1990: Quick-Striking Rams Beat Giants in OT of Divisional Playoff Game

The NFC Divisional playoff game on January 7, 1990 at Giants Stadium in the New Jersey Meadowlands featured the host Giants, champions of the NFC East with a 12-4 record, against the visiting Los Angeles Rams, second place finishers in the NFC West at 11-5. It was truly a contrast in styles.

New York, coached by Bill Parcells, was a conservative club and most of its games in 1989 were close. The Giants had a sturdy defense that featured linebackers Lawrence Taylor and Carl Banks, DE Leonard Marshall, and CB Mark Collins. Injury-plagued QB Phil Simms guided the offense that benefited from the play of RB Ottis Anderson (1023 yards), who was 32 and hadn’t been anywhere near 1000 yards in a season in five years. But the loss of star TE Mark Bavaro to a midseason injury had been detrimental. Moreover, New York, after winning the Super Bowl following the ’86 season, had missed the playoffs in 1987 and ’88 and had trouble against playoff teams during the regular season, despite their impressive record.

The Rams were coached by John Robinson and were as exciting and pass-oriented offensively as the Giants weren’t. QB Jim Everett set a new team record with 4310 passing yards and had outstanding receivers to throw to in Henry Ellard (70 catches, 1382 yards) and Willie “Flipper” Anderson (44 catches, 1146 yards, a 26.0 average per reception). Los Angeles could run the ball, too, as RB Greg Bell gained 1137 yards and scored 15 touchdowns. However, while the defense boasted some stellar performers such as pass rushing LB Kevin Greene and CB Jerry Gray, it tended to give up far too many points. LA, after finishing behind the 49ers in the division, easily defeated the Eagles in wintry weather at Philadelphia in the Wild Card playoff game.

There were 76,325 fans at Giants Stadium, and the home team largely dominated the first half. On the first LA possession, Lawrence Taylor, sacking Everett for the first of two times, forced a fumble at the New York 11 that LB Gary Reasons recovered. Placekicker Raul Allegre, who had just been activated after six games following an injury, kicked two field goals in the first quarter, of 35 and 41 yards. The Rams had trouble moving the ball on offense and defensively had difficulty containing Ottis Anderson (pictured below). However, the Giants couldn’t get into the end zone, allowing Los Angeles to stay in the game.


Late in the second quarter, the second turnover of the game occurred when LA’s Jerry Gray tipped a Simms pass that was intercepted by safety Michael Stewart, who grabbed the ball near midfield and returned it 29 yards. On the next play, Everett threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Willie Anderson that made the score 7-6 with 17 seconds left in the half.

On the first drive of the second half, Everett was intercepted in the end zone by Collins. The ensuing New York drive ended in a punt, but Sean Landeta’s 49-yard kick was fielded by CB Darryl Henley for the Rams, who lost 11 yards trying to return it. LA had to punt it back, and the Giants proceeded to drive 82 yards in 14 plays capped by Ottis Anderson’s two-yard run for a TD with just under two minutes remaining in the third quarter. Anderson had six rushes for 28 yards on the drive while Simms completed passes of 11 yards to rookie RB Dave Meggett to the Rams’ 40 and to TE Zeke Mowatt for 23 yards to the nine yard line. New York was back in front by 13-7.

The Rams responded with a 69-yard drive that led to a 31-yard Lansford field goal less than three minutes into the fourth quarter. Everett threw to Ellard for gains of 23 and 16 yards along the way, and Bell ran for 16 yards on a draw play. The Giants’ lead was narrowed to 13-10.

The Rams drove to the tying field goal on a 75-yard possession in which Everett was successful on six of seven passes for 44 yards. The quarterback also had a 13-yard run to the New York 12. Lansford kicked a 22-yard field goal to tie the game with 3:01 left on the clock and send it into overtime.

