Have the Los Angeles Rams won a Super Bowl?
List of Los Angeles Rams seasons
Over the course of the Rams’ 71-year history, they have won 15 division titles. They have appeared in the postseason 27 times, winning three NFL Championships. During the Super Bowl era, they have played in three Super Bowls, winning one.
History of the Los Angeles Rams
On January 4, 2016, the St. Louis Rams filed for relocation to move to the Los Angeles area for the 2016 NFL season. They were among the three teams (the Rams, Oakland Raiders, and the San Diego Chargers) that filed for relocation to Los Angeles. All three franchises previously played in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Weeks later, the NFL owners gathered in Houston for a meeting on January 11 and January 12, a meeting that decided the end of the Los Angeles race. A few days before the scheduled owners meeting, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones suggested that the Rams and Chargers should share Stan Kroenke's Los Angeles Stadium at Hollywood Park. This suggestion was taken as a possible option discussed in the Houston meetings. During the Los Angeles meeting, the Committee on Los Angeles Opportunities, which consists of six NFL owners, favored the Carson project over the Rams' Inglewood project. Despite this, thanks to Jerry Jones' pitch, the first round of voting during the meeting, the Rams got the greater number of votes, conquering the Carson project 21–11. However, the Rams did not meet the required 24 votes in the second round of voting the Rams Inglewood project received 20 votes while the Chargers and Raiders Carson project received only 12 votes. After hours of searching to find a compromise, it was determined that the Rams would relocate to Los Angeles and the Chargers would have the option to join them, while the Raiders would have the option to join the Rams if the Chargers elected not to move.
Don Coryell
Winslow points out that Coryell had an indirect hand in the 49ers', Washington Redskins' and St. Louis Rams' Super Bowl teams. "They call it the West Coast offense because San Francisco won Super Bowls with it, but it was a variation of what we did in San Diego. Joe Gibbs' itty-bitty receivers on the outside and two tight ends in the middle, (that's) a variation of Coryell's offense in San Diego. It's just a personnel change, but it's the same thing. When the Rams won their Super Bowl, it was the same offense, same terminology. For Don Coryell to not be in the Hall of Fame is a lack of knowledge of the voters. That's the nicest way that I can put that. A lack of understanding of the legacy of the game."
D'Marco Farr
D'Marco Farr (born June 9, 1971) is a former American football player and with the Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams in the National Football League and current sideline reporter for the Los Angeles Rams. Farr played defensive tackle for the Rams from 1994–2000 and recorded 36.5 career sacks. He was a member of the Rams team that won Super Bowl XXXIV.
History of the Dallas Cowboys
After a slow start in 1978, Dallas won its final six regular season games to finish the season at 12–4. After an unexpectedly close divisional playoff game against the Atlanta Falcons at Texas Stadium, the Cowboys traveled to Los Angeles and shut out the Rams in the NFC Championship Game 28–0 to return to the Super Bowl. In Super Bowl XIII, Dallas faced the Steelers at the Orange Bowl in Miami. The Steelers outlasted the Cowboys 35–31, despite a furious comeback that saw Dallas score two touchdowns late in the fourth quarter; the game was not decided until the final 22 seconds, when a Dallas onside kick failed. Bob Ryan, an NFL films editor, dubbed the Cowboys "America's Team" following this season, a nickname that has earned derision from non-Cowboys fans but has stuck through both good times and bad.
History of the Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team that play in the National Football League (NFL). The Rams franchise was founded in 1936 as the Cleveland Rams in the short-lived second American Football League before joining the NFL the next year. In 1946, the franchise moved to Los Angeles. The Rams franchise remained in the metro area until 1994, when they moved to St. Louis, and were known as the St. Louis Rams from 1995 to 2015. The Rams franchise returned to Los Angeles in 2016. This article chronicles the franchise's history during their time in Los Angeles, from playing at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum between 1946 and 1979, to playing at Anaheim Stadium (now known as Angel Stadium of Anaheim) in Anaheim from 1980 to 1994, and its return to Southern California beginning with the season.
Andrew Whitworth
In 2018, Whitworth helped the Rams reach Super Bowl LIII after they defeated the Dallas Cowboys in the Divisional Round and New Orleans Saints in the NFC Championship Game. The Rams will face the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.
