On November 26, 1989, an NFL contest was played between the Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints, who also play on this week’s slate of games. We picked this matchup for our Throwback Thursday feature to highlight a record-breaking performance by a forgotten wide receiver from the Rams’ past, Willie Lee “Flipper” Anderson. The game was hotly contested but not really high scoring. It went into overtime and was decided by a 31 yard Mike Lansford field goal, 20-17 in the Rams’ favor. A couple of Saints’ players had good statistical games – Dalton Hilliard rushed for 112 yards on 24 carries and Eric Martin caught 5 passes for 107 yards and his team’s only 2 touchdowns. The Saints’ defense, for the most part, had a decent game, racking up 6 sacks and 2 interceptions. Their one problem was they had no answer for the passing connection of Jim Everett to Anderson. Everett threw for 454 yards, 336 of which went to the record-breaking Anderson. The connection befuddled the Saints. Los Angeles ran for only 57 yards in the game, but the passing attack enabled them to wipe out a 17-3 deficit and claim the overtime win.
One important running play in the Rams’ attack was a 5 yard touchdown by Buford McGee that cut the lead to 17-10, while Anderson caught a 15 yard scoring pass from Everett to tie the game in the waning moments of regulation. Flipper continued his dominance in the extra period by snagging a pair of passes to set up the winning field goal. The Rams finished up the year as a playoff team but were beaten by the powerhouse San Francisco 49ers when they got there. This was a memorable day for the franchise, however. Anderson’s record of 336 yards on 15 receptions still stands to this day, and only 5 receivers in NFL history have amassed 300 yards in a single game.
Flipper Anderson on his way to a record