LA won the toss to gain first possession in the sudden death period. The Rams advanced from their 23 to the 48 on a 12-yard pass to TE Pete Holohan and 13-yard completion to Ellard. Giants CB Sheldon White then drew an interference call on Willie Anderson that resulted in a 27-yard advance into New York territory. On the next play, following a five-yard penalty for a false start, Anderson beat Collins for a 30-yard touchdown in the right corner of the end zone (pictured at top) and kept right on running into the tunnel leading to the locker rooms as the home crowd sat stunned. The contest went just 1:06 into overtime and was won by the Rams, 19-13.

While the Giants had dominated the first half, overall Los Angeles ended up with more total yards (448 to 344) and first downs (26 to 20). The Rams gave up two turnovers, but after the two early sacks by Lawrence Taylor, Everett wasn’t thrown for a loss again.


Jim Everett threw 44 passes and completed 25 of them for 315 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Henry Ellard (pictured at left) caught 8 passes for 125 yards while “Flipper” Anderson scored on both of his two receptions that covered 50 yards. Greg Bell ran for 87 yards on 19 attempts.

For the Giants, Ottis Anderson was the star with 120 rushing yards on 24 carries, including a TD. Phil Simms completed 14 of 29 passes for 180 yards and had one picked off. Dave Meggett caught four passes out of the backfield for 52 yards and Zeke Mowatt also gained 52 yards, on three receptions.

“We were being outplayed most of the half and we went in with a lead,” Jim Everett (pictured below) said regarding the impact of the late first half touchdown. “That kind of told us we might have some breaks.”

The Giants were unhappy with the interference call on Sheldon White, claiming the ball was not catchable. Field judge Bernie Kukar explained his call by saying, “The defensive man did not play the ball, he played the man. He wrapped the receiver while the ball was still catchable.”

“This game is more than one play,” concluded Bill Parcells. “I'm proud of my guys, they played their hearts out."

It was the third straight win on the east coast for the Rams, who won at New England in the season finale to clinch the wild card slot and then won at Philadelphia in the first round before coming to Giants Stadium.

But while the Rams were glad to get another shot at the division-rival 49ers in the NFC Championship game, a club they had split with in the season series, it was San Francisco handily winning the conference title by a 30-3 score.

1989: Karlis & Vikings Defense Sink the Bengals, Secure Playoff Spot

The two teams meeting at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis on Christmas night, December 25, 1989, were both trying to secure playoff spots in the season’s final week of play. The Minnesota Vikings, under Head Coach Jerry Burns, had been tied with Green Bay atop the NFC Central at 9-6 and, with the Packers having won the day before, needed a victory to win the division (they had the advantage over Green Bay in the division record tiebreaker and would not be able to gain wild card entry with a second place finish). The visiting Cincinnati Bengals, coached by Sam Wyche, were 8-7 and couldn’t win the AFC Central, but still had a chance at a wild card spot.

The Vikings had been underachieving contenders the previous two years, considering the talent on the roster, and had swung a huge deal during the season to obtain RB Herschel Walker from Dallas (ultimately, the Cowboys profited far more than Minnesota). But while unbeatable in the Metrodome, they had gone 2-6 on the road, including an overtime loss the previous week at Cleveland. After making an initial splash, Walker proved to be ill-suited in an offense which further suffered from QB Wade Wilson’s inconsistency and injury-plagued performances by WR Anthony Carter and TE Steve Jordan, who had held out during training camp (contract issues were a significant behind-the-scenes problem). Defense had kept the Vikings alive, in particular the play of DE Chris Doleman (pictured at top) and DT Keith Millard, who led an outstanding pass rush.


Cincinnati had won the AFC Championship in 1988, losing a close Super Bowl contest to the 49ers, but FB Ickey Woods, the key to the ground game in ’88, went down for the year in the season’s second contest. After getting off to a 4-1 start, the Bengals played inconsistently despite the presence of QB Boomer Esiason (pictured at left), wide receivers Eddie Brown and Tim McGee, TE Rodney Holman, and RB James Brooks. The undersized defensive line had difficulty mounting a pass rush, although the backfield, led by SS David Fulcher, was formidable.

