Pass Seems to Hang at the Turning Point

Flipper Anderson saw a touchdown. Jackie Slater saw a touchdown. So did Irv Pankey, Jim Everett, Henry Ellard and nearly everyone in Candlestick Park.

Greg Bell saw Ronnie Lott.

Lott darted across the field and reached Anderson, the big-play receiver of the Rams, at the same time the ball did.

The result was a simple incompletion.

And possibly the turning point of a game during which the Rams were a split second from a 10-0 lead. Instead, they finished on the short end of a 30-3 NFC Championship game against the 49ers.

“That was the play of the game,” Ram Coach John Robinson said. “A lot of people might think it would have been 30-10, but I think we would have been a lot closer.

“We got off to a good start and that would have given us a 10-point lead in the first quarter.”

The play was a fake reverse to wide receiver Ron Brown. Everett dropped back from the 49er 40-yard line, faked to Brown and saw Anderson down the right sideline.

Alone.

“I just wish I would have had a little more zip on the ball,” Everett said. “I thought we had a touchdown.”

Anderson said he thought the ball hung in the air. “Of course, receivers always think the ball stays in the air too long,” he said.

It was in the air just long enough for Lott. “I didn’t know if I could get there on time because it was pretty wide,” the all-pro safety said. “But then I saw the trajectory and I knew I could get there. If he would have overthrown it or if he (Anderson) would have kept running, I don’t think I could have made the play.”

Everett missed his next pass, the Rams punted and the 49ers began a 13-play, 89-yard touchdown drive that gave them a lead they would not relinquish.

“I thought it was a touchdown,” Ellard said. “I don’t know if it really hurt us by not scoring then, but it changed things.”

Offensive tackle Slater also thought he was watching a touchdown. “It was almost there,” Slater said. “But give credit to Ronnie Lott. He read it and he got there.”

Running back Bell, however, said he looked up when the pass was thrown, “and I saw where the ball was and I saw where Ronnie was. When I saw Flipper slow down, I saw Ronnie come running over. I knew it was either going to be a great catch or a great defensive play. It turned out their way. After that, they just outplayed us.”

Everett had completed five of his seven passes to that point. He finished the half completing 10 of 20 with two interceptions. He threw another interception in the second half and completed only 16 of 36 passes for 141 yards.

“We didn’t execute well and they did,” Everett said. “You have to put it in the air and get after it, and we didn’t do that.”

Pankey was quick to come to Everett’s defense. “They came with a real good pass rush all game,” he said. “People were in Jim’s face. They just had a real good defensive scheme. They got it done and we didn’t. They belong in the Super Bowl. They beat a real good team today in a dominating fashion.”

Ellard and Anderson, each of whom gained more than 1,000 yards during the regular season, caught only three passes between them for 32 yards. “It was a combination of good coverage and a good defensive line today,” Anderson said.

Ellard said a key to the Ram passing attack is timing routes. “They just disrupted things today. But it has been a great year for us. We were on a roller coaster a little early and we worked out of it. We had to make things happen. We had to go back east and beat teams nobody thought we could. We made things happen. Until today.”

Bell said it was more than that one play that doomed the Rams. “The most important thing to do to this team (49ers) if you are going to win,” he said, “is to do to them what they did to us. Keep the ball away from them.