1976 Los Angeles Rams season

NFL team season August 2023 March 2026 Los Angeles Rams 1976 10–3–1 1st NFC West Chuck Knox Carroll Rosenbloom Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Won Divisional Playoffs(at Cowboys) 14–12Lost NFC Championship(at Vikings) 13–24 200px Rams seasons The 1976 Los Angeles Rams season was the team's 39th year with the National Football League (NFL) and the 31st season in Los Angeles. The Rams continued their dominance of the NFC West to win a fourth consecutive division title. After a record-setting previous season in which their defense was nearly untouchable, the Rams were picked by many to win the Super Bowl. Despite not improving on its 12–2 record from 1975, the team continued to be one of the best in the NFL. This Rams team is quite notable for setting many records during the season, including the franchise record for points scored in a game (59) in a 59–0 shutout of the Atlanta Falcons in week thirteen.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=iBwrAAAAIBAJ&sjid=8qAFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3435%2C3194330 Reading Eagle Pennsylvania Associated Press Rams pound Falcons, 59-0 December 5, 1976 81 Los Angeles was 10 3 1 y in the regular season; the tie (in overtime) came in week two at Minnesota (11–2–1) and expectedly became pivotal in the playoff seedings.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=gmdYAAAAIBAJ&sjid=COgDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6181%2C5065587 Eugene Register-Guard Oregon Associated Press Vik-Ram tie sets up later duel September 20, 1976 1D The surprising shutout loss at home to rival San Francisco on Monday night in week five also contributed.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=91VOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4fgDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6007%2C2576822 Spokane Daily Chronicle Washington Associated Press Silent giant paces 49ers October 12, 1976 27https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=MuVVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4OADAAAAIBAJ&pg=3278%2C2797761 Eugene Register-Guard Oregon UPI 49ers stage the 'Great Harris Rush' October 12, 1976 1B Third-seeded in the NFC and on the road in the playoffs, the Rams upset Dallas 14–12 in the divisional round,https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=8X9IAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Tm0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=5573%2C2347099 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Associated Press For want of a foot, Rams shoo Dallas December 20, 1976 14 but lost 13–24 to the top-seeded Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship game.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=xNohAAAAIBAJ&sjid=DaAFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4101%2C3819333 Reading Eagle Pennsylvania Associated Press Special teams do it for Vikes December 27, 1976 20https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=939IAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Tm0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6838%2C3009069 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Leonard Vince Foreman's big second half crushes Rams, 24-13 December 27, 1976 17 This was the final year for the last member of the "Fearsome Foursome" defensive line of the 1960s; defensive tackle Merlin Olsen retired after fifteen NFL seasons, all with the Rams. Offseason 1976 expansion draft 1976 NFL expansion draft + Los Angeles Rams selected during the expansion draft Round Overall Name Position Expansion team00Ken GeddesLinebackerSeattle Seahawks00Eddie McMillanCornerbackSeattle Seahawks00Willie McGeeWide receiverTampa Bay Buccaneers NFL draft 1976 NFL draft 1976 Los Angeles Rams 1 26 Kevin McLain Linebacker Colorado State yes no 2 39 Pat Thomas Cornerback Texas A&M yes yes 2 53 Ron McCartney Linebacker Tennessee yes no 3 86 Jackie Slater Tackle Jackson State yes yes yes 4 94 Gerald Taylor Wide receiver Texas A&I no no 5 128 Carl Ekern Linebacker San Jose State yes no 5 150 Ken Bordelon Defensive end LSU no no 5 155 Dwight Scales Wide receiver Grambling State yes no 7 207 Larry Buie Defensive back Mississippi State no no 7 263 Jeb Church Defensive back Stanford no no 10 288 Freeman Johns Wide receiver SMU no no 11 316 Brian Nemeth Tight end South Carolina no no 12 344 Jim Jodat Running back Carthage yes no 13 373 Steve Hamilton Quarterback Emporia State no no 14 400 Al Burleson Defensive back Washington no no 15 429 Malcolm Campbell Wide receiver Cal State Los Angeles no no 16 456 Rick Gage Arkansas Tech no no 17 485 Gary Shaw Defensive back Brigham Young no no yes Personnel Staff / Coaches 1976 Los Angeles Rams staff Front Office Owner – Carroll Rosenbloom President / General Manager – Don Klosterman Coaching Staff Head coach - Chuck Knox Offensive Coaches: Offensive Coordinator - Ken Meyer Offensive Backfield Coach - Elijah Pitts Offensive Line - Ray Prochaska Receivers Coach - Leeman Bennett Defensive Coaches: Defensive Coordinator - Ray Malavasi Linebackers - Tom Catlin Special Teams Coaches: None - N/A Strength and Conditioning: None - N/A Other Assistant Coaches: Training Assistant - Garrett Giemont Advance Scott - Jack Faulkner Roster 1976 Los Angeles Rams 11 Pat Haden 12 James Harris 16 Ron Jaworski 45 Jim Bertelsen 32 Cullen Bryant 22 John Cappelletti 30 Lawrence McCutcheon 39 Rod Phillips American football 33 Rob Scribner 84 Tom Geredine 29 Harold Jackson American football 81 Ron Jessie 87 Dwight Scales y 80 Bob Klein 83 Terry Nelson American football 77 Doug France T 60 Dennis Harrah G 63 Greg Horton G 65 Tom Mack G 54 Geoff Reece C 61 Rich Saul C 78 Jackie Slater y T 75 John Williams offensive lineman, born 1945 T 90 Larry Brooks American football DT 89 Fred Dryer DE 79 Mike Fanning American football DT 76 Cody Jones DT 74 Merlin Olsen DT 85 Jack Youngblood DE 55 Carl Ekern MLB y 50 Kevin McLain y OLB 64 Jack Reynolds MLB 58 Isiah Robertson OLB 57 Mel Rogers OLB 53 Jim Youngblood OLB 42 Dave Elmendorf SS 28 Monte Jackson CB 49 Rod Perry American football CB 20 Steve Preece FS 48 Bill Simpson American football FS 27 Pat Thomas defensive back y CB 10 Tom Dempsey K  9 Rusty Jackson P 43 Jim Jodat y RB IR 88 Freeman Johns y WR IR 52 Rick Kay LB IR 56 Ron McCartney y LB IR 51 Rick Nuzum C IR Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 12 at Atlanta Falcons W 30–14 1–0 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 53,607 2 September 19 at Minnesota Vikings T 10–10 1–0–1 Metropolitan Stadium 47,310 3 September 26 New York Giants W 24–10 2–0–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 60,698 4 October 3 at Miami Dolphins W 31–28 3–0–1 Miami Orange Bowl 60,753 5 October 11, 1976 San Francisco 49ers L 0–16 3–1–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 80,532 6 October 17 Chicago Bears W 20–12 4–1–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 71,751 7 October 24 at New Orleans Saints W 16–10 5–1–1 Louisiana Superdome 51,984 8 October 31 Seattle Seahawks W 45–6 6–1–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 52,035 9 November 7 at Cincinnati Bengals L 12–20 6–2–1 Riverfront Stadium 52,480 10 November 14 St. Louis Cardinals L 28–30 6–3–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 64,698 11 November 21 at San Francisco 49ers W 23–3 7–3–1 Candlestick Park 58,573 12 November 28 New Orleans Saints W 33–14 8–3–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 54,906 13 December 4, 1976 Atlanta Falcons W 59–0 9–3–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 57,366 14 December 11, 1976 at Detroit Lions W 20–17 10–3–1 Pontiac Municipal Stadium 73,470 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Playoffs 1976–77 NFL playoffs Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Attendance Divisional December 19 at Dallas Cowboys (2) W 14–12 1–0 Texas Stadium 62,436 NFC Championship December 26 at Minnesota Vikings (1) L 13–24 1–1 Metropolitan Stadium 47,191 Standings References 2 External links 1976 Los Angeles Rams at Pro-Football-Reference 1976 Los Angeles Rams at JT-SW.com Los Angeles Rams Category:Los Angeles Rams seasons Category:NFC West championship seasons Los Angeles Rams Category:Long stubs with short prose