The Vikings started off well as Wilson passed to RB Rick Fenney for a 26-yard gain on the game’s first play from scrimmage and proceeded to drive 65 yards in 10 plays, culminating in a 31-yard field goal by Rich Karlis. Following a Cincinnati punt, Minnesota marched to another Karlis field goal, of 37 yards, and held a 6-0 lead after one quarter.

It appeared that Minnesota might take decisive control in the second quarter as Karlis booted two more field goals, from 22 and 42 yards, and in between, following an interception of an Esiason pass by safety Darrell Fullington, Wilson tossed an 11-yard touchdown pass to Fenney. The score was 19-0 midway through the period. The Bengals finally got on the board, however, thanks to a 10-play, 77-yard drive that was capped by Esiason’s 34-yard touchdown pass to Brown.

Cincinnati got the ball back once more in the last two minutes of the half, and Esiason came out throwing but, after the Bengals had driven into Minnesota territory at the 43, he was intercepted by LB Scott Studwell. A 50-yard pass play from Wilson to WR Hassan Jones got the Vikings down to the Cincinnati seven, and Karlis, who had already tied the existing league record with a seven-field goal performance earlier in the season, booted his fifth, from 24 yards. It was 22-7 at the half, but could have been far more lopsided.

Three plays into the third quarter, the margin narrowed as Esiason connected with Holman for a 65-yard touchdown. While it was now 22-14, both offenses bogged down, and the Vikings sacked Esiason three times and forced two fumbles. After the second fumble recovery, Minnesota drove to the Cincinnati 15 but Fenney fumbled and DE Jason Buck recovered for the Bengals to snuff out the threat.

Near the end of the period, Vikings LB Mark Dusbabek intercepted Esiason at the Cincinnati 43, but the ensuing possession failed to add to the Minnesota lead when, now into the fourth quarter, Karlis missed a 52-yard field goal that hit the right upright and bounced away.

The Bengals drove down the field, converting a third-and-fifteen situation with an Esiason completion to McGee for 18 yards. Five plays later, the quarterback threw to RB Craig Taylor for an 18-yard touchdown, and with the successful extra point by Jim Breech, Minnesota’s lead was now down to one point at 22-21.

It was the turn of the Vikings to put together a long drive and, helped along by three penalties on the Bengals, they got down to the one yard line. On a fourth-and-goal play, Coach Burns passed up the easy field goal and chose to go for the touchdown - he was rewarded when Wilson completed a pass to reserve TE Brent Novoselsky for a TD. The successful PAT by Karlis put Minnesota up by eight points.

The teams traded punts and, with just over three minutes remaining, Cincinnati took over on its own five yard line and began to move methodically down the field. Esiason was successful on his first eight passes and a 17-yard completion to McGee on fourth-and-two took the Bengals to the Minnesota 22 yard line. The drive stalled, however, and an apparent fourth-down scoring pass to Brown was wiped out by a penalty. The Vikings held on to win by a score of 29-21.

The Bengals outgained Minnesota (309 yards to 274) and had the edge in first downs (26 to 24), but also gave up five turnovers, as opposed to one by the Vikings. Minnesota’s pass rushers sacked Esiason six times (Chris Doleman accounted for four of them), although the Bengals got to Wilson on four occasions (LB Reggie Williams had two).


Wade Wilson (pictured at right) completed 19 of 35 passes for 303 yards with two touchdowns and none intercepted. Anthony Carter caught 7 passes for 118 yards and Hassan Jones added another 90 yards on four receptions. Rick Fenney led the team in rushing with 62 yards on 17 attempts and also grabbed 5 passes for another 51 yards and a TD. Herschel Walker gained just 43 yards on 12 carries.

Boomer Esiason, playing catchup almost all the way and being hit often, went to the air 54 times and had 31 completions for 367 yards with three touchdowns but also three interceptions. James Brooks had a typically productive day leading the team with 93 yards on 15 carries and also catching 12 passes for 66 more yards. Eddie Brown gained 109 yards on 6 catches with a TD and Rodney Holman contributed 84 yards on his three receptions that included a touchdown.

