RAMS ’90 : 1989 IN REVIEW

WEEK 1

Rams 31, Atlanta Falcons 21

Jim Everett’s first-half-ending 46-yard “Hail Mary” touchdown pass to Henry Ellard gave the Rams a 17-14 lead in Atlanta. Everett, who completed 14 of 25 passes for 206 yards, and Greg Bell, who ran for 128 yards, both ran for second-half touchdowns. Ellard caught five passes for 99 yards and tight end Pete Holohan had five catches for 76. The defense, led by linebacker Kevin Greene’s two sacks, sacked Falcon quarterback Chris Miller five times for a loss of 28 yards. And the Falcons managed just 46 yards rushing.

WEEK 2

Rams 31, Indianapolis Colts 17

Jim Everett combined with Henry Ellard for three touchdown passes, overshadowing Eric Dickerson’s return to Anaheim. Ellard had a career-high 12 receptions for 230 yards and Everett completed 28 of 35 passes for 368 yards. At one point, Everett completed 14 consecutive passes, a team record. Dickerson carried the ball 21 times and gained 116 yards, but he scored only once as the Ram defense shut out the Colts in the second half.

WEEK 3

Rams 41, Green Bay Pakcers 38

Greg Bell, left, rambled for a career-high 221 yards on 28 carries in Anaheim, but the Rams almost let this one get away. After building a 38-7 halftime lead with the help of four Packer turnovers, Green Bay quarterback Don Majkowski, who threw for 335 yards, engineered four consecutive scoring drives that cut the Rams’ lead to seven. The Packers were on the verge of tying the game when linebacker Frank Stams forced running back Brent Fullwood to fumble on the goal line and defensive end Doug Reed recovered.

WEEK 4

Rams 13, San Francisco 49ers 12

Mike Lansford’s 26-yard field goal with two seconds left to play lifted the Rams to a come-from-behind victory in San Francisco. The 49ers led, 12-10, when fullback Tom Rathman fumbled deep in Rams’ territory and Kevin Greene recovered. Jim Everett then orchestrated a nine-play, 72-yard drive that took most of the last three minutes of the game and set up Lansford’s game-winning kick. Everett completed five passes during the drive, including two to tight end Pete Holohan for 31 and 16 yards. Mike Cofer’s four field goals accounted for all the 49er scoring.

WEEK 5

Rams 26,

Atlanta Falcons 14

Mike Lansford kicked four field goals and Jim Everett threw two touchdown passes as the Rams completed a season sweep of the Falcons in Anaheim. The Rams scored on their first four possessions and led, 20-7, at the half. The Rams’ defense put together two goal-line stands to thwart a Falcon comeback. Kevin Greene again sacked Chris Miller twice. Henry Ellard caught eight passes for 165 yards and Ron Brown’s 76-yard kickoff return set up Lansford’s third field goal.

WEEK 6

Buffalo Bills 23,

Rams 20

It appeared as if the Rams had picked up their sixth consecutive victory when Jim Everett hooked up with Flipper Anderson for a 78-yard scoring play with less than two minutes remaining in the game at Orchard Park, N.Y. But, with 1:17 remaining left to play, Bills’ quarterback Frank Reich connected on seven passes in a row on a 64-yard drive that was culminated by an 8-yard touchdown pass to Andre Reed that sent the Rams to their first defeat of the season.

WEEK 7

New Orleans Saints 40,

Rams 21

The Saints opened up a 10-0 lead and then outscored the Rams, 23-0, in a stretch of the second and third quarters en route to a rout in Anaheim. Saints’ quarterback Bobby Hebert completed only 15 of 22 passes and threw one interception, but he also threw three touchdown passes. Dalton Hilliard rushed for 87 yards and two touchdowns and also scored on a 20-yard pass reception. Jim Everett was intercepted twice and threw three touchdown passes, two to tight end Damone Johnson.

WEEK 8

Chicago Bears 20,

Rams 10

In a game dominated by defense, the Bears were able to pull ahead in the second half and hold off the Rams in Chicago. Mike Lansford’s 45-yard field goal midway through the second quarter opened the scoring and the teams were tied, 3-3, at the half. A 24-yard pass interference penalty called on Anthony Newman led to the first touchdown of the day, a 1-yard run by Chicago’s Brad Muster. The Bears took a 17-3 lead with 11:11 to play on a 1-yard quarterback sneak by Jim Harbaugh. Jim Everett completed just 13 of 35 passes and was intercepted twice.

WEEK 9

Minnesota Vikings 23, Rams 21

Viking linebacker Mike Merriweather, above, streaked into the Ram backfield and blocked a Dale Hatcher punt, the ball went through the end zone and the first-ever overtime NFL game was decided by an safety in Minneapolis. Viking Rich Karlis kicked seven field goals to tie a league record. The seventh, a 40-yarder with 12 seconds remaining in regulation, sent the game into overtime after the Rams had rallied from an 18-7 deficit. The Rams took the lead on a 1-yard run by Greg Bell. Henry Ellard caught four passes for 82 yards, including a fourth-down, 6-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.

WEEK 10

Rams 31, New York Giants 10

The Rams snapped their four-game losing streak in grand fashion as Jim Everett threw for two touchdowns and Greg Bell ran for two more in Anaheim. The Rams led, 10-0, after one quarter and 24-3 at halftime. On their first possession of the second half, the Rams drove 76 yards on 11 plays with Bell scoring on a 2-yard run to boost their lead to 31-3. Bell (14 carries for 42 yards), Cleveland Gary (8 for 45 yards), Robert Delpino (11 for 34) and Buford McGee (5 for 17) shared the rushing duties. Eight different Rams caught passes.