Super Bowl XXXIV
The Rams entered their second Super Bowl in team history with an NFC-best 13–3 regular season record. It was the franchise's first playoff appearance since 1989, when they were still in Los Angeles. The Titans, who were originally the Houston Oilers, also finished the regular season with a 13–3 record, but advanced to their first Super Bowl in team history after entering the playoffs as a wild-card team. Tennessee finished in second place in the AFC Central division behind the 14–2 Jacksonville Jaguars.
St. Louis
St. Louis has been home to four different National Football League (NFL) teams. The St. Louis All-Stars played in the city in 1923, the St. Louis Gunners in 1934, the St. Louis Cardinals from 1960 to 1987, and the St. Louis Rams from 1995 to 2015. The football Cardinals advanced to the NFL playoffs just three times (1974, 1975 and 1982), never hosting or winning in any appearance. The Cardinals moved to Phoenix, Arizona, in 1988. The Rams played at the Edward Jones Dome from 1995 to 2015 and went on to win Super Bowl XXXIV. The Rams returned to Los Angeles, California in 2016.
2007 Dallas Cowboys season
This would mark the first time since their Super Bowl year of 1995 that the Cowboys began a season at 8–1, and only the third time in franchise history that Dallas began at 8–1; the other times were during the 1977 season, and the 1983 season. The Cowboys won the Super Bowl in 1977 and 1995, but lost the wildcard game to the Los Angeles Rams in 1983.
History of the St. Louis Rams
Prior to the Rams’ 1979 Super Bowl season, owner Carroll Rosenbloom drowned in an accident. His widow, Georgia Frontiere, inherited 70% ownership of the team. Frontiere fired her step-son, Steve Rosenbloom, and assumed total control of the franchise. As had been planned prior to Carroll Rosenbloom's death, the Rams moved from their longtime home at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to Anaheim Stadium in nearby Orange County in 1980. The move was necessitated in part by the fact that the Coliseum was difficult to sell out because of its abnormally large seating capacity (100,000), subjecting the team to the league's local-market TV blackout rule, whenever home games did not sell out. Also, Southern California's population patterns were changing; there was rapid growth in L.A.’s affluent suburbs (e.g. greater Orange County) and a decline in the city of Los Angeles’ citizenship and earning power. Anaheim Stadium was originally built in 1966 as the home of the California Angels Major League Baseball franchise. To accommodate the Rams’ move, the ballpark was reconfigured with luxury suites and enclosed to accommodate crowds of about 65,000 for football.
Super Bowl XXXVI
The game heralded the Patriots dynasty, being the first of nine Super Bowl appearances under the duo of head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady. The Patriots finished the 2002 NFL season 9-7, missing the playoffs. But they went on to win Super Bowl XXXVIII, Super Bowl XXXIX, thus winning three Super Bowls in four years. Then, they won their fourth and fifth Super Bowls (Super Bowl XLIX and Super Bowl LI) a decade after their third. Brady also won three more Super Bowl MVP awards in Super Bowl XXXVIII, Super Bowl XLIX, and Super Bowl LI, making him the only player to be named Super Bowl MVP four times. Super Bowl XXXVI later became part of the wider 2007 New England Patriots videotaping controversy, also known as "Spygate". In addition to other videotaping allegations, the "Boston Herald" reported, citing an unnamed source, that the Patriots had also taped the Rams' walkthrough practice prior to the game. After further investigations, the league determined that no tape of the Rams' Super Bowl walkthrough was made, and the "Herald" later issued an apology in 2008 for their article about the alleged walkthrough tape. Nevertheless, the Patriots finished the 2007 regular season with a perfect 16–0 record, but failed to record an undefeated 19–0 championship season after losing Super Bowl XLII to the New York Giants. And at the conclusion of the 2015 NFL season, the Patriots held the NFL's best record since Spygate, compiling a 96-32 record from 2008 to 2015.
The Patriots' win in this Super Bowl, beyond just serving as a springboard to four more championships, also became the starting point for a decade of success in Boston sports, with the city's teams winning seven championships in the four major North American sports leagues (the NFL, the NBA, the NHL and MLB), including at least one in each league. Over the next fifteen years, in addition to the Patriots' four additional Super Bowls:
History of the Los Angeles Rams
The Rams' return to Los Angeles is also being used to help expand the league's presence around the globe. In 2016, the Rams faced the New York Giants in London at Twickenham Stadium, as part of the NFL's International Series. The Rams are also expected to play a game in China in time for the 2018 NFL season. Kevin Demoff, the team's Executive Vice President of Football Operations/Chief Operating Officer, told "The Guardian" that he sees L.A. as a gateway to Asia and says being in L.A. will help sell the brand, more so, than in St. Louis.
