, the Rams clicked their cleats three times and made dreams come true. Lucky them.

The Rams rescued Sunday’s NFC playoff game from a precipice to earn a rematch with the San Francisco 49ers, modern-day pillagers of good intentions.

Be careful for what you wish, it’s said. The Rams have wanted the 49ers since losing a 17-point fourth-quarter lead and the game on Dec. 11. Under orders from their coach, lips were zipped about a possible rematch.

The 49ers would show, but who could count on the Rams? Who knew through regulation time Sunday? No one was sure until quarterback Jim Everett found Flipper Anderson on a 30-yard scoring pass with 1:06 expired in overtime to beat the New York Giants, 19-13, before 76,235 at Giants Stadium.

Anderson never broke stride after his game-winning catch, disappearing into the players’ tunnel on his way to . . . the Bay Area?

It was that easy for the Rams, who would sew this one up after kicking two fourth-quarter field goals to tie the score before running out of time (and timeouts) on a frantic drive toward field-goal territory as time expired.

No problem. Tackle Jackie Slater met Carl Banks at midfield and called heads on the overtime coin flip. Slater has never called tails on a flip in his career. He says it’s a religious thing.

Heads appeared, giving the Ram offense a first crack at the Giants.

“It might have been the best call of the game,” Coach John Robinson said.

Tight end Pete Holohan said later he knew the game was over after the flip. The Ram offense wouldn’t be stopped. Lawrence Taylor, who had sacked Everett twice in the first half, forcing a key fumble on one, was suddenly losing a second-half war to left tackle Irv Pankey.

“This is his turf,” Pankey said. “It started out his way, but it turned out my way.”

Pankey wouldn’t expand on his change in tactics, calling them “trade secrets.”

But Everett was getting time again and cutting up the Giants’ zone defense. New York had taken the lead, 13-7, on a brawny, 82-yard scoring drive, Ottis Anderson pounding his way over from two yards out with 1:57 left in the third quarter.

The Rams drove 69 yards on their next possession and cut the lead to three on Mike Lansford’s 31-yard field goal. The Rams’ defense, held together with sticks and glue by this point, stopped the Giants on three downs and handed the ball back to the offense.

From their 20, the Rams consumed 6:31 on a 75-yard drive that broke down at the Giants’ five on an ill-advised Everett pass in the Giants end zone that was nearly intercepted by Perry Williams.

Lansford’s 22-yarder tied the score with 3:01 left. The Rams got the ball back at their 20 with 47 seconds left in regulation, but had already burned two of their three timeouts, so it wasn’t much of a shock when time expired with Everett skidding into Giant territory on a scramble.

In overtime, the Rams took possession at their 23. From there, Everett passed quickly to Holohan for 12 yards; then, two plays later, found Ellard for 13 more.

At the Rams’ 48, Everett went deep to Anderson, who was covered closely by corner Sheldon White. Side judge Bernie Kukar called White for interference, White protesting that Anderson never had a chance for the pass, which was overthrown.

“The defensive man did not play the ball,” Kukar said in a written statement. “He played the man. The ball was still in the air, he wrapped the receiver while the ball was still catchable.”

Catchable was the operative word here. Anderson said he touched the ball with his hand.

“The only . . . man who could have made that catch was Superman,” said White as he stormed out of the locker room.

Everett said White must have missed Anderson’s act against New Orleans earlier this season.

“I’m not saying Flipper has an ‘S’ on his chest,” Everett said. “But he does wear a cape when he gets crazy. I think he could have caught the ball.”

The 27-yard penalty pushed the Rams to the Giants’ 25, well within Lansford’s range. That was the plan until Slater was called for illegal procedure on first down, knocking the Rams back to the 30.

Robinson said: “We were going to try to run it inside the 20, put the ball on the left hash mark, and kick it.”

Robinson’s thinking changed with the ball on the 30. He didn’t like Lansford’s chances from 47 yards, so he looked to the heavens toward offensive coordinator Ernie Zampese, who calls all passing plays from the press box.

Robinson, so long cloaked in conservatism, wanted to go for it.

Zampese never met a passing play he didn’t like, so he sent down “844.” Not very romantic-sounding, but the Rams weren’t playing for NFL films. Using hand signals, receivers coach Norvall Turner relayed “844” to Everett in the huddle.

The huddle approved. Pankey raised his eyebrows.

“I liked it,” he said. “Hell, go for it. You’ve got to make the move.”

Everett says he simply does what he’s told.

“They call it and I run it,” he said. “I’m not a machine or anything, but I felt good about the call. I said, ‘Let’s do the automatic touchdown audible,’ and it worked.”

Anderson is supposed to run a post-pattern on “844” unless his defender, cornerback Mark Collins in this case, plays man to man. In that case, Anderson “fades” to the end zone.

The Giants showed blitz, and Anderson streaked toward destiny.

Anderson was so fast that Everett didn’t have time to congratulate him on the field.

“But we piled on him in here,” Everett said in the locker room. “Flipper is half pancake right now.”

Afterward, the Giants could not have been more perplexed. The Rams played into their hands and still slipped out of town with the game. The Giants kept the score down and controlled the ball on the ground, their blueprint for success.

Ottis Anderson, running on newly charged but still 32-year-old legs, finished with 120 yards rushing in 24 carries.

New York Coach Bill Parcells, playing a tight-vested game to near perfection, slipped up only once, as the first half drew to a close and his team holding a 6-0 lead.

Pinned at his own 10-yard line with less than two minutes remaining, Parcells might have let the clock expire had Dave Meggett not made a first down at the 20.

“They got seduced by the opportunity,” Robinson said later.

Instead of sitting on the lead, Parcells went to the air. Quarterback Phil Simms threw 15 yards to Meggett to the 35.

From there, though, Simms made a crucial mistake. His pass was tipped by cornerback Jerry Gray and intercepted by safety Michael Stewart, who returned it 29 yards to the Giants’ 20.

The Rams had 24 seconds to work with. They needed only seven of those. On first down, Everett threw 20 yards to Anderson for a quick score, taking the punch out of a half the Giants had dominated.

Next Sunday, the Rams will step up and face their divisional rivals in the rematch they’ve craved since December.

The 49ers are fresh off a mauling of the Minnesota Vikings. The Rams are tired to the bone after six cross-country plane trips to three victories in the past three weeks.

They say it won’t matter.

“They can’t want the game as bad as we do,” linebacker Kevin Greene said. “They can’t. They’ve been there before. We haven’t.”

Robinson inspired his team with the rematch dream minutes after the last loss to the 49ers. Next stop: The Stick.

“You can’t ask for anything more,” Robinson said. “If you beat them, you go to the Super Bowl. What better place can you be in the world?”

Ram Notes

The Rams took another beating on defense, losing safety Vince Newsome to a sprained ankle and reserve corner Darryl Henley to a shoulder injury. Their availability for next week is in doubt.

Jim Everett completed 25 of 44 passes for 315 yards. Phil Simms was 14 of 29 for 180 yards with no touchdowns and one interception. . . . Tailback Greg Bell had another solid outing, gaining 87 yards in 19 carries, a 4.6 per-carry average. . . . Henry Ellard led all receivers with eight catches for 125 yards. . . . Flipper Anderson had two receptions, both for touchdowns.