NFC Championship, 1999: St. Louis Rams 11 Tampa Bay 6

Game information
In a hard-fought defensive struggle in which both teams combined for only 512 yards and lost a total of five turnovers, Rams quarterback Kurt Warner's 30-yard touchdown pass to Ricky Proehl with 4:44 left in the game was just enough to edge out Tampa Bay.

On the first scrimmage play of the game, Bucs defensive end Steve White intercepted a screen pass from Warner on the Rams 20-yard line, setting up a 25-yard field goal from Martín Gramática. The Rams responded by driving 74 yards in 16 plays with Warner completing seven of 10 passes for 61 yards, including a 22-yard completion to tight end Roland Williams. But on third-and-goal from the Bucs 7-yard line, a fumbled handoff exchange from Warner to Marshall Faulk forced them to settle for a 24-yard field goal by Jeff Wilkins.

The second quarter was full of missed opportunities and poor play from both teams. On the first play, a high snap from Bucs center Tony Mayberry went over quarterback Shaun King's head and into the end zone. King managed to knock the ball out of the end zone to prevent a touchdown, but it gave the Rams a safety and a 5–3 lead. Az-Zahir Hakim returned the free kick 15-yards to the Rams 40-yard line. Hakim also caught a 14-yard pass and ran for six as the team drove to the Bucs 26, but the drive halted there and Wilkins missed a 44-yard field goal attempt. Following a punt from each team, Tampa Bay also got good field position from a 14-yard punt return from Karl Williams that gave them a first down on the Rams 45. Although they drove to the St. Louis 26, they ultimately fared no better than the Rams did. On third down, King fumbled while being sacked by Charlie Clemons. King recovered the ball, but the 13-yard loss pushed the team out of field goal range. The next time Tampa Bay had the ball, King threw a pass from the Rams 41 that went right into the arms of St. Louis cornerback Todd Lyght. A few plays later, the half ended with the score still 5–3, despite the Rams' 159–75 advantage over the Buccaneers in total yards.

Just as in the first half, Tampa Bay scored a field goal on their opening drive on the third quarter, set up by a 32-yard reception by Jacquez Green and a 15-yard facemask penalty on Taje Allen. Meanwhile, Warner was intercepted twice by the Buccaneers defense, including a costly interception to Hardy Nickerson on the Tampa Bay 3-yard line. But late in the fourth quarter, Rams cornerback Dré Bly intercepted a pass from King at the Buccaneers 49-yard line. Several plays later, Warner threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Proehl with 4:44 left, taking an 11–6 lead after the two-point conversion failed. King responded by leading the Bucs deep into St. Louis territory. With 1:25 left, his 22-yard completion to Williams gave the team a first down on the Rams 22-yard line. But on the next play, he was sacked by Grant Wistrom for a 13-yard loss. After that, his potential 11-yard completion to Bert Emanuel was controversially overturned by a replay challenge. (The play led the NFL to adopt the "Bert Emanuel rule" after the season, which still allows for a catch to be ruled if a receiver maintains possession and control of the ball even if the ball touches the ground.) King then threw two consecutive incompletions, turning the ball over on downs.

Proehl was the sole offensive star of the game, finishing with six catches for 100 yards and a touchdown.

En route to attending the game, Kansas City Chiefs star linebacker and future Hall of Famer Derrick Thomas was involved in a car accident in Kansas City that led to his death two weeks later from the injuries he sustained.

This was the second postseason meeting between the Buccaneers and Rams. The Rams won the only prior meeting while in Los Angeles.

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