Oakland Raiders
The Raiders have won a total of 3 Super Bowls. They won their first Super Bowl under John Madden, and their next two with Tom Flores.
Michael Brockers
In 2018, Brockers played all 16 games, finishing with 54 tackles and a sack. The Rams reached Super Bowl LIII after defeating both the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints in the playoffs. The Rams will play the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.
1955 NFL Championship Game
This was the Rams' fourth title game in seven seasons, with one victory in 1951. They did not reach the league's big game again until Super Bowl XIV in January 1980, and did not win until Super Bowl XXXIV in January 2000, as the St. Louis Rams.
List of Los Angeles Rams seasons
This article is a list of seasons completed by the Los Angeles Rams American football franchise (known as the Cleveland Rams from 1936 to 1945 and the St. Louis Rams from 1995 to 2015) in organized play. The list documents the season-by-season records of the Los Angeles Rams franchise from 1936 to present, including conference standings, division standings, postseason records, league awards for individual players or head coaches, and team awards for individual players. The Rams franchise was founded in Cleveland in 1936 when the team was playing in the newly formed American Football League (AFL). The franchise joined the National Football League (NFL) the following year. In 1943 operations were suspended due a depleted player roster due to World War II, and play resumed the following year. The Rams were the only team to suspend completely in 1943. The franchise has changed home cities thrice, moving to Los Angeles in 1946, moving to St. Louis in 1995, and returning to Los Angeles in 2016.
2018 Los Angeles Rams season
Kicker Greg Zuerlein converted four field goals, the last coming from 57 yards out with 11:47 remaining in overtime to lift the Rams over the host Saints to the NFC Championship and the franchise's fourth Super Bowl appearance. A matchup that featured the NFC's two most prolific offenses turned into a defensive battle, with both teams being held well below their season averages in total offense and points. New Orleans scored field goals on its first two drives (the second coming after an interception) and Drew Brees ended the Saints' third drive of the quarter with a 5-yard TD pass to tight end Garrett Griffin to give New Orleans a 13-0 first quarter lead. The Rams' offense sputtered early, held to just 10 yards in nine plays and no first downs in the first period, but got a spark when Johnny Hekker tossed a 12-yard pass to Sam Shields on a fake punt that eventually led to a 36-yard field goal by Zuerlein with 9:49 left in the second quarter. With less than two minutes remaining in the second quarter and starting at their own 19, Rams quarterback Jared Goff completed four of six pass attempts, the last going 36 yards to wide receiver Brandin Cooks down to the New Orleans 6. From there, Gurley scored with 28 seconds left before halftime to bring the Rams within three points 13-10. After Brees threw his second touchdown pass to put the Saints up by 10 points, Goff completed six straight passes on an 11-play, 75-yard drive, the last a 1-yard scoring strike to tight end Tyler Higbee. Midway through the fourth quarter, the Rams mounted their strongest drive of the game, driving from their own 9 to the Saints 1-yard line before settling for a 24-yard field goal from Zuerlein with 5:06 remaining to tie the game at 20-20. Brees and the Saints rallied to push deep into Rams territory, but the drive stalled at the Rams 13-yard-line, where Wil Lutz kicked his third field goal of the game with 1:45 remaining. Goff then drove the Rams to the New Orleans 30 to set up Zuerlein's successful 48-yard field goal with 19 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime. The Saints won the toss and elected to receive, but Brees was forced into three incompletions, and on his third attempt, as he threw, he was hit by Rams linebacker Dante Fowler and the wobbly pass was intercepted by Rams strong safety John Johnson. Goff completed two key passes to Higbee while under heavy pressure to reach the New Orleans 39. From there, Hekker handled a low snap and Zuerlein's kick sailed through the uprights to stun the home crowd at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. It was the longest game-winning kick in NFL playoff history. Goff completed 25 of 40 passes for 297 yards with a touchdown and an interception, while Cooks led the Rams with seven receptions for 107 yards against the team that had originally drafted him. Josh Reynolds added four receptions for 74 yards and ran 16 yards to set up a Rams touchdown. C.J. Anderson ran 16 times for 44 yards to lead Los Angeles on the ground, while Gurley played sparingly and only 10 yards rushing (13 yards total offense). On defense, Cory Littleton had 12 tackles (11 solo) and Ndamukong Suh had four tackles, including 1.5 sacks to lead L.A.