Minnesota won the NFC Central with the resulting 10-6 record but lost badly to the 49ers in the Divisional playoff. At 8-8, Cincinnati ended up not only out of the postseason but at the bottom of the AFC Central (the three other teams all made it into the playoffs, although Houston and Pittsburgh were only a game better than the Bengals at 9-7. The Steelers would have been eliminated had Cincinnati won).

Boomer Esiason was the top-rated passer in the AFC (92.1 rating) and also threw the most touchdown passes (28). He was selected to the Pro Bowl for the second straight year.

James Brooks ran for a career-high 1239 yards on 221 carries for an AFC-leading 5.6 average (the highest among NFL running backs as Eagles QB Randall Cunningham led the league with a 6.0 average). His 1545 yards from scrimmage ranked fifth in the NFL. He, too, went to the Pro Bowl for the second consecutive time and third of an eventual four.

Chris Doleman led the NFL with 21 sacks and was a consensus first team All-NFL selection as well as being named to the Pro Bowl for the third (of an eventual four) straight years. Teammate Keith Millard ranked third with 18 as Minnesota ended up recording a total of 71 sacks, the second-most in NFL history.


Despite playing in just 13 games, the barefoot-kicking Rich Karlis (pictured at left) had a career-year in leading the NFL with 31 field goals, out of 39 attempts. He had played seven seasons with the Broncos but was a late preseason cut following a contract dispute. Following his big year, Karlis held out again in 1990 and the Vikings, after picking up Donald Igwebuike off waivers from Tampa Bay, chose to let him go. He signed on with the Lions during the season, covering for injured veteran Eddie Murray for six games, but was let go when Murray returned. It proved to be his final year in the NFL.

1989: Okoye Runs for 156 Yards as Chiefs Rally Past Seahawks

The Kansas City Chiefs were coming off of consecutive four-win seasons and, having revamped the front office and in their first year under new Head Coach Marty Schottenheimer, had started at 1-3 in 1989. Their Week 5 matchup on October 8 was against the Seattle Seahawks, under veteran Head Coach Chuck Knox. The Seahawks had made it to the postseason the past two years and, having lost their first two games in ’89, had won two straight on the road as they returned to the Kingdome.

Steve DeBerg battled Bill Kenney for the starting quarterback job in ’88 – Kenney was gone but DeBerg remained. Schottenheimer brought in 15-year veteran Ron Jaworski to compete with DeBerg, and it was Jaworski behind center at Seattle. Also present in the backfield was third-year fullback Christian Okoye (pictured above), a 6’1”, 253-pound Nigerian power runner who had battled injuries in his first two seasons but was finally beginning to realize his potential – he had gained over a hundred yards in each of the previous two games.

Seattle wasted no time getting on the board as CB James Jefferson returned the opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown. After the Chiefs and Seahawks traded punts, Kansas City scored on a 39-yard field goal by Nick Lowery. Okoye carried the ball on 10 of KC’s first 12 plays from scrimmage.

Late in the first quarter, the Chiefs began to diversify the attack as Jaworski completed a pass for 21 yards to TE Chris Dressel and RB Herman Heard ran for 17 yards. But a 17-yard Jaworski completion to WR Emile Harry ended up being fumbled into the end zone and recovered for a touchback by Seattle.

The Chiefs didn’t mount another threat in the second quarter, and the Seahawks added three field goals by Norm Johnson of 37, 26, and 37 yards to take a 16-3 lead into halftime. Neither team had particularly distinguished itself offensively, although Okoye had gained 51 yards on 12 carries.

Okoye continued to be the key player for Kansas City as he opened the team’s first possession of the second half with three runs for 21 yards. Jaworski hit on three passes on the KC drive and after 11 plays Okoye ended it with a 13-yard touchdown run. With the successful PAT, the Chiefs were now behind by only 16-10.

