NFL Old School Game of the Week: Rams' Last-Second FG Denies Saints First Playoff Berth

Mike Lansford(1) jumps into the air after his 42-yard field goal sailed through the uprights to send the Rams to the 1983 NFL Playoffs.

For the first two decade of their existence, the New Orleans Saints were perhaps the most perennial loser in the NFL.
From 1967-1977, the team never won more than five games in a season and would hit rock bottom in 1980 when they went 1-15, gaining notoriety as the "Ain'ts".
Following the 1980 season, the Saints hired former Houston Oilers head coach Bum Phillips who in 1983 had the Saints on the cusp of not their first winning season, but also on the verge of their first playoff berth as they hosted the Los Angeles Rams on the final Sunday of the regular season.
The Saints entered the game with a 8-7 record thanks to an offense directed by former Raiders quarterback Ken Stabler and running back George Rogers, who rushed for over 1,000 yards during the '83 season.
The Saints also had a stingy defense which was the toughest to throw against in the NFL and allowed the second fewest total yards in the league that year.
The Saints hoped to ride Rogers, their defense and their fans as over 70,000 fans packed the Louisiana Superdome to see New Orleans to take on the 8-7 Rams.
The Rams were trying to return to the playoffs for the first time since 1980 under first year head coach John Robinson and rookie running back Eric Dickerson, who would set the NFL record for most rushing yards by a running back in their rookie season as he would finish with 1,808 yards and scored 18 touchdowns.
The Rams also had Vince Ferragamo at quarterback, who had led the Rams to the Super Bowl during the 1979 season.
Los Angeles appeared on the verge of a playoff berth as they stood with a 8-5 record before losing back-to-back games to the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots, where the team had scored a combined 16 points in both games.
While the Rams had the same 8-7 record as the Saints, the Rams would need help to get into the playoffs as they needed a win over the Saints and either a loss by the Green Bay Packers(which would give them the second Wild Card spot) or a loss by the San Francisco 49ers(which would give them the NFC West division title).
So essentially, the Rams-Saints game was a do-or-die game for both teams with the winner going to the playoffs and the loser left heartbroken.
 After forcing the Rams to punt on the opening possession of the game, the Saints would drive 80 yards in 11 plays as Stabler completed five of six passes for 64 yards on the drive which culminated with a 11-yard touchdown pass from the "Snake" to Jeff Groth to give New Orelans a 7-0 lead with 5:42 left in the first quarter.
The Rams would respond to the touchdown by driving to the Saints' eight-yard-line as Ferragamo connected with George Farmer on passes of 25 and 31 yards, only to have LA turn it over when Dickerson was hit by Saints free safety Frank Wattelet, forcing a fumble that was recovered by cornerback Dave Waymer at the Saints' five-yard-line.
But on the first play following the fumble, Stabler was sacked by Rams defensive end Jack Youngblood in the end zone for a safety to put the Rams on the board with two points as the score was now 7-2 with 3:18 left in the first quarter.
The rest of the first half turned into a defensive stalemate as neither team could mount a drive with the only points of the second quarter coming courtesy of the Rams special teams unit.
Saints punter Russell Erxelben, hampered by a pulled groin muscle that he suffered during warmups, kicked a low line drive punt that only went 38 yards that was caught by Rams returner Henry Ellard at his 28-yard-line.
With his six blockers in front of him, Ellard was able to run down the left sideline basically untouched a 72-yard touchdown to give the Rams a 9-7 lead with 1:39 left in the first half.
Erxelben would leave the game after Ellard's touchdown and not return, but it would not be the last significant injury for the Saints as the Rams took their 9-7 lead into the locker room as the first half came to a close.
The Saints got the ball to start the second half, but on the third play of the drive, Stabler was pressured by Youngblood and fellow linebacker Jim Collins, lofting a pass intended for Groth that was picked off by free safety Johnnie Johnson, who returned the interception for a 31-yard touchdown to increase the Rams' lead to 16-7 just 91 seconds into the second half.
To add injury into insult, Stabler was knocked out of the game as Youngblood fell on the "Snake"'s right leg, spraining his knee.
Stabler would be replaced by Dave Wilson, who had started two games earlier in the season, going 1-1.

Saints quarterback Ken Stabler sits on the bench with a ice pack on his right knee after being knocked out of the game on the third play of the second half.