1978 Dallas Cowboys season
There was a lot of bad blood between the Dallas Cowboys and the LA Rams prior to their '78 NFC Championship contest. Both the Cowboys and Vikings shared a common recent history of eliminating the LA Rams from the playoffs throughout the 1970s, consigning the Rams to being labeled, "next year's champions" for nearly a decade. So, when the undefeated (2-0) Dallas Cowboys traveled to Los Angeles to play the undefeated (2-0) Rams during week-3 of the 1978 regular season, the Rams not only wanted to win the game for a measure of revenge over the Dallas Cowboys, but also wanted to use a victory over last year's Super Bowl champions to make a statement to the rest of the league, "That the '78 season was the year the Rams finally win a championship".
1973 Los Angeles Rams season
The Rams donned new uniforms, which remained in use until 1994, their final season in Los Angeles, and though they moved to St. Louis in 1995, the uniform tradition continued until 1999, where they won Super Bowl XXXIV, and will wear them for Super Bowl LIII. The uniforms would return for their home games in 2018 and 2019
Oakland Raiders
In the midst of the turmoil of Al Davis' attempts to move the team to Los Angeles in 1980, Flores looked to lead the Raiders to their third Super bowl by finishing the season 11–5 and earning a wild card berth. Quarterback Jim Plunkett revitalized his career, taking over in game five when starter Dan Pastorini was lost for the season to a broken leg after owner Al Davis had picked up Pastorini when he swapped quarterbacks with the Houston Oilers, sending the beloved Ken Stabler to the Oilers. The Raiders defeated Stabler and the Oilers in the Wild Card game and advanced to the AFC Championship by defeating the Cleveland Browns 14–12. The Raiders slipped by the AFC West champion San Diego Chargers to advance to their third Super Bowl. In Super Bowl XV, the Raiders faced head coach Dick Vermeil's Philadelphia Eagles. The Raiders dominated the Eagles, taking an early 14–0 lead in the first quarter behind two touchdown passes by Plunkett, including a then-Super Bowl record 80-yard pass and catch to running bank Kenny King. A Cliff Branch third quarter touchdown reception put the Raiders up 21–3 in the third quarter. They would go on to win 27–10, winning their second Super Bowl and becoming the first team to ever win the Super Bowl after getting into the playoffs as the wild card team.
1994 Los Angeles Rams season
The final meeting between the two Southern California rivals ended in a close 20–17 victory for the Raiders in Anaheim. The "Los Angeles" Rams and the "Los Angeles" Raiders only met five times as cross-town rivals with the Rams finishing with a 1–4 record against the Raiders. The games, however, were generally very close with only one of the meetings being decided by more than one score (the Raiders' 16–6 victory in 1985). The 1994 meeting was a back and forth affair that eventually saw the Raiders ice the game away with a pair of field goals in the fourth quarter.
This was the last meeting between the Rams and 49ers as "California" rivals until 2016 and it ended with the eventual Super Bowl champion 49ers on top with a 31–27 final. While the meeting between the two rivals in Anaheim was not very close, the 1994 meeting at Candlestick Park was a very close affair to close out the Los Angeles-San Francisco rivalry. The 49ers jumped out to an early 14–3 lead and held a 21–6 lead at halftime, the Rams, however, came storming back in the second half, outscoring San Francisco 21–10. Los Angeles was able to take the lead in the fourth quarter on a 22-yard pass play by Chris Miller, but the 49ers responded with a touchdown drive of their own to take a 31–27 advantage. The 49ers ended up holding on for their ninth win of the season while the Rams dropped their seventh game en route to a 4–12 season. The final record between the "Los Angeles" Rams and the San Francisco 49ers from the 1950 to 1994 was 48–40 in favor of Los Angeles.
Week thirteen saw the final meeting between the Los Angeles Rams and the San Diego Chargers. The Rams jumped out to a 14–6 lead in the first half, but Los Angeles was unable to hold off the eventual AFC Champion Chargers and fell 31–17. After the season, the Chargers ended up having the entire Southern California megaregion to themselves after the Rams and the Raiders vacated the Los Angeles market—an arrangement that would not be changed until 2016, when the Rams relocated to Los Angeles. Los Angeles was also mathematically eliminated from the NFC West race during week 13 after its loss to San Diego and with San Francisco improving to 8–2 on the next day on Monday Night Football.