With time running down in the third quarter, Okoye again spurred another long Kansas City possession that resulted in a 25-yard Lowery field goal early in the final period. Krieg was promptly intercepted by safety Deron Cherry and five plays later Jaworski hit TE Alfredo Roberts for a two-yard touchdown and four-point Chiefs lead.

Seattle had two more possessions but couldn’t put points on the board. On the final drive from their own 17, Krieg completed five straight passes to the KC 35, also running for 12 yards at one point. But after getting down to the 23, two passes into the end zone were for naught, with Cherry intercepting the last one. The Chiefs came away with a 20-16 win.

Kansas City rolled up 303 yards to 288 for the Seahawks, with 199 of that coming on the ground. Christian Okoye gained 156 yards on 30 carries with the one TD and was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance. Ron Jaworski went to the air 18 times and had 12 completions for 104 yards and a touchdown with none intercepted. Emile Harry was the top receiver for the Chiefs with three catches for 41 yards, but also the one costly fumble.

For Seattle, Dave Krieg had completed 20 of 36 passes for 252 yards with no touchdowns and the two passes intercepted by Deron Cherry (the safety’s only two pickoffs of the season). Tellingly, Krieg was also the team’s leading rusher with 29 yards on three carries. RB John L. Williams was more productive through the air (5 catches for 32 yards) than on the ground (9 runs for 22 yards). WR Paul Skansi contributed another 5 receptions for 79 yards while WR Brian Blades gained the most receiving yards (86) on his four catches.


The Chiefs continued to make progress under the new head coach (and front office regime), winning four of their last five games to end up with an 8-7-1 record and second place in the AFC West. Seattle dropped off to 7-9 to end up fourth in the division.

It was a good beginning for Marty Schottenheimer (pictured at left), who succeeded in coaching the Chiefs back to respectability. They produced four straight 10-win seasons from 1990 to ’94 and made it to the postseason in seven of his 10 years at the helm. Unfortunately, as was the case for Schottenheimer in his other three head coaching stops, they didn’t make it to the Super Bowl.

Christian Okoye, who had never played American football prior to coming to college at Azusa Pacific on a track scholarship, led the NFL in rushing with 1480 yards on 370 carries and 12 touchdowns. The 156 yards against Seattle marked his third of an eventual eight 100-yard rushing performances for the year. He was a consensus first team All-Pro, as well as Pro Bowl, selection.

As a footnote, in his last season, 38-year-old Ron Jaworski (pictured below) started three games for the Chiefs and threw for 385 yards with two touchdowns and five interceptions. While Steve Pelluer also joined the quarterback mix during the season, Steve DeBerg ultimately prevailed as the starter.

1989: Packers Come From Behind to Defeat Saints

The Green Bay Packers had not been over .500 in the six consecutive seasons prior to 1989, and that had been in the strike-shortened 1982 campaign. In their first year under Head Coach Lindy Infante in ’88, they had gone 4-12. The club had signed 20 free agents in the offseason, more than any other team in the NFL. Of the holdovers, WR Sterling Sharpe had led the Packers in pass receiving as a rookie and LB Tim Harris had 13.5 sacks and led the team in tackles.

The Packers lost their opening game in ’89 to Tampa Bay and on September 17 hosted the New Orleans Saints at Lambeau Field. After years of underachieving, New Orleans had gone to the postseason for the first time in 1987 under Head Coach Jim Mora and followed up with a 10-6 record in ’88. They missed the playoffs, but it was still a respectable showing for a club that had not posted a winning record in its first 20 seasons.

The Saints took control from the start, scoring on their first three possessions. After receiving the opening kickoff, they drove 77 yards in eight plays with QB Bobby Hebert throwing a 32-yard touchdown pass to WR Lonzell Hill. The Packers went three-and-out and the Saints took eight plays to score again, in a 56-yard possession that was highlighted by a 15-yard pass from Hebert to WR Floyd Turner and 21-yard carry by RB Dalton Hilliard. Hilliard capped the drive with a three-yard TD run. Packers QB Don Majkowski (pictured above) tossed an interception to end the next possession shortly before the conclusion of the first quarter, which finished with New Orleans ahead by 14-0.

