1976 Los Angeles Rams season

1976 Los Angeles Rams season
1976 Los Angeles Rams season
Owner	Carroll Rosenbloom
Head coach	Chuck Knox
Home field	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Results
Record	10–3–1
Division place	1st NFC West
Playoff finish	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, winning their 4th straight division title as well as their 4th straight playoff berth. After a record setting 1975 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. One good notable record was breaking the franchise record for points scored in a game with 59 in a 59-0 winning against the Atlanta Falcons. The Rams would ultimately have another year of success, finishing 10-3-1. In the playoffs, they would beat Dallas 14-12 in the Divisional Round of the playoffs. However, the Rams would lose the NFC Championship game to the Minnesota Vikings 24-13.

This season would be the final season for the last member of the Rams' original 1960s "Fearsome Foursome" defensive line, as defensive tackle Merlin Olsen would retire after 15 seasons.

Offseason

1976 Expansion Draft

Los Angeles Rams selected during the Expansion Draft
Name	Position	Expansion Team
Ken Geddes	Linebacker	Seattle Seahawks
Eddie McMillan	Cornerback	Seattle Seahawks
Willie McGee	Wide receiver	Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1976 Los Angeles Rams draft
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 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

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

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