In front of a sparse crowd of around 34,000 at Tampa Stadium, Los Angeles dropped its fifth game in a row and in the process became mathematically eliminated from playoff contention for the fifth consecutive season. The game was fairly evenly matched (both were 4–9 going into the game) except for a 17-point outburst in the second quarter by the Buccaneers that gave Tampa Bay the victory.
In front of the smallest crowd at Anaheim Stadium, the Rams closed out their tenure in Southern California with a loss to the 2–13 Washington Redskins. After a season full of rumors of the franchise’s inevitable relocation, the fan base had withered down to next to nothing and two high school football games at Anaheim Stadium drew larger crowds than the announced attendance for the Rams’ week 17 game. Many fans spent the game chanting expletives and hurling insults and owner Georgia Frontiere and the City of St. Louis—“Save the Rams” founder Leigh Steinberg attempted to discuss keeping the Rams in Southern California, but Rams executives were nowhere to be found. The game was a close affair with the hapless Washington Redskins and despite being favored by 3.5 points, Los Angeles ended up falling by three points to end 49 seasons of Los Angeles Ram football. They would subsequently return to Los Angeles in 2016 after experiencing similar issues in St. Louis as they previously did in Los Angeles.
By 1995, the Los Angeles Rams has withered to a mere shadow of their former self. Accusations and excuses were constantly thrown back and forth between the Rams’ fan base, ownership, and local politicians. Many in the fan base blamed the ownership of Georgia Frontiere for the franchise’s woes, while ownership cited the outdated stadium and withering fan support for the problems that were plaguing the Rams. On March 15, 1995, the National Football League owners rejected Ms. Frontiere’s bid to move the franchise to St. Louis, Missouri by a 21–3–6 vote. Then-Commissioner Paul Tagliabue stated after rejecting the move that The commissioner also added:
1971 Los Angeles Rams season
As they had in 1970, the Rams and 49ers would again stage a season long battle for the NFC West title that would come down to the season's final game. The Rams season got off to a rocky and controversial start in New Orleans against the Saints and their rookie quarterback Archie Manning. The Saints trailed 20–17 in the final seconds and faced 4th and goal from the Rams' 1-yard line. Instead of settling for a tie (there was no overtime for regular season games in the NFL in 1971), the Saints gambled and went for the win. Manning ran a quarterback sneak in which the officials signaled touchdown, although television replays showed that Manning was stopped short of the goal line. So instead of a 20–17 win, the Rams lost 24–20. In week 2 the Rams needed a last second field goal to tie the Atlanta Falcons, 20–20. The Rams appeared to right their ship by winning their next 4 games, including a 20–13 win in San Francisco. But back-to-back losses to the Miami Dolphins and Baltimore Colts left the 4–3–1 Rams games behind the 6–2 49ers. Then the Rams won 2 straight, including a 17–6 win in San Francisco; that gave the Rams a -game lead in the division and they held the tiebreaker over the 49ers by virtue of their season sweep of S.F. The Rams then lost a Thanksgiving game in Dallas 28–21, but re-took the division lead with two games to play by beating the Saints 45–28. However, just as they had the year before, the Rams lost a Monday night game at home, this time to the Redskins coached by their former head man George Allen, 38–24. And just like the previous season's Monday night home loss to the Lions, this one ended up costing the Rams both the division title and the wild card berth (won by the Redskins). The Rams won their final game in Pittsburgh 23–14, but learned on their flight home that the 49ers rallied beat the Lions with a 4th-quarter touchdown, 31–27.
Los Angeles Rams
On January 17, 2009, Steve Spagnuolo was named the new head coach of the franchise. In his previous post as Defensive Coordinator with the New York Giants, Spagnuolo masterminded a defensive scheme that shut down the potent offense of the previously undefeated and untied New England Patriots, the odds on favorite to win the Super Bowl that year. In one of the greatest upsets in Super Bowl history, the New York Giants defeated the Patriots 17–14. In spite of his success as Defensive Coordinator with the New York Giants, Spagnuolo's first season as Head Coach of the Rams was terribly disappointing as the team won only once in 16 attempts.