Two plays into the second quarter, the Saints extended their lead to 21-0 when Hebert tossed a one-yard touchdown pass to TE Hoby Brenner. After an exchange of punts, Green Bay finally got on the board. Majkowski threw passes of 11 yards to WR Perry Kemp and 20 yards to TE Ed West and RB Brent Fullwood ran in for a TD from a yard out. But New Orleans managed one more drive prior to the end of the half that culminated in a 38-yard Morten Andersen field goal and the Saints took a 24-7 lead into halftime.

The Packers began to climb out of the hole with their first possession in the third quarter. Majkowski completed all seven of his passes in a 14-play, 80-yard drive that ended with Fullwood scoring his second touchdown of the game on a four-yard run. After New Orleans went three-and-out in its possession and punted, Majkowski completed five more passes in a six-play drive with West hauling in a three-yard touchdown catch. Green Bay was now only down by three points, 24-21.

The Saints weren’t done yet, however, as Hebert led them on a six-play possession of their own that included passes of 13 and 28 yards to WR Eric Martin and concluded early in the fourth quarter with a 24-yard scoring throw to Hill. The Packers responded with yet another scoring possession, going 78 yards in five plays as West caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from Majkowski. It was again a three-point game at 31-28.


New Orleans came back with a long, 12-play possession that ran more than eight minutes off the clock and resulted in a 32-yard Andersen field goal. Green Bay struck quickly when they got the ball back with Majkowski passing to WR Jeff Query
(pictured at right) for a 35-yard gain to the Saints’ 45 yard line. But three plays later they faced a fourth-and-17 situation with under two minutes remaining to play. Majkowski again went to Query along the sideline, and the resulting 23-yard gain kept the drive alive. It ended with Majkowski throwing a three-yard touchdown pass to Sharpe, and with the successful extra point, Green Bay took the lead at 35-34 with 1:31 left on the clock.

The one-point margin held up when Hebert immediately went to the air and his long pass was intercepted by CB Van Jakes; Green Bay was able to run out the clock.


The Packers accumulated 490 total yards in their comeback victory to 367 for New Orleans. Don Majkowski completed 25 of 32 passes for 354 yards with three TDs and an interception. There were plenty of pass receiving stars as Sterling Sharpe (pictured at left) caught 8 passes for 107 yards and a touchdown, Ed West contributed 6 receptions for 87 yards and two scores, and Jeff Query made four catches for 84 yards, including the big plays in the final drive. Brent Fullwood also had a notable game rushing, gaining 125 yards on 18 carries with two TDs.

In defeat, Bobby Hebert tossed 32 passes, completed 23 of them for 282 yards and, like his Green Bay counterpart, with three touchdowns and one picked off. Lonzell Hill had 6 pass receptions for 90 yards and two TDs. However, the Saints didn’t gain as much on the ground, as Dalton Hilliard led the club with 43 yards on 13 attempts with a score.

It was the first sign of rejuvenation for the Packers, who ended up going 10-6 and finishing second (due to tiebreakers) in the NFC Central. They just missed the postseason. Meanwhile, New Orleans fell to a disappointing 9-7 and third place in the NFC West.

Don Majkowski had easily the best season of his career. He led the league in pass attempts (599), completions (353), and yards (4318) while firing 27 touchdown passes (third in the NFL) against 20 interceptions. The third-year quarterback out of Virginia was named to the Pro Bowl and received second-team All-NFL recognition from the Associated Press.

Sterling Sharpe led the NFL with 90 pass receptions and ranked second with 1423 yards and 12 touchdowns. He received All-Pro and Pro Bowl recognition, but unlike Majkowski there were better years ahead.

The Packers would regress to being a losing club again in 1990 and ’91, Infante’s last year as head coach. It would take the arrival of Infante’s successor, Mike Holmgren, and a young quarterback named Brett Favre in 1992 before Green Bay would begin to win again with consistency.