ST. LOUIS (AP) -- With their offense imploding and their cover blown, the St. Louis Rams looked ready to head home.

	The Rams' Ricky Proehl held onto this 30-yard TD catch, sinking the Buccaneers.

Then Kurt Warner played like an MVP, getting the Midwest Express attack the one touchdown it needed. The unheralded defense did the rest, and the Rams are heading to the Super Bowl to play the Tennessee Titans.

Warner hit No. 4 wide receiver Ricky Proehl with a 30-yard touchdown pass with 4:44 remaining Sunday to lift St. Louis past Tampa Bay 11-6 in the NFC Championship Game.

"It didn't matter who did it," the quarterback said. "As long as he was wearing a Rams jersey, it didn't matter.

"But when it comes down to making a play, we've made plays all year long. Ricky came through today."

Proehl had six catches for 100 yards. None of his other five -- or the 33 receptions he made this season, or the 467 of his entire 10-year career -- meant anything close to his leaping grab over backup cornerback Brian Kelly.

"I'm the guy they're always trying to get rid of," Proehl said. "I'm the guy they are always trying to replace. You know, there's 100 Ricky Proehls out there. I beg to differ."

Tennessee, which won the AFC crown in Jacksonville with an impressive 33-14 victory, handed the Rams their first loss in their seventh game of the season. However, St. Louis opened as eight-point favorites in the Super Bowl.

		Why the Rams won: 1. They roll with Proehl. Ricky Proehl was considered a possession receiver, but that is a complete farce. He runs a 4.4 in the 40. He can shake, move and run routes. He is elusive and fast, and he's an excellent route runner. And he made the play of the game. Despite being the Rams' fourth receiver, the play showed the focus he has had all year. 2. Poise under pressure. Although Kurt Warner had thrown three interceptions, he knows what weapons he has and that they could explode at any time. He must continue to fire the ball down the field and to stay with the things that got him there. He didn't go into a shell or panic. That's the sign of poise. 3. Little-known defense plays big. The Rams defense was outstanding. The Bucs played as well on offense as they have all year, but the Rams made the tackles. The defensive line dominated the line of scrimmage. They got pressure on Shaun King. Why the Bucs lost: 1. Critical turnovers. The Rams had one more turnover than Tampa Bay, but the Bucs' miscues were costlier, with the final one -- Dre' Bly's interception -- being the most critical. 2. Inexperience shows. King couldn't make the plays when the Bucs needed them. That was the difference. On the final drive, he was sacked twice and threw two incompletions. <> 3. No offense. The Bucs still had no offensive potency, their main weakness all year. The defense did everything it could do; the Bucs changed things up, using different personnel and down-and-distance tendencies. I give credit to the coaches. But the offense, gaining only 203 yards, couldn't counter when the Rams took something away from their offense. Game ball: Give it to Proehl. When he was asked to step in and make the key play, he did that because he kept himself sharp all season.

"We know we're in for just as tough a game against the Titans," said Warner, a former Arena Leaguer who got a chance to play this year only because starter Trent Green wrecked his knee in the preseason.

Tampa's gallant defensive effort looked like it would be enough to steal the victory. But rookie quarterback Shaun King made several critical mistakes down the stretch, including an interception at midfield by fellow rookie Dre' Bly that set up the winning drive.

"We brought them into our zone, we brought them into our misery," said Warren Sapp, the Defensive Player of the Year, "and we had them down 6-5 and just kept battling ... and it came down to one play."

Tampa Bay coach Tony Dungy said: "It's a very tough feeling, difficult to be that close to a Super Bowl and not get it done."

The Bucs never have gotten it done. Nor have the Rams, whose only Super Bowl appearance came after the 1979 season, when they beat Tampa Bay 9-0 for the NFC title. Then they fell to the Steelers in the Super Bowl.

And they aren't likely to get it done if their offense can't get out of its own way, even if their defense plays "spectacularly," as Rams coach Dick Vermeil described it.

"I think we showed people we can play every kind of game," said Marshall Faulk, the NFL Offensive Player of the Year who certainly didn't play his kind of game. The record-setting running back was held to a total of 49 yards.

"They wanted to play ball control and take the deep ball away from us. We did the same to them and thought our offense could make more plays than them."

They made one more play, offsetting the gallant defensive effort by the Bucs, who held St. Louis to 309 yards, 91 below its season average. It was Proehl's first TD of the season, and he finished with six catches for 100 yards.