Following an exchange of punts, Wilson would lead the Saints on a seven-play, 44-yard drive that ended with Wilson sneaking in for a one-yard touchdown to cut LA's lead to 16-14 with 3:58 left in the third quarter.
The Rams tried to respond on their next possession, only to have Dickerson fumble the football for the second time in the game, following a hit by strong safety Russell Gary, that was recovered by Wattelet at the LA 45-yard-line.
That is when the Saints decided to ride Rogers as he carried the ball eight straight times for 42 yards to set up Morten Andersen's 20-yard field goal to give New Orleans a 17-16 lead with 12:43 left in the fourth quarter.
The Saints defense had the Rams offense stifled as they forced another LA punt on the Rams' ensuing possession only to have disaster struck for New Orleans when Wilson was picked off by strong safety Nolan Cromwell on a pass intended for Eugene Goodlow and returned it 43 yards for a touchdown, the third non-offensive touchdown of the game by the Rams, to give LA a 23-17 lead with 10:10 to go in the game.
The Rams would force the Saints to punt on their ensuing possession to get the ball back, only to turn it over again when Ferragamo overthrew a pass intended for tight end Mike Barber, which ended up in the hands of New Orelans defensive back Greg Stemrick, who returned it 26 yards before he went out of bounds at the LA 44-yard-line, when he was hit after the whistle by Rams left tackle Bill Bain, drawing a 15-yard penalty that put the Saints offense at the Rams' 29-yard-line with 8:14 remaining.
The Saints used up as much of the clock as possible while driving to the Rams' goal line as they were faced with a 3rd & goal from the two-yard-line.
That is when Wilson handed the ball off to Rogers, who lost the football before he crossed the goal line, only to have guard Steve Korte recover the fumble in the end zone for the game-tying touchdown.
Andersen come on to kick the go-ahead extra point to give the Saints a 24-23 lead with 3:47 left in the game.
The Rams got the ball at their 20-yard-line as they look to put together a drive to get into field goal range, but after two incomplete passes and a 10-yard-loss on a sack by Saints linebacker Whitney Paul, the Rams punted the ball back to the Saints as Groth return the punt to the New Orelans 46-yard-line, only to have Otis Grant hit Groth late, drawing a 15-yard penalty to put the Saints at the LA 39-yard-line with 2:48 to play.
All the Saints needed was a 1st down to secure their first ever winning season and playoff berth, but the Saints were unable to pick up the 1st down, even with an offsides penalty on the Rams, as New Orleans picked up only two yards on three straight running plays.

George Rogers(38) would finish the day with 124 yards on 32 carries.

This left Phillips with an interesting decision as the Saints faced 4th & 3 at the Rams' 32-yard-line as the two-minute warning hit.
The seemingly logical decision was to call on Andersen and attempt a 49-yard field goal to increase the New Orleans lead to 27-23 and force the Rams to drive for a touchdown.
But it looked Phillips was going to gamble and go for the 1st down as Wilson lined up behind the center following the two-minute warning, only to take a delay of game penalty pushing the Saints five yards back when Phillips sent in the punting unit.
Guido Merkens, taking over for the injured Erxelben, was unable to kick a coffin corner punt as his punt went into the end zone for a touchback, giving the Rams the ball at their 20-yard-line with 1:51 left and one timeout left.
Phillips' decision to punt was predicated on the fact that the Rams had not scored a touchdown on offense the entire game, Dickerson had been held to 80 yards, and Ferragamo had not completed a pass in the second half.
Phillips was putting the game and the season in his defense's hands, hoping for one more stop which would send New Orleans to the playoffs.
The drive began with Ferragamo's first completion of the second half as hit fullback Mike Guman for six yards, then hit Guman again for seven yards and a 1st down at the LA 33-yard-line.
Ferragamo would connect with Guman for the third straight time as the fullback picked up 14 yards and another 1st down at the Rams' 47-yard-line.
The Rams then got into Saints territory on the next play as Ferragamo found Barber for 11 yards, giving LA a 1st down at the New Orleans 42-yard-line as the Rams spend called timeout with 51 seconds left.
However, the timeout seemed to stop the Rams' momentum as Ferragamo would throw an incomplete pass on 1st & 10, which became 1st & 25 when Farmer was called for a 15-yard penalty pushing the Rams back to their 43-yard-line.
Ferragamo would almost be intercepted by Waymer on the next play, setting up a 2nd & 25 with 30 seconds to go.
That is when Ferragamo found Preston Dennard on a post pattern for 26 yards that not gave the Rams a 1st down at the Saints' 31-yard-line, but also put them in field goal range.
Ferragamo and the Rams' offense ran up to the line, presumably to spike the ball, only to have Ferragamo fire a quick pass to Dennard, who picked up six yards before going out of bounds at the New Orleans 25-yard-line with six seconds left.
Robinson sent the field goal team out as kicker Mike Lansford would come on to attempt a 42-yard field goal that if successful would send the  Rams to the playoffs.
The snap from center Doug Smith was a little high but the holder, Cromwell, was able to catch and get a hold for Lansford to kick it.
The kick hooks from right to left but is able to sneak past the left upright and good to give the Rams a 26-24 win,  denying the Saints their first winning season in their 17-year team history and sending the Rams to the playoffs as the Packers lost to the Bears 23-21.
Los Angeles would enter the playoffs as a Wild Card and would travel to Dallas to take on the 12-4 Cowboys where Ferragamo threw three touchdown passes and Dickerson ran for 99 yards as LA knocked off the Cowboys 24-17 to move onto the Divisional Playoffs where they would be destroyed by the Washington Redskins 51-7.

Rams quarterback Vince Ferragamo would complete six of seven passes for 55 yards on LA's final drive.

However, the 1983 playoff berth would be the first of four straight postseason appearances and six in seven years, which included two trips to the NFC Championship Game, under head coach Robinson.
As for the Saints, the 1983 season would not be the only season in Phillips' tenure that would end in heartbreaking fashion as in 1984, New Orleans was on the cusp of a winning season, only to lose their final three games to finish 7-9.
Phillips would resign the following season after the Saints finished with a 5-11 record.
This would lead to the hiring of Jim Mora as head coach, who in 1987, lead the Saints to not only their first ever winning season, but their first ever playoff berth as they finished with a 12-3 record.
Since then, the Saints have added 13 winning seasons, been to the playoffs 11 times, and won a Super Bowl in 2010.