NFL Old School Game of the Week: Flipper's Walk-off OT TD Gives Rams Playoff Win over Giants

Rams wide receiver Flipper Anderson makes the game-winning touchdown catch in overtime of the Rams' 1989 NFC Divisional Playoff against the Giants.

 1989 was a magical season for Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Willie "Flipper" Anderson as he caught 44 passes for 1,146 yards during the season, broke the NFL record for most receiving yards in one game as he gained 336 yards on 15 catches in the Rams' 20-17 overtime win over the New Orleans Saints in Week 12(To read about that game, click on the link which is highlighted below: https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2018/10/nfl-old-school-game-of-week-flipper.html), then became a playoff hero in the Divisional Round against the New York Giants.

The Rams finished the 1989 regular season with a 11-5 record, good enough to earn them the second Wild Card spot in the NFC playoffs, marking the sixth time in seven years the Rams had made the playoffs under head coach John Robinson.

The Rams had transformed from a run-dominated team to a pass-happy offense under quarterback Jim Everett, who threw for 4,310 yards and a league high 29 touchdowns during the regular season, with the help of Anderson and fellow wide receiver Henry Ellard, who also finished with over 1,000 receiving yards as he caught 70 passes for 1,382 yards during the 1989 season.

But it was the running game that got the Rams into the Divisional Round as running back Greg Bell carried the ball 27 times for 124 yards and scored one touchdown in LA's 21-7 win over the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Wild Card Game to earn a trip to the Meadowlands to take on the New York Giants.

The Giants entered their game with the Rams as the #2 seed in the NFC with a 12-4 record, which earned them the NFC East division title and a return to the playoffs for the first time since they won Super Bowl XXI at the end of the 1986 season.

The Giants were led by head coach Bill Parcells, who was making his fourth appearance in the NFL playoffs since becoming the head coach of the Giants in 1983.

On the field, quarterback Phil Simms led the offense which was built primarily on the run as Ottis Anderson, who four seasons where he ran for just 1,086 yards, had his first 1,000 yard rushing season since 1984 as he ran for 1,023 yards and scored 14 touchdowns in a renaissance season after rushing for over 1,000 yards in five of his first six seasons with the then St. Louis Cardinals.

The Giants also had a ferocious defense led by all-Pro linebacker Lawrence Taylor, who finished with 15 quarterback sacks after the regular season.

So that the stage was the set for the NFC Divisional Playoff where the winner would earn a trip to the NFC Championship Game to take on the defending Super Bowl  San Francisco 49ers at Candlestick Park.

The Giants got the ball to start the game where it took them only one play to drive into LA territory as Simms connected with Stephen Baker on a 27-yard pass to give New York a 1st down at the Rams' 48-yard-line.

Then Anderson would get his hands on the ball on the next four plays as he ran for 27 yards on three carries and caught a six-yard pass to push the Giants to the Rams' 15-yard-line where the drive would stall as Anderson was dropped for a three-yard loss on 2nd & 5 which was followed by an incomplete pass on 3rd down.

Raul Allegre came on and kicked a 35-yard field goal to give the Giants a 3-0 lead with 10:27 left in the opening quarter.

The Rams would get great field position for their opening possession of the game as Ron Brown returned the ensuing kickoff 38 yards to the LA 46-yard-line as the Rams would drive to the Giants' six-yard-line thanks to the running of Bell, who carried the ball four times for 27 yards while Everett completed passes of nine yards to Buford McGee and 12 yards to Henry Ellard.

But at the six-yard-line, Lawrence Taylor would make his presence felt as he not only sacked Everett on 3rd & 5, but knocked the ball loose leading to a fumble that was recovered by fellow Giants linebacker Gary Reasons at the 11-yard-line, killing the Rams' drive.

Anderson would get the call on the next three plays from scrimmage as he ran for 28 yards on three straight carries to lead the Giants to their 39-yard-line where after two straight incomplete passes, Simms connected with running back Dave Meggett for 16 yards to give New York a 1st down at the Rams' 45-yard-line.

A five-yard run by Anderson followed by a 13-yard scramble by Simms gave the Giants another 1st down at the LA 27-yard-line where the Rams' defense stiffened again and only permitted three more yards on the next plays, forcing New York to settle for a 41-yard field goal by Allegre which increased the Giants' lead to 6-0 with 55 seconds left in the first quarter.

Giants running back Ottis Anderson carried the ball 24 times for 120 yards and scored one touchdown.

Following Allegre's second field goal, the defenses would take over as both teams traded punts until 1:45 left in the first half when the Giants got the ball at their nine-yard-line and looked to put together a drive that could result in another field goal before the halftime break.

The Giants drove to their 35-yard-line until Simms threw a pass that was deflected by Rams cornerback Jerry Gray and landed in the hands of strong safety Michael Stewart, who returned the interception 29 yards to the Giants' 20-yard-line with 24 seconds left, giving the Rams just enough time to take a shot at the end zone.

On the very next play, Everett fired a 20-yard touchdown pass to Anderson that with the extra point gave Los Angeles a 7-6 lead with 17 seconds left in the first half.

Simms would take a knee to end the first half as the Giants, controlling the game for much of the first half, were down 7-6 at halftime.

The Rams got the ball to start the second half as they began their first possession of the half at their 29-yard-line where Everett would connect with Ellard for five yards to start the drive, then hit Ellard for 27 yards on the next play to give LA a 1st down at the Giants' 39-yard-line.

That is when Everett took a shot at the end zone as he threw a pass intended for Anderson, only to have it intercepted by Giants cornerback Mark Collins who stayed in the end zone for a touchback to give the Giants the ball at their 20-yard-line.

After an exchange of punts, the Giants got the ball back at their 18-yard-line when they put together their best drive since the first quarter.