"If you are ever going to bet on someone coming up with a big play, bet on Ricky Proehl," said Vermeil, the NFL Coach of the Year.

After Bly brought his interception to the Tampa Bay 47, the league's highest-scoring offense (526 points during the season, 49 in last week's playoff victory over Minnesota) finally got into the end zone.

But the Rams had to survive a last-ditch march on which they got two of their five sacks on King, who still managed to lead the Bucs to the St. Louis 22.

"We made a couple of plays, but I took a couple of sacks, and that's a no-no at that time," said King, who finished 13-of-29 for 163 yards and two interceptions.

A video review that overturned an 11-yard reception by Bert Emanuel hurt Tampa Bay with 47 seconds remaining. King then threw two incompletions, and the sellout crowd reached supersonic noise levels in the Trans World Dome.

It helped that Tampa Bay was more inept on offense than the usually quick-striking Rams. The Bucs only gained 203 total yards.

"I think we showed the NFL and the world something today," Rams defensive tackle D'Marco Farr said. "The Bucs thought their defense was going to come in here and walk all over us. We held them without a touchdown and proved that we are a pretty good defensive team."

The battle was certainly in the trenches, with the Rams holding the Bucs to Martin Gramatica's two field goals, while they got one field goal, a safety off a poor snap, and Warner's dramatic strike to Proehl.

At the end, as the players gathered around a stage for the trophy presentation, the cheering never abated.

Bly waved a victory towel as he raced around the field, while other Rams simply hugged and reveled in their first trip to the Super Bowl in 20 years, when they played in Los Angeles.

Yes, the team with the worst record of the 1990s heading into this season will play for the NFL championship next Sunday.

"We know what we are up against," Vermeil said. "We know we have to improve next week."

That's because the powerhouse offense that dominated the NFC this season sputtered in the face of Tampa's speedy, physical defense.

Warner was stymied by the Bucs' zone schemes and heavy pressure. He finished 26-for-43 for 258 yards. He often threw behind receivers, including on a critical interception by Hardy Nickerson at the Tampa Bay 3 in the third quarter.

In all, Warner was picked off three times as the Bucs tamed an attack that romped past nearly everyone else.

"We just never really finished drives to put this game out of reach," Warner said.

Faulk, who set an NFL record with 2,429 yards from scrimmage this season, was held to 44 yards rushing on 17 carries and three catches for five yards. A combination of All-Pro linebacker Derrick Brooks and Faulk's own hesitancy made him look ordinary.

The Bucs offense was ordinary, as expected. But it was enough to build a late lead as rookie Gramatica kicked field goals on the first series of each half for Tampa Bay, which brought a 132-246-1 all-time record into its second conference title game.

The staunch defenses turned it into a game of punting and turnovers.

Tampa Bay got a takeaway on the first play when defensive end Steve White tipped and intercepted an attempted screen pass. A drop in the end zone by Jacquez Green made the Bucs settle for Gramatica's 25-yard field goal and a surprisingly quick lead.

But that was all they would get in the first half.

King was sacked and fumbled, losing 12 yards, on one Tampa Bay drive. That ruined an opportunity for another field goal. And with 11 seconds left in the second quarter, his pass from the St. Louis 41 went directly to cornerback Todd Lyght.

St. Louis was more effective moving the ball, but no better at reaching the end zone.

After Gramatica's kick, the Rams put together one of their typical drives, but it yielded only three points. They marched 74 yards in 16 plays and ate up nearly eight minutes before a fumbled exchange between Warner and Faulk made them settle for Jeff Wilkins' 24-yarder to tie it.

Wilkins, kicking with a sore knee, also missed a 44-yarder.

St. Louis had a 159-75 yardage edge through 30 minutes. Yet it led only 5-3, thanks to a high snap by Pro Bowl center Tony Mayberry with King in the shotgun.

But King scrambled back to knock the ball out of the end zone for the safety.

Just as they did to open the game, the Bucs scored on their first possession of the second half. Gramatica nailed a 23-yarder, set up when Green made a 32-yard reception and Taje Allen was hit with a facemask penalty.

The 6-5 lead stood far longer than anyone could have expected. In the end, though, St. Louis found its touch. Just once, but that was enough to send them to Atlanta.

"The stadium there is the Georgia Dome," Vermeil said, looking at Rams owner Georgia Frontiere. "We're taking Georgia to Georgia."