CLEVELAND, Ohio, 10 December 2003 — Two interceptions from Aeneas Williams sparked St. Louis to a 26-20 win over the Cleveland Browns on Monday, which secured a playoff berth for the Rams.
The cornerback’s two big defensive plays came as the clock ran down in the first half. The first he returned 46 yards for a touchdown, while the second pick just 24 seconds later set up a score for Issac Bruce to put the Rams 23-7 ahead at halftime.
The Browns (4-9) battled back in the second half under backup quarterback Tim Couch, who passed for two touchdowns, but the surging Rams (10-3) held on for their ninth win in their last 10 games.
The Rams potent offense has become used to taking the plaudits, but on Monday night it was their defense — and in particular Williams — who came up with the big plays.
The Rams held a narrow 9-7 lead a minute and four seconds from the half when the 13-year NFL veteran stepped in front of a Kelly Holcomb pass and raced back for a touchdown.
He picked off Holcomb again on the Browns’ next series, the Rams adding a second touchdown two plays later when quarterback Marc Bulger hooked up with Bruce from 16 yards.
“I was able to read the quarterback and get a break on the ball,” Williams said. “It was just what we needed going into the second half. We knew this would be a tough place to get a win.”
Jeff Wilkins added four field goals for St. Louis, the second of the four a club-record 31st of the season. He now shares the NFL lead with Indianapolis Colts’ kicker Mike Vanderjagt, who was a perfect 5-of-5 on Sunday.
It was Wilkins who put the Rams on the board with a 28-yard field goal seven minutes into the game.
The Browns drove 70 yards on their next possession before Holcomb found Keith Heinrich from two yards out for the go-ahead touchdown. But the Rams then capitalized on the first Cleveland turnover, with Wilkins unerring with a 26-yard field goal before adding another soon after the two-minute warning. Then came Williams’ contribution, which effectively ended the night for Holcomb.
Couch stepped up and early in the third quarter found Quincy Morgan from 28 yards to bring Cleveland closer at 23-13.
Another three points from Wilkins, this time from 37 yards, then closed out the scoring for St. Louis.
But Cleveland and Couch were not finished and an 83-yard drive ended with third-string running back Jamel White scampering into the end zone from two yards out to make it 26-20 with more than 10 minutes still on the clock.
Wilkins then missed a 39-yard effort, which could have put the game beyond Cleveland’s reach, but the Browns could make no headway on their next two possessions and Couch fumbled on a fourth and long effort to all but end the contest.
Foot Injury Ends Washington QB Ramsey’s Season
Washington Redskins quarterback Patrick Ramsey is to have surgery on his right foot sometime over the next two weeks and will miss the rest of the NFL season, the team said Monday.
Ramsey first suffered the foot injury during training camp and it has worsened in the past few weeks, preventing him playing in the last two games for the 5-8 Redskins.
Team doctors have decided that the second-year pro, who earned the starting job earlier this season, should have surgery in the hope that he will be ready for the start of preseason training in the spring.
In 11 starts this season, Ramsey completed 179 of 337 passes for 14 touchdowns with nine interceptions.
Miami Dolphins quarterback Jay Fielder aggravated a knee injury during Miami’s 12-0 loss at New England on Sunday and is not certain to be fit for the game against NFC East rivals Philadelphia next Monday night.