The drive began with three straight runs by Anderson that picked up 19 yards before Simms threw an incomplete pass to set up 3rd & 1 where fullback Maurice Carthon got the ball and ran for three yards and the 1st down.

After an holding penalty on the Rams' Stewart gave the Giants a 1st down at their 49-yard-line, Simms would complete three of his next four passes, hitting Meggett for 11 yards to push the Giants to the Rams' 40-yard-line, then hitting Carthon for eight yards, and then finally connecting with tight end Zeke Mowatt for 23 yards to give New York 1st & goal at the LA nine-yard-line.

From there, Anderson would get the call on three straight carries picking up six, then one, and finally running it in for a two-yard touchdown to cap off the 12-play, 82-yard drive which took six and a half minutes off the clock, but more importantly gave the Giants a 13-7 lead with 1:57 left in the third quarter.

The Rams would begin their next drive at their 17-yard-line where after an incomplete pass on 1st down and a five-yard pass to Damone Johnson on 2nd down, Everett connected with Ellard for 23 yards and a 1st down at the LA 45-yard-line, which was followed by a seven-yard run by Bell to push the Rams into Giants territory as the third quarter came to an end.

Bell would get the ball to start the 4th quarter as he ran for 18 yards, which was followed by a 16-yard pass from Everett to Ellard to give the Rams a 1st down at the Giants' 14-yard-line.

However, the Giants' defense would hold and force the Rams to settle for a 31-yard field goal by Mike Lansford which cut the New York lead in half to 13-10 with 12:51 remaining in the 4th quarter.

Rams wide receiver Henry Ellard finished with eight catches for 125 yards.

Following an Giants punt, the Rams got the ball back at their 20-yard-line with 9:32 left in the 4th quarter and a chance to at least tie the game.

Everett would come out firing to start the drive as he completed back-to-back passes of five yards each, first to Bell and then to Johnson, to pick up a LA 1st down when Bell was dropped for a three-yard-loss to set up 2nd & 13.

That is when Everett went to Ron Brown, who made a 10-yard catch on 2nd down, then a 11-yard catch on 3rd & 3 to give the Rams a 1st down at their 48-yard-line.

Everett would then connect with Pete Holohan for eight yards, then with Johnson for five yards to give the Rams a 1st down at the Giants' 39-yard-line.

From there, the Rams would go to the running game as McGee ran for 14 yards and another 1st down which was followed by a 13-yard scramble by Everett for a 1st down at the New York 12-yard-line.

Bell carried the ball on the next two plays, gaining seven yards to set up 3rd & 3 at the Giants' five-yard-line when disaster nearly struck as Giants cornerback Perry Williams nearly picked off Everett's pass intended for Anderson only to have be incomplete.

Lansford would come and kick a 22-yard field goal to tie the game at 13 with 3:01 left in regulation.

The Giants would get the ball at their 31-yard-line with hopes of driving down the field and getting the winning score before the end of regulation only to have the drive began with a quarterback sack by Rams linebacker Fred Strickland to drop Simms for an eight-yard-loss.

Following an incomplete pass, Simms would connect with Lionel Manuel for 24 yards and a 1st down at the New York 47-yard-line where two incomplete passes and a pass to Anderson that went for no yards forced the Giants to punt the ball back to the Rams, who took over at their 20-yard-line with 47 seconds left and only one timeout.

A six-yard run by McGee followed by an eight-yard pass to Holohan gave the Rams a 1st down at their 34-yard-line as Everett called timeout with 20 seconds to go.

McGee would get the ball again, running for 14 yards before stepping out of bounds at the LA 48-yard-line, setting the Rams up with a shot to take a "Hail Mary".

But Everett would be forced to scramble as he ran 12 yards to run out the clock as the game would go into overtime tied at 13.

Rams quarterback Jim Everett completed 25 of 44 passes for 315 yards and threw two touchdowns.

The Rams won the coin toss and of course took the ball needing just a field goal to win the game.

Starting at his 23-yard-line, Everett would find Holohan for 12 yards and a 1st down at the LA 35-yard-line where after an incomplete pass, Everett connected with Ellard for 13 yards and another 1st down at the Rams' 48-yard-line.

Then, Everett tried to hook up with Anderson on a slant pattern, only to have Giants cornerback Sheldon White get called for pass interference to give the Rams a 1st down at the New York 25-yard-line.

Robinson planned to have Everett just hand the ball off three times before calling on the field goal unit but his thinking changed when right tackle Jackie Slater get called for a false start penalty to push the Rams back five yards to the Giants' 30-yard-line to set up 1st & 15.

Instead of just trying to set up a field goal, Robinson wanted Everett to take a shot at the end zone as Everett dropped back and fired a pass down the right side of the field for Anderson.

Anderson made the catch inside the Giants' five-yard-line and ran it for the 30-yard touchdown to give the Rams a 19-13 win just 66 seconds into overtime.

Anderson kept the ball and immediately ran toward the locker room as the fans at Giants Stadium were stunned to see their beloved Giants' season came to an end.

The Giants would get redemption the following year as they would beat the Buffalo Bills 20-19 in Super Bowl XXV for the team's second Super Bowl title in five years, thanks in large part to Ottis Anderson's MVP performance as he carried the ball 21 times for 102 yards and scored a touchdown.

As for the Rams, their Cinderella run would come to an end the following week as they were crushed by the 49ers 30-3 in the NFC Championship Game.

The Rams would not return to the playoffs for a decade as the team would have nine straight losing seasons with eight of them featuring 10 or more losses before the Rams returned to the playoffs in 1999 as the St. Louis Rams as the team had moved from Los Angeles following the 1994 season before returning to LA in 2016.