WEEK 11

Rams 37, Phoenix Cardinals 14

Things went bad quickly for Phoenix in Anaheim as Michael Stewart intercepted a Gary Hogeboom pass and returned it 41 yards for a touchdown with just 1:41 expired in the game. Then they got worse. The Rams took a 24-0 halftime lead and the Cardinals’ first score--a 77-yard pass from Tom Tupa to Don Holmes--didn’t come until less than five minutes remained in the third quarter. Jerry Gray had two interceptions for the Rams, Henry Ellard caught five passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns, and Mike Lansford kicked three field goals.

WEEK 12

Rams 20, New Orleans Saints 17

Mike Lansford’s 31-yard field goal 6:38 into overtime gave the Rams a come-from-behind overtime victory in New Orleans. The Rams trailed, 17-3, in the fourth quarter, but rallied to score a pair of touchdowns in the final 2:46 of regulation. Buford McGee culminated a 61-yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown run to cut the Saints’ lead to 17-10. Jim Everett’s 15-yard pass to Flipper Anderson tied the score, 17-17. Lansford missed a 51-yard field goal attempt as time ran out in regulation. Anderson, who had 15 receptions for an NFL single-game record of 336 yards, caught No. 15 for 26 yards to set up the game-winner by Lansford, above, who celebrated with Pete Holohan.

WEEK 13

Rams 35,

Dallas Cowboys 31

The Cowboys fumbled on their first two possessions in Irving, Tex., the Rams recovered both and took a 14-0 lead. But Dallas rebounded to cut the deficit to 14-10 at the half. The Cowboys, scoring on three Troy Aikman touchdown passes in the second half, went ahead, 31-21, but Larry Kelm recovered another Dallas fumble and Jim Everett hooked up with Ron Brown for a 39-yard scoring play two plays later. The Rams took the lead with 1:50 left to play when Aaron Cox, right, caught a 23-yard touchdown pass from Everett. Dallas’ attempt to win the game stalled on the Ram 17 as time ran out.

WEEK 14

San Francisco 49ers 30,

Rams 27

The 49ers outscored the Rams, 20-3, in the final quarter to beat the Rams in Anaheim. The Rams built a 17-0 advantage, scoring on their first three possessions. Late in the second quarter, the Rams drove 76 yards to the 49er four-yard line and, on fourth-and-goal, Pete Holohan came up one yard short of the end zone on a fake field goal play. The 49ers’ John Taylor, right, twice turned short passes into long touchdowns--of 92 and 95 yards--and Joe Montana finished another brilliant performance in Anaheim Stadium completing 30 of 42 passes for 458 yards.

WEEK 15

Rams 38,

New York Jets 14

The Rams took advantage of three New York turnovers, converting each into a touchdown, on their way to a romp in Anaheim. Linebacker Brett Faryniarz led a defensive charge that sacked Jets’ quarterbacks Tony Eason and Ken O’Brien seven times. Faryniarz had three sacks, recovered two fumbles and caused one. Brian Smith had two sacks for the Rams. Greg Bell scored a pair of touchdowns as the Rams compiled 422 yards of total offense.

WEEK 16

Rams 24, New England Patriots 20

The Rams scored to take the lead with 1:55 remaining in the game and then managed a goal-line stand to hold off the Patriots on Christmas Eve in Foxboro, Mass. Greg Bell rushed for 210 yards on 26 carries and one touchdown. The Rams went ahead, 17-3, early in the third quarter, but New England came back to forge a 17-17 tie. Jason Staurovsky’s 48-yard field goal put the Patriots up, 20-17, but the Rams drove 80 yards, capped by 3-yard Bell touchdown with 1:55 left. Then the Rams survived three Grogan pass attempts from the Ram 4 in the last nine seconds.

NFC WILD-CARD PLAYOFF

Rams 21,

Philadelphia Eagles 7

The Ram defense kept the Eagles out of the end zone until the fourth quarter on New Year’s Eve in Philadelphia. And the offense struck quickly as Jim Everett threw two first-quarter touchdown passes. The Rams threatened to score twice more before the half, but were stopped by turnovers. The Rams rolled up 409 yards of total offense with Everett completing 18 of 33 passes for 281 yards and Greg Bell rushing for 124 yards on 27 carries. The Eagles didn’t get a first down in the first quarter and managed just 95 yards rushing. Kevin Greene had two sacks and Fred Strickland registered 11 tackles. Willie Anderson, left, and Aaron Cox, celebrated with a victory slap.

NFC PLAYOFF SEMIFINALS

Rams 19,

New York Giants 13

No Ram fan will forget Flipper Anderson’s sprint into the end zone on a 30-yard pass play in overtime . . . or his subsequent run into the tunnel at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. Trailing, 13-7, going into the fourth quarter, the Rams tied the game on a pair of Mike Lansford field goals. The Rams won the overtime coin toss and began a 77-yard drive that was aided by a play no Giant fan will forget, the 27-yard pass interference call on Sheldon White. Two Raul Allegre field goals gave the Giants a 6-0 first-quarter lead, but Jim Everett and Anderson, left, hooked up for a touchdown in the final seconds of the half. Henry Ellard finished with eight catches for 125 yards.

NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

San Francisco 49ers 30,

Rams 3

From the Rams’ standpoint, there was absolutely nothing charming about third meeting between these teams. The Rams managed just 156 total yards; the 49ers racked up 442. Jim Everett completed 44% of his passes and was intercepted twice; Joe Montana completed 87% of his passes and had none intercepted. The Rams rushed for 26 yards; the 49ers ran for 179. The Rams lost two fumbles; the 49ers lost none. The Rams did lead, 3-0, in the first quarter, but never advanced beyond the San Francisco 40-yard line again. The 49ers could have started packing for the Super Bowl after scoring touchdowns on all three of their second-quarter possessions.