NFL History: Ranking the 30 best wild card teams in NFL history

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - OCTOBER 06: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) Eli Manning #10 and Brandon Jacobs #34 of the New York Giants in action against the Philadelphia Eagles on October 6, 2013 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Eagles defeated the Giants 36-21. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

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Head Coach John Robinson of the Los Angeles Rams. (Photo by David Madison/Getty Images) /

Ranking the 30 best wild card teams in NFL history: 26. 1989 Los Angeles Rams

The Los Angeles Rams of the late 80s and early 90s had the unfortunate task of playing the same division as the San Francisco 49ers led by Jerry Rice and Joe Montana. So, they had to accept a Wild Card berth when they went 12-4 in 1989. (The same thing happened in 1983, 1984, 1986, and 1988.)

The ’89 Rams had a four-game losing streak in the middle of the season, but they finished the season by winning six of the last seven games of the season. They went into the playoffs on an absolute roll. That continued in the playoffs as they were the Wild Card seed facing the Philadelphia Eagles. They dominated the Eagles in the City of Brotherly Love.

That brought them to a great matchup with the second-seeded New York Giants. It didn’t start well, as Lawrence Taylor forced a fumble on the Rams first possession, but it sure ended well. The Rams took that game all the way to overtime when Willie “Flipper” Anderson caught a 30-yard pass from Jim Everett to win the game 19-13.

This set up a matchup with those same 49ers. The Rams already beat them in San Francisco earlier in the season. This was not something that would intimidate them. Except, it definitely did, and the Rams got crushed. There was no shot to stop the 49ers that year, and the Rams learned that with a 30-3 loss. It was humbling, and the Rams went into a long rebuild after this season, but the hope hitting the streets of Los Angeles was palpable and worth it.

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