Rams Come Up Short in Drive Time

PHILADELPHIA —  The Rams had no time left to lose Sunday but managed to do it anyway, squeezing every tick of the clock until it finally ran dry.

In the end, the Rams’ comeback to remember would end up the finish to forget, the Eagles holding on--clinging on?--to a 30-24 victory at Veterans Stadium.

The Rams saved their best for last, ending up a mere stone’s throw from the winning touchdown in the final seconds.

The Eagles saved maybe their coach, Buddy Ryan, who spent Sunday’s waning moments on bended knee with the Rams marching and Ryan hoping to preserve his head-coaching life here.

“I was just hoping somebody would make a big play,” Ryan said later. “I remember playing the 49ers about 20 years ago and they were driving and we were begging somebody to make a play. Doug Plank, of all people, got an interception and he had the worst hands in the world.”

Plank and his uniform number would later inspire Ryan’s 46 defense, but 86 was the number Eagle fans had in mind had the Eagles (5-5) let another one slip away.

They didn’t. Ripe tomatoes live another day. Ryan got his play when William Frizzell intercepted Jim Everett’s desperation pass at the Eagle 7-yard line with 16 seconds left.

The pickoff was Frizzell’s, but the play belonged to Eagle tackle Jerome Brown, the hurricane from Miami, who rushed Everett hard and fast to force the pass early.

“I was just trying to think of the best move I could put on an offensive lineman,” Brown said.

Finally, the Rams were dead, a nice fourth-quarter rally wasted by three quarters of relative indifference as they tried to solve the many mysteries of Eagle quarterback Randall Cunningham, who would have a direct hand (pass and rush) in 376 of his team’s 436 total yards.

That’s 86% of the offense. Yet despite the brilliance of Cunningham and his 3 touchdown passes, the Rams were left begging for a few extra seconds to make a comeback complete. This, after trailing, 27-10, with 14:09 remaining.

“It let us know that we can come back,” said tight end Damone Johnson, a key player in the rally. “But it doesn’t do us any good to come close. It hurts either way.”

The fourth-quarter rally, fittingly, started and finished with Jerome Brown.

On the first play of the quarter, with the Rams at their 20, Brown made the play of the game, tipping an Everett pass at the line of scrimmage and intercepting the ball at the 21.

Soon after, Cunningham hit tight end Keith Jackson on a 2-yard scoring pass to give the Eagles a 17-point lead with less than a quarter left.

The game should have been over. But Everett said the Rams are too naive to know better.

“You have to realize there are young kids on this team that are playing their butts off,” he said.

Lead? What lead? From his 43, Everett went deep to rookie Flipper Anderson, who was dragged down at the Eagle 1 after a 56-yard catch. Two plays later, Greg Bell shot through a hole on the left side for the score that cut the lead to 10 with 11:09 left.

Plenty of time, if the defense can stop Cunningham, which on Sunday was like trying to stop a flood.

“It really gets frustrating,” said defensive end Shawn Miller, the only Ram to sack Cunningham. “If it’s third and long, he’s the type of athlete that well, all of a sudden, he’s gone.”

But this time the defense held, the Rams getting the ball back on their 15 with 8:57 left.

This was Damone Johnson’s drive. The Eagles were smothering Henry Ellard with deep double coverage. Smart move, though Ellard still finished with 166 yards on 7 catches.

So Everett threw underneath to Johnson, not once, but 4 times on the drive for 60 yards. The Eagles couldn’t stop him.

Finally, at the 14, Everett, with heavy pressure from Reggie White, dumped the ball to fullback Buford McGee, who slipped behind linebacker Todd Bell and went in untouched for the score.

Suddenly, it was a 3-point game with 4:38 left.

The Rams needed to hold Cunningham one more time. They thought they did.

Pinned at the 21, Cunningham found Ron Johnson open down the right sideline. Johnson bobbled the ball as he fell out of bounds in front of the Rams’ bench. Players there were screaming that Johnson didn’t have control when he fell out of bounds after a 34-yard gain.

Coach John Robinson screamed at referee Bob McElwee as the Eagles hurried down the field.

“I didn’t think they were going to replay the damn thing,” Robinson said. “It was like they were in a hurry. I don’t know, something different’s happening over the last couple of weeks. All of a sudden, no body wants to replay. It used to be we stood around and watched the guys do their thing forever. It’s clearly a play that should have been replayed.”

It finally was, but only after Robinson’s insistence, he said. The officials ruled the play inconclusive and let it stand.

Not only did it stand, but the Rams were called for roughing Cunningham on the same play, a 15-yard penalty. The Eagles gained 49 yards on 1 play, one of the game’s most crucial.

Still, the Rams held, the Eagles settling for a 40-yard field goal with 2:47 left.

The Rams took over at the 20 and quickly moved up field, Everett using short passes again. Tight end Pete Holohan had 3 quick catches for 23 yards, a key 9-yarder on third down at the Eagle 49 with 58 seconds left.

Then Everett, who finished with 377 yards passing with 2 touchdowns and 4 interceptions, found Ellard for 22 yards. The Rams had the ball at the Eagle 18 with 35 seconds left.

Plenty of time.

“I believed we were going to win it,” Miller said.

On first down, though, Reggie White, the Minister of Defense, sacked Everett for a 10-yard loss back to the 28.

The Rams quickly called time out. Everett threw a pass for Anderson in the end zone that was almost intercepted by Eric Allen.

On third down, Everett, rolling right to avoid the rush, hurried a throw because Brown was in his face. It was intercepted. Game over.

No one could explain why the Rams wasted so much time getting to the good stuff.

“I have no idea,” Ellard said. “I can never figure out why.”

Buddy Ryan didn’t care. He’ll live to coach another day.

Ram Notes

Some more “what ifs” for the Rams. On the first play of the Rams’ first possession, Henry Ellard broke free after a short pass and seemed headed for a touchdown. Instead he was dragged down at the 12-yard line after a 68-yard play. The Rams had to settle for a field goal. Ellard, a former track star, said he wasn’t ready for such a long run that early. “It about sent my legs into shock,” he said. “My legs weren’t ready.” . . . On the Rams’ first drive in the third quarter, Aaron Cox dropped a long Everett pass at the Eagles’ 4. Instead of a touchdown, the Rams had to punt. . . . In the second quarter, a 44-yard field goal attempt by Mike Lansford hit the right upright. . . . After the game, Jim Everett was still miffed at Andre Waters’ rolling block into him on a safety blitz in the second half. “It was a flagrant shot,” Everett said. . . . “I felt lucky to get out of the way.” Everett also noted accurately that it was Waters who knocked then-Ram quarterback Steve Bartkowski out of a game 2 years ago with a shot to the knee. . . . Welcome back, Ron Brown. In his first appearance since unretiring as a Ram, Brown had a 73-yard kickoff return at the end of the first half to set up a 25-yard scoring pass from Everett to Ellard. . . . Dale Hatcher, who had missed all season with a knee injury, also came back strong. He finished with a 39.5 average on 4 punts. . . . The Rams and the New Orleans Saints are tied for first at 7-3. The 49ers are third at 6-4. The Rams play host to the Saints next Sunday.