RAMS 27, DENVER BRONCOS 21 : Rams Rewrite Elway’s Story Line

Ram cornerback Wymon Henderson didn’t think his former teammate, Denver quarterback John Elway, was picking on him in the final minutes Sunday.

But it sure looked that way.

Who could blame Elway for going right at Henderson on third- and fourth-down plays in the final two minutes of the Rams’ 27-21 victory Sunday at Anaheim Stadium? Just look at what they brought to the table.

Elway, the comeback quarterback, orchestrator of The Drive against Cleveland in the 1988 playoffs.

Henderson, cut by the Broncos last year, had the task of covering Pro Bowl tight end Shannon Sharpe. So was Wymon asking himself: Why me?

“Sharpe is a go-to guy all year for them, and they didn’t do anything any different,” Henderson said. “I don’t think they were trying to pick on me like that in any way.”

They were, but it didn’t work.

Henderson stopped Sharpe for a two-yard gain on third and eight, and was in on the fourth-down throw that Sharpe thought he caught, but was ruled a drop and trapped ball by the officials. A catch would have given the Broncos a first down at the Ram 38.

“The Lord just willed it that it was an incomplete pass,” Henderson said. “That’s just the way it went. I just thank God it was incomplete.”

Henderson sought divine intervention, but Sharpe thought he had a catch.

“I thought it was good,” Sharpe said. “The official was on top of the play, so he had the position to make a good call. He probably did, but I didn’t feel the ball hit the ground.”

Ram free safety Anthony Newman said Henderson made a “great play” on Sharpe’s third-down catch.

“I was sweating bullets but I knew we would come through,” Newman said. “They had scored twice on us and we said, ‘Enough is enough. We’re putting a stop to it.’

“We wanted to be in that situation because we knew Elway was the best. If we can stop him, we can stop anybody. We did that, and we grew up a little today and we’re winning the games we have to win. That’s what I’m always talking about--this team needs to grow up.”

Asked what he was thinking when he saw Elway trot on the field with about two minutes left, Ram wide receiver Flipper Anderson smiled and said: “You’re not going to do it today, Johnny. Not the way our defense was playing.”

The Rams entered the fourth quarter with a 24-6 lead and nearly left with a one-point loss. Elway began picking them apart on 82- and 80-yard drives. He found Glyn Milburn, who beat Henderson on the left side, for a 20-yard touchdown with 13:56 left, and then drilled a 12-yard pass between Newman and strong safety Marquez Pope for a touchdown.

“We were upset when they scored that second touchdown,” Pope said. “But the veterans on the team were like, ‘Look, we’re still winning. We shouldn’t be arguing or upset.’ ”

Pope thought it would have been a heck of a defensive effort to waste. The Rams’ pass rush forced Elway out of the pocket several times in the first half, and Jimmie Jones sacked him once in the second half for a five-yard loss.

Elway completed 24 of 45 passes for 241 yards and two touchdowns, but the Rams held him to 40 yards passing in the first half as they built a 17-3 halftime lead.

A 17-3 lead--the same halftime advantage the Rams blew four weeks ago at Green Bay.

“No visions of Green Bay today,” cornerback Todd Lyght said. “I don’t remember Green Bay or what they look like. We just want to win, and now.

“We just have to do our thing and we’ll win some ball games in the second half. If the offense plays the rest of the season the way they played today, there’s no telling, we might go 7-1.”

For now, the Rams have to settle for 4-5.

But, as Newman points out, they are 2-0 against two of the best quarterbacks in the game--Elway and Kansas City’s Joe Montana. Six weeks ago, the defense shut out Montana for the first time in his career.

“That’s what our defense is all about,” Newman said. “We like to be out there in the mix and take care of business.”