Rams Turn Testaverde Into an NFL Legend
Quarterback Vinny Testaverde, for one day the reincarnation of Otto Graham, broke a 19-year-old NFL passing mark to propel the Cleveland Browns to a 42-14 victory over the Rams.
Sunday’s game drew 34,155 to Anaheim Stadium, the smallest crowd to witness a non-strike Ram home game since Sept. 21, 1963, when 29,295 went to the Coliseum to watch the Redskins win, 37-14. The Rams’ and Steelers’ replacement teams played before 20,218 in Anaheim Stadium during the 1987 NFL strike.
Testaverde, who threw for more interceptions than touchdowns in each of the last six years, completed 21 of 23 passes for 216 yards, including two touchdown passes to wide receiver Keenan McCardell.
Testaverde’s completion percentage, 91.3, bested Ken Anderson’s 20-for-22 performance (90.91%) for Cincinnati against Pittsburgh on Nov. 10, 1974.
“Pathetic,” Ram linebacker Shane Conlan said. “It’s upsetting.”
Testaverde, who has a lifetime completion percentage of 52.2, left the game in the fourth quarter with the Browns (7-8) leading, 35-7. He completed his final 13 passes against the Rams’ defense, which entered the game last in the NFL against the pass.
“It was so simple,” said Anthony Newman, Ram safety. “It was just throw and catch.”
The Rams (4-11) opened the game with Jerome Bettis’ one-yard touchdown run for a 7-0 lead, but Cleveland then scored 42 points before Flipper Anderson caught a 23-yard touchdown pass from T.J. Rubley with 1:37 to play.
The 42 points by the Browns were the most against the Rams since Phoenix’s 45-27 victory at Anaheim on Oct. 2, 1988.
“Everything that could go wrong did go wrong,” Anderson said. “We looked like the Bad News Bears.”
Bettis, who began the day as the NFL’s leading rusher, now trails Dallas’ Emmitt Smith by 35 yards after gaining 56 yards in 16 rushes for a total of 1,283 yards. Bettis, who lost 31 yards because of two holding calls, saw a streak of four 100-yard consecutive games end.
“They came into the game knowing they weren’t going to be beaten by the run,” said Bettis, who had only six carries in the second half. “We also didn’t get our hands on the ball much, and that hurt.”
The Rams had possession only three times in the first half. Bettis had averaged 6.8 yards in the previous four games, but the Browns limited him to 2.7 yards per rush in the first half.
“We just aren’t playing with any consistency,” said Irv Eatman, Ram tackle. “We would like to get the rushing title for Bettis, but whether he wins it or not, we’re still a 4-11 team. We made a good football team look like world-beaters today.
“There is no reason why we should go out and lose to Cincinnati and to Cleveland after beating New Orleans at their place.”
In hindsight the victory over the Saints might ultimately cost the Rams the first pick in the 1994 draft and an opportunity to improve in a hurry. The Rams are tied with Washington, Indianapolis and New England--one game in back of Cincinnati (3-12)--and based on strength of schedule would select fourth if the season were over.
The Rams conclude play at home next week against Chicago, and it might be quarterback T.J. Rubley’s final opportunity to impress the brass and keep the team from expending its top pick in the draft on a quarterback.
Rubley completed 24 of 32 passes for 294 yards, his finest performance to date as a starter, but he also had two passes intercepted.
“We’re just going to have to try and stay the course and weather the storm,” Rubley said. “That’s as well as we have played in the passing game and we jelled a little bit today. The interceptions kill you, but I think there was some definite progress today.”
Rubley took the Rams 81 yards in 11 plays to open the game and handed the ball to Bettis for the final yard and a 7-0 lead. The Browns replied with a one-yard touchdown run, Tommy Vardell capping a 14-play, 79-yard drive.
After the Rams punted, Testaverde took his time and carved up the Ram secondary. He completed four of five passes for 50 yards, took the Browns 80 yards in 10 plays and found a wide open McCardell in the rear of the end zone with an eight-yard pass.
The Rams tried to rally before the half and moved to the Browns’ 13-yard line with 14 seconds to play. After an incomplete Rubley pass to tight end Pat Carter in the end zone on second down with seven seconds remaining, Tony Zendejas tried a 30-yard field goal.
Zendejas, however, slipped as he planted his left foot for the kick and his attempt went low and wide left.
“At halftime we thought we still had a good chance to win,” said Roman Phifer, Ram linebacker. “But we came out with not a whole lot of intensity. We just weren’t up. . . . I don’t know why.”
The Browns went ahead by 21-7 on their first possession in the third quarter when McCardell, who was playing for an injured Michael Jackson, beat Steve Israel’s man-to-man coverage for a 28-yard touchdown catch.
“He baited me into thinking it was a run,” Israel said. “It was an excellent pattern.”
The Rams advanced to the Browns’ 39-yard line moments later, but on first and 10, Rubley overthrew tight end Troy Drayton and Eric Turner, former UCLA defensive back, was there for the interception.
In the fourth quarter, wide receiver Mark Carrier, who was subbing for a shaken Eric Metcalf, returned a Sean Landeta punt 56 yards for a Brown touchdown.
A Randy Hilliard interception on a Rubley pass intended for Henry Ellard quickly gave the Browns another scoring opportunity at the Rams’ 11-yard line, and two plays later Vardell went in from the one for a 35-7 lead.
On the ensuing kickoff, Ram rookie Deral Boykin dropped the ball and then failed to fall on it before Cleveland defensive back Selwyn Jones recovered at the Rams’ eight-yard line. Running back Kevin Mack ran four consecutive times, the last covering one yard for the touchdown.
“We let the game get away from us,” Ram Coach Chuck Knox said. “We had two critical turnovers--two interceptions--and one fumble on a kickoff return. That’s three turnovers all together, and we got none from them. We’re not a good enough football team to be able to overcome that.”
Ram Notes
When the Rams’ Jerome Bettis trudged to midfield for the postgame handshake, he was greeted by former Brown star Jim Brown. Brown on Bettis: “I love him. I really wanted to see him play in person, and I came away thinking he is a hell of a runner. He’s fast and can cut. His ability to cut like that is going to make him successful in this league for a long, long time.”
Did Brown have any advice for the Bettis?
“He just told me to keep my head above water,” Bettis said. “He just wanted to let me know that he was out there and saw the things I was doing. It was definitely an honor for him to say that he liked the way I ran. I’m just in awe of him coming over to me.”
Times staff writer Mike Reilly contributed to this story.
Empty Seats
The crowd of 34,155 that watched the Rams’ 42-14 loss to Cleveland Sunday at Anaheim Stadium is the smallest home crowd of the season. A look at the Rams’ home attendance, game-by-game:
OPPONENT ATT. Pittsburgh 50,588 New Orleans 50,709 Detroit 43,850 Atlanta 37,073 Washington 45,546 San Francisco 62,143 Cleveland 34,155 7-Game Average 46,295