1989 Los Angeles Rams season

NFL team season August 2023 March 2026 Los Angeles Rams 1989 11–5 2nd NFC West John Robinson Ernie Zampese Fritz Shurmur Georgia Frontiere John Shaw Anaheim Stadium 200px Won Wild Card Playoffs(at Eagles) 21–7Won Divisional Playoffs(at Giants) 19–13 (OT Overtime)Lost NFC Championship(at 49ers) 3–30 Rams seasons The 1989 Los Angeles Rams season was the franchise's 52nd season in the National Football League, their 53rd overall, and their 44th in the Greater Los Angeles Area. It constituted their last postseason appearance in Los Angeles before owner Georgia Frontiere, who would eventually move the team to St. Louis six seasons later, sold many top players, and in the playoffs, they were defeated by the eventual Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers 30–3 in the NFC Championship Game It also constituted their last winning season until 1999 in St. Louis, and last in Los Angeles until 2017. Offseason NFL draft 1989 NFL draft 1989 Los Angeles Rams 1 21 Bill Hawkins Defensive end Miami (FL) no yes 1 26 Cleveland Gary Running back Miami (FL) no yes 2 45 Frank Stams Linebacker Notre Dame no yes 2 48 Brian Smith Linebacker Auburn no yes 2 53 Darryl Henley Cornerback UCLA no yes 3 75 Kevin Robbins Offensive tackle Michigan State no yes 4 102 Jeff Carlson Quarterback Weber State no no 5 135 Alfred Jackson Cornerback San Diego State no yes 6 148 Thom Kaumeyer Safety Oregon no no 6 161 Mark Messner Linebacker Michigan no yes 7 188 George Bethune Linebacker Alabama no yes 8 215 Warren Wheat Guard BYU no no 9 242 Vernon Kirk Tight end Pittsburgh no no 10 269 Mike Williams Wide receiver Northeastern no no no Undrafted free agents + 1989 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeRichard AsheTight endHumboldt StateGreg CoavetteCornerbackUSCJim DoughtyLinebackerUC DavisMel FarrRunning backUCLABrian HawkinsWide receiverOregonAnthony SargentWide receiverWyoming Personnel Staff 1989 Los Angeles Rams Owner/President – Georgia Frontiere Vice president of finance – John Shaw General counsel – Jay Zygmunt Administrator of football operations – Jack Faulkner Director of operations – Dick Beam Director of player personnel – John Math Head coach – John Robinson Offensive coordinator – Ernie Zampese Quarterbacks – Dick Coury Running backs – Gil Haskell Tight ends/wide receivers – Norv Turner Offensive line – Hudson Houck Defensive coordinator/inside linebackers – Fritz Shurmur Defensive line – Marv Goux Assistant defensive line – Larry Brooks Outside linebackers – Fred Whittingham Defensive backs – Steve Shafer Special teams – Artie Gigantino Roster 1989 Los Angeles Rams 11 Jim Everett  9 Mark Herrmann 42 Greg Bell running back, born 1962 39 Robert Delpino FB/KR 34 Mel Farr Jr. 43 Cleveland Gary y 44 Gaston Green 24 Buford McGee 83 Flipper Anderson 89 Ron Brown wide receiver KR 84 Aaron Cox 80 Henry Ellard 88 Pat Carter 81 Pete Holohan 86 Damone Johnson 79 Kurt Becker G 72 Robert Jenkins American football T 67 Duval Love G 66 Tom Newberry G 75 Irv Pankey T 78 Jackie Slater T 61 Tony Slaton G 56 Doug Smith offensive lineman C 98 Shawn Miller American football DE 95 Mike Piel DE 97 Sean Smith defensive tackle DE 99 Alvin Wright NT 57 George Bethune gridiron football y OLB 51 Brett Faryniarz OLB 91 Kevin Greene OLB 52 Larry Kelm ILB 60 Mark Messner y ILB 58 Mel Owens ILB 96 Brian Smith linebacker, born 1966 y OLB 50 Frank Stams y ILB 53 Fred Strickland ILB 54 Mike Wilcher OLB 25 Jerry Gray CB 20 Darryl Henley y CB/PR 28 Cliff Hicks CB 47 LeRoy Irvin CB 31 Alfred Jackson gridiron football y CB/S 22 Vince Newsome FS 23 Michael Stewart American football SS  5 Dale Hatcher P  1 Mike Lansford K 90 Mike McDonald American football LS 70 Bill Hawkins American football y DE IR 26 Anthony Newman American football S IR 93 Doug Reed DE IR -- Mark Schmidt offensive lineman y G IR 37 James Washington safety S IR 47 active, 5 inactive, 2 practice squad 87 Richard Ashe tight end y TE -- Jeff Carlson American football y QB Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 10 at Atlanta Falcons W 31–21 1–0 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium Recap 2 September 17 Indianapolis Colts W 31–17 2–0 Anaheim Stadium Recap 3 September 24 Green Bay Packers W 41–38 3–0 Anaheim Stadium Recap 4 October 1 at San Francisco 49ers W 13–12 4–0 Candlestick Park Recap 5 October 8 Atlanta Falcons W 26–14 5–0 Anaheim Stadium Recap 6 October 16, 1989 at Buffalo Bills L 20–23 5–1 Rich Stadium Recap 7 October 22 New Orleans Saints L 21–40 5–2 Anaheim Stadium Recap 8 October 29 at Chicago Bears L 10–20 5–3 Soldier Field Recap 9 November 5 at Minnesota Vikings L 21–23 (OT) 5–4 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Recap 10 November 12 New York Giants W 31–10 6–4 Anaheim Stadium Recap 11 November 19 Phoenix Cardinals W 37–14 7–4 Anaheim Stadium Recap 12 November 26 at New Orleans Saints W 20–17 (OT) 8–4 Louisiana Superdome Recap 13 December 3 at Dallas Cowboys W 35–31 9–4 Texas Stadium Recap 14 December 11, 1989 San Francisco 49ers L 27–30 9–5 Anaheim Stadium Recap 15 December 17 New York Jets W 38–14 10–5 Anaheim Stadium Recap 16 December 24 at New England Patriots W 24–20 11–5 Sullivan Stadium Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Game summaries Week 1 Network: CBS TV Announcers: Steve Zabriskie and Terry Bradshaw Falcons rookie Deion Sanders gave the home crowd an early lift with a punt return TD (despite fumbling the ball twice), but Rams pulled away in the second half behind 128 yards rushing and two touchdowns by Greg Bell. Kevin Greene had three sacks. Week 2 Jim Everett and Henry Ellard hooked up for three scores as the Rams had another strong second half. Week 3 Rams rolled to a 38–7 halftime lead behind Bell's 221 rushing yards and 2 TD's and 2 more TD passes by Everett, but barely held off a furious comeback from the Packers behind Don Majkowski. Week 4 Rams got early NFC West bragging rights in a tough road win. Everett hit Willie Anderson on a 65-yard TD bomb for the game's only TD. Week 5 Everett passed for two touchdowns and Mike Lansford booted four field goals. Week 6 In a wild Monday night affair, Frank Reich, subbing for an injured Jim Kelly, tossed a pair of 4th quarter TD passes including the game-winner to Andre Reed. Week 7 A 2–4 Saints team blew out the Rams on their home turf behind 3 TD passes by Bobby Hebert. Saints local product Dalton Hilliard from LSU had 3 TD's, two rushing and one receiving. Week 8 Rams lost their third straight in the cold of Chicago as the Bear defense held Everett to 13 of 35 passing and intercepted him twice. Week 9 In a highly unusual overtime loss, the Rams kept the Vikings out of the end zone, but Vikings kicker Rich Karlis booted seven FG's. The winning score came when LB Mike Merriweather blocked a Dale Hatcher punt out of the end zone for a safety. The Vikings became the first NFL team ever to win in sudden death OT on a safety, while the Rams became the first NFL team to lose a game in which they scored three touchdowns and allowed none. Week 10 Rams got back to their winning ways behind two Everett TD passes and two Bell TD runs. Week 11 Rams rolled to a 24–0 halftime lead and cruised behind two more TD passes from Everett. Robert Delpino had a 32-yd TD run as well. Week 12 Saints were in control at the Superdome, leading 17–3 after 3. Everett, however, led the Rams back behind 454 passing yards, a record 336 of them receiving on 15 catches in a monster performance by Willie Anderson. Week 13 Everett outdueled Dallas rookie Troy Aikman in a spirited performance by the 1–11 Cowboys. Both QB's had 4 TD's passing. Late in the game with the Rams leading 35–31 but Dallas driving; an attempt by Aikman to get the signal for the next play was mistaken for a timeout signal by umpire Art Demmas; costing the Cowboys their final timeout. Dallas advanced on the drive to the Los Angeles 10 yard line but couldn't stop the clock before time ran out. Week 14 In a classic MNF performance, Joe Montana tossed three TD's, two of them for over 90 yards to John Taylor. The Rams led 27–10 entering the final period when Montana hit Mike Wilson for a TD to cut it to 27–17. The Rams were driving to a TD when Everett fumbled a snap at the 49er 4, and on the very next play, Montana hit Taylor for a 96-yd TD to cut it to 27–23. The 49ers capped their amazing comeback a Roger Craig TD run after Ron Brown fumbled the ensuing kickoff. Week 15 The Rams took out their frustrations on the Jets by rolling to a 28–7 halftime lead and cruising behind two passing TD's from Everett and two rushing TD's from Bell. Week 16 Bell ran for 210 yards and the winning score in the 4th as the Rams clinched a wild-card berth. Standings Playoffs NFC Wild Card Game text-align:center; Los Angeles Rams 73thru94 Los Angeles Rams 21, Philadelphia Eagles 7 Rams 14 0 0 7 Eagles 0 0 0 7 Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia 12:30 p.m. EST, 12/31/1989 CBS Pat Summerall and John Madden Gordon McCarter 65,479 34 F C 1, relative humidity 94%, wind 8 mph km/h knots, wind chill 27 F C 1 Despite being underdogs on the road, the Rams took a 14–0 lead in the first quarter as Jim Everett connected for touchdowns to Henry Ellard and Damone Johnson. The Eagles offense, led by explosive quarterback Randall Cunningham, was held in check by Fritz Shurmur's zone defense which prevented Philadelphia from making big plays downfield. Still, the Eagles closed the gap to 14–7 in the fourth quarter on a touchdown run by Anthony Toney. But Rams running back Greg Bell broke off a 54-yard run down the left sideline down to the Eagles 10-yard-line, then finished off his 124-yard rushing day two plays later with his 27th carry going for seven yards and L.A.'s final touchdown. Los Angeles won in the wild card round for the first time since 1983. NFC Divisional Playoff text-align:center; Los Angeles Rams 73thru94 Los Angeles Rams 19, New York Giants 13 (OT) Rams 0 7 0 6 6 Giants 6 0 7 0 0 Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey 12:30 p.m. EST, 1/7/1990 CBS Pat Summerall and John Madden Bob McElwee 76,325 37 F C 1, relative humidity 52%, wind 15 mph km/h knots, wind chill 29 F C 1 Playing on the East Coast for the third time in as many weeks, the Rams faced off against the NFC East champions in a tough defensive battle. New York jumped to a 6–0 lead in the first quarter with two field goals by kicker Raul Allegre. But with 17 seconds left in the first half, Jim Everett found Flipper Anderson for a 20-yard touchdown reception that, with Mike Lansford's PAT, gave the Rams a 7–6 lead at the intermission. In the third quarter, the Giants retook the lead as running back Ottis Anderson scored on a 2-yard touchdown. But in the fourth period, Lansford made two field goals to tie the game, the second one coming with 3:01 left in regulation and eventually send the game into overtime. Receiving the kickoff, the Rams drove 78 yards, with a key pass interference call on Giants cornerback Sheldon White that gave Los Angeles a first down in Giants territory. Two plays later, Everett found Anderson for a 30-yard touchdown pass to end the game just 1:06 into the extra period. Rams receiver Henry Ellard had the best postseason performance of his career with 8 receptions for 125 yards, while Everett had 315 yards passing for the game. NFC Championship Game text-align:center; Los Angeles Rams 73thru94 San Francisco 49ers 30, Los Angeles Rams 3 Rams 3 0 0 0 49ers 0 21 3 6 Candlestick Park, San Francisco 5:00 p.m. EST/2:00 p.m. PST, 1/14/1990 CBS Pat Summerall and John Madden Jerry Markbreit 64,769 52 F C 1, relative humidity 91%, wind 14 mph km/h knots The Rams' season came to an end against the rival 49ers. Starting at midfield on its first possession, L.A. drove 44 yards in 10 plays, ending with a 23-yard field goal by Mike Lansford. On the ensuing San Francisco drive, linebacker Larry Kelm recovered a fumble by 49ers tight end Brent Jones, but the Rams drive stalled as Jim Everett twice attempted deep passes to Flipper Anderson which fell incomplete. L.A. was forced to punt the ball away, and never threatened to score again. The 49ers scored on three straight possessions in the second quarter and totaled 442 yards on offense and held the ball for 39:48 for the game. The Rams were held to only 26 yards rushing and Everett threw three interceptions in the loss, L.A.'s second appearance in the NFC Championship Game in five seasons. This marked the Rams last appearance in the playoffs, let alone the NFC Championship until 1999 & their last loss in NFC Championship game until 2025. Awards and records Flipper Anderson, NFL Game Record, Most Receiving Yards in One Game, 336 yards (vs. New Orleans Saints on November 26, 1989)NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, 0-7611-2480-2, p. 98 NFC Pro Bowl Selections - Henry Ellard WR, Jerry Gray CB (Pro Bowl MVP), Kevin Greene OLB, Tom Newberry LG, Jackie Slater RT, Doug Smith C Milestones See also Los Angeles Rams Anaheim Stadium 1989 NFL season Other Anaheim–based teams in 1989 California Angels (Anaheim Stadium) 1989 California Angels season References 30em External links 1989 Los Angeles Rams Season at Pro-Football-Reference.com Category:Los Angeles Rams seasons Los Angeles Rams Category:1989 in Los Angeles Category:1989 in sports in California