Los Angeles Rams
The Rams began their playoff run by defeating the Dallas Cowboys 30–22 in the divisional round to head to the NFC Championship Game for the first time since January 2002. The following week, the Rams beat the Saints on the road 26–23 to advance to the Super Bowl for the first time since Super Bowl XXXVI in January 2002, and since Super Bowl XIV in January 1980 as a Los Angeles team. In the January 20, 2019 NFC championship game in overtime, they defeated the New Orleans Saints 26-23. When they play in the February 3 Super Bowl LIII held in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium Atlanta, Georgia against the New England Patriots, it will be a first in 35 years that a Los Angeles team will be featured.
Super Bowl XIII
Pittsburgh would cement their legacy as "The Team of the 70's" by winning Super Bowl XIV over the Los Angeles Rams, 31–19. The Cowboys would fall to the Rams in the Divisional Round in 1979 in Staubach's final game. Led by Danny White, Dallas would appear in three straight NFC Championship games from 1980–82 but wouldn't reach another Super Bowl until their 52–17 victory over the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVII. Super Bowl XIII is still widely regarded as one of the greatest Super Bowl games ever played. According to the nfl.com article "Ranking the Super Bowls" by media analyst Elliot Harrison, featuring Dallas personnel man Gil Brandt, Super Bowl XIII was the greatest of the first 49 played. According to Brandt, "Super Bowl XIII, in my mind, was the most memorable of the Super Bowls. Those were two great football teams. We (the Cowboys) made mistakes. We had Randy White on the return team with a cast on, and then he fumbled the kickoff ... which really hurt us. Even though we lost, I would say Super Bowl XIII was the greatest Super Bowl."
List of Los Angeles Rams seasons
The franchise has had three periods of success in their history. The first period of came as the Cleveland Rams in NFL when they won the NFL Championship. This period continued until the 1950s as the Los Angeles Rams with them making the playoffs a further five times. The second period of success lasted over 20 years between – where the Rams made the playoffs 16 times and captured ten NFC Division titles including a then-record run of seven in a row from the 1973 season through the 1979 seasons (the New England Patriots broke the record with nine straight AFC East division titles from the 2009 season through the 2017 season). However, this period of success was marred by the fact that the franchise did not win the Super Bowl and only one Conference Championship. The most recent period of success began in as the St. Louis Rams when the Rams capped a surprisingly successful season (after going 4–12 the previous year) by winning Super Bowl XXXIV against the Tennessee Titans. This period continued until but the franchise failed to win another Super Bowl and suffered a surprise defeat to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVI.
2018 New England Patriots season
In the 2018–19 playoffs, the Patriots defeated the Los Angeles Chargers in the Divisional round 41–28, and advanced to the AFC Championship game for a record eighth-straight time. The Patriots defeated the Chiefs 37–31 in overtime to go to the Super Bowl for the third straight time, becoming only the third team in NFL history to appear in three consecutive Super Bowls (after the 1990–93 Buffalo Bills and the 1971–73 Miami Dolphins). In Super Bowl LIII, they will face the Los Angeles Rams at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in a rematch of Super Bowl XXXVI, in which the Patriots defeated the then-St. Louis Rams in a shocking upset 20–17. The Patriots will attempt to win their sixth Super Bowl championship, hoping to tie with the Pittsburgh Steelers for most Super Bowl championships.
2018 Los Angeles Rams season
The Rams started their playoff run by defeating the Dallas Cowboys 30–22 in the Divisional round, their first home playoff win in Los Angeles since 1985 and their first home playoff win since 2001 against the Packers while they were based in St. Louis. This would be their first NFC Championship Game appearance since 2001, and their first as the Los Angeles Rams since 1989 (and first while playing at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum since 1979). The Rams then defeated the number 1 seed New Orleans Saints in the NFC Championship Game 26–23 in overtime, a game which featured a controversial no-call on an apparent pass interference by Rams defensive back Nickell Robey-Coleman. By defeating the Saints, the Rams have advanced to Super Bowl LIII, where they'll face the New England Patriots. The two teams previously met in Super Bowl XXXVI, in which the Patriots defeated the then-St. Louis Rams 20–17. This is the Rams' first Super Bowl appearance since that game and first based in Los Angeles since Super Bowl XIV in 1979.
History of the St. Louis Rams
The Rams’ opponent in Super Bowl XXXIV would be the Tennessee Titans, who, like the Rams, had recently relocated from a major metropolis (Houston, Texas) to a mid-sized city (Nashville, Tennessee). In a game that many consider the best Super Bowl ever, Tennessee played the Rams tough throughout, achieving a 16–16 tie