Warner Keeps Rams Rolling Into Title Game

The St. Louis Rams weren’t going to take no for an answer Sunday. And they didn’t.

When their initial barrage didn’t topple the Minnesota Vikings, the Rams reloaded and gave them another jolt.

And the Vikings - no strangers to premature playoff good-byes - became another chapter in the NFL’s most amazing success story in years.

Quarterback Kurt Warner threw five touchdown passes, running back Marshall Faulk scored twice and the Rams’ defense stifled the Minnesota offense when it counted for a 49-37 victory in the second round of the NFC playoffs Sunday before 66,194 at the Trans World Dome.

The Vikings overcame an early 14-3 deficit to take a 17-14 halftime lead but the Rams scored 35 unanswered points in the second half.

The victory sets up an NFC title game Sunday matching the high-scoring Rams against the stout Tampa Bay defense - with the winner going to Super Bowl XXXIV in Atlanta a week later.

It was the first playoff appearance - and first playoff win - for the Rams since the 1989 season, when the team was playing in Los Angeles. The loss was the Vikings’ seventh in 10 playoff games under coach Dennis Green.

“So much for the inexperience factor,” Rams coach Dick Vermeil said. “You know, John Wooden told me a long time ago that talent is more important than experience.

“We’ve got a lot of talent on this football team and my coaching staff did a real good job, and therefore we win. I expected to win, our players expected to win, our coaches expected to win.”

And if they had kept going at the pace they set in the first and third quarters, the Rams might have scored as many points as some of Wooden’s UCLA basketball teams.

The problem for the Rams was scoring too quickly. And that meant their defense had to spend too much time on the field against Jeff George and his explosive receivers.

That’s pretty much what happened early, after the Rams took the lead on Warner’s 77-yard touchdown pass to Isaac Bruce on their first offensive play and increased it to 14-3 on Warner’s screen pass to Faulk, who took it 41 yards to the end zone with some of the best open-field maneuvering since Barry Sanders went into retirement.

But the Vikings, who scored first on Gary Anderson’s 31-yard field goal, rallied on George’s 22-yard touchdown pass to Cris Carter and a four-yard touchdown run by Leroy Hoard, taking a 17-14 halftime lead and showing every intention of making it a game.

“Guys, we’re only down by three,” Vermeil told the Rams. “We’ve taken their best shots … and the only people who have stopped us in the first half is ourselves.”

The Vikings’ lead lasted exactly 18 seconds into the second half. That’s how long it took Tony Horne to go 95 yards with the second-half kickoff, touching off a scoring binge that sent Minnesota reeling.

Next came a 50-yard scoring drive, culminating in Faulk’s one-yard touchdown run. The Rams led, 28-17.

Rams 49, Vikings 37

Minnesota 3 14 0 20 - 37

St. Louis 14 0 21 14 - 49

First quarter

Min-FG Anderson 31, 9:23.

StL-Bruce 77 pass from Warner (Wilkins kick), 9:02.

StL-Faulk 41 pass from Warner (Wilkins kick), 4:19. Second quarter

Min-Carter 22 pass from George (Anderson kick), 9:53.

Min-Hoard 4 run (Anderson kick), 2:40. Third quarter

StL-Horne 95 kickoff return (Wilkins kick), 14:42.

StL-Faulk 1 run (Wilkins kick), 8:28.

StL-Robinson 13 pass from Warner (Wilkins kick), :22. Fourth quarter

StL-Tucker 1 pass from Warner (Wilkins kick), 13:36.

StL-Williams 2 pass from Warner (Wilkins kick), 8:13.

Min-Reed 4 pass from George (Hoard run), 4:56.

Min-Moss 44 pass from George (pass failed), 3:48.

Min-Moss 2 pass from George (pass failed), :31.

A-66,194.

Min StL First downs 27 23 Rushes-yards 29-87 17-31 Passing 389 374 Punt Returns 2-25 4-72 Kickoff Returns 8-174 5-174 Interceptions Ret. 1-0 1-(-4) Comp-Att-Int 29-50-1 27-33-1 Sacked-Yards Lost 4-35 2-17 Punts 5-47.6 3-38.7 Fumbles-Lost 2-2 2-2 Penalties-Yards 10-57 10-70 Time of Possession 34:11 25:49

Individual statistics

RUSHING-Minnesota, Smith 20-64, Hoard 7-24, George 2-(minus-1). St. Louis, Faulk 11-21, Hakim 1-4, Warner 3-3, Holcombe 1-2, Lee 1-1.

PASSING-Minnesota, George 29-50-1-424. St. Louis, Warner 27-33-1-391. RECEIVING-Minnesota, Moss 9-188, Carter 7-111, Smith 7-32, Reed 5-81, Glover 1-12. St. Louis, Holt 6-65, Faulk 5-80, Hakim 5-49, Bruce 4-133, Williams 2-20, Robinson 1-13, Holcombe 1-12, Proehl 1-10, Conwell 1-8, Tucker 1-1.

MISSED FIELD GOALS-St. Louis, Wilkins 42 (WR).