1976 Los Angeles Rams season

1976 Los Angeles Rams season
Owner	Carroll Rosenbloom
Head coach	Chuck Knox
Home stadium	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Results
Record	10–3–1
Division place	1st NFC West
Playoffs	Won Divisional Playoffs (at Cowboys) 14–12 Lost NFC Championship (at Vikings) 13–24
Uniform
←  1975 Rams seasons 1977  →

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. ^[1] Los Angeles was 10–3–1 (.750) 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. ^[2] The surprising shutout loss at home to rival San Francisco on Monday night in week five also contributed. ^{[3] [4]}

Third-seeded in the NFC and on the road in the playoffs, the Rams upset Dallas 14–12 in the divisional round, ^[5] but lost 13–24 to the top-seeded Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship game. ^{[6] [7]}

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

Main article: 1976 NFL expansion draft

Los Angeles Rams selected during the Expansion Draft

Round	Overall	Name	Position	Expansion Team
0	0	Ken Geddes	Linebacker	Seattle Seahawks
0	0	Eddie McMillan	Cornerback	Seattle Seahawks
0	0	Willie McGee	Wide receiver	Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NFL Draft

Main article: 1976 NFL Draft

1976 Los Angeles Rams draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	26	Kevin McLain	Linebacker	Colorado State
2	39	Pat Thomas  *	Cornerback	Texas A&M
2	53	Ron McCartney	Linebacker	Tennessee
3	86	Jackie Slater  * †	Tackle	Jackson State
4	94	Gerald Taylor	Wide receiver	Texas A&I
5	128	Carl Ekern	Linebacker	San Jose State
5	150	Ken Bordelon	Defensive end	LSU
5	155	Dwight Scales	Wide receiver	Grambling State
Made roster    †    Pro Football Hall of Fame     *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Roster

1976 Los Angeles Rams roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 11 Pat Haden 12 James Harris 16 Ron Jaworski Running backs (RB) 45 Jim Bertelsen 32 Cullen Bryant 22 John Cappelletti 30 Lawrence McCutcheon 33 Rob Scribner Wide receivers (WR) 29 Harold Jackson 81 Ron Jessie 88 Freeman Johns 87 Dwight Scales Tight ends (TE) 80 Bob Klein 83 Terry Nelson

Offensive linemen (OL) 77 Doug France T 60 Dennis Harrah G 63 Greg Horton G 65 Tom Mack G 61 Rich Saul C 78 Jackie Slater T 75 John Williams T Defensive linemen (DL) 90 Larry Brooks DT 89 Fred Dryer DE 79 Mike Fanning DT 76 Cody Jones DT 74 Merlin Olsen DT 85 Jack Youngblood DE

Linebackers (LB) 52 Rick Kay 50 Kevin McLain 64 Jack Reynolds 58 Isiah Robertson 53 Jim Youngblood Defensive backs (DB) 42 Dave Elmendorf SS 28 Monte Jackson CB 49 Rod Perry CB 20 Steve Preece S 48 Bill Simpson FS 27 Pat Thomas CB Special teams (ST) 10 Tom Dempsey K 9 Rusty Jackson P

Reserve 43 Jim Jodat FB (IR) -- Ron McCartney LB (IR) Rookies in italics

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	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	Atlanta Falcons	W 59–0	9–3–1	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	57,366
14	December 11	at Detroit Lions	W 20–17	10–3–1	Pontiac Municipal Stadium	73,470
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Playoffs

Main article: 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

NFC West
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Los Angeles Rams (3)	10	3	1	.750	7–0	9–2–1	351	190	W4
San Francisco 49ers	8	6	0	.571	5–2	7–5	270	190	W1
New Orleans Saints	4	10	0	.286	2–5	3–8	253	346	L3
Atlanta Falcons	4	10	0	.286	2–5	4–8	172	312	L3
Seattle Seahawks	2	12	0	.143	1–3	1–12	229	429	L5

References

1. "Rams pound Falcons, 59-0". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. December 5, 1976. p. 81.
2. "Vik-Ram tie sets up later duel". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. September 20, 1976. p. 1D.
3. "Silent giant paces 49ers". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. October 12, 1976. p. 27.
4. "49ers stage the 'Great Harris Rush'". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). UPI. October 12, 1976. p. 1B.
5. "For want of a foot, Rams shoo Dallas". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. December 20, 1976. p. 14.
6. "Special teams do it for Vikes". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. December 27, 1976. p. 20.
7. Leonard, Vince (December 27, 1976). "Foreman's big second half crushes Rams, 24-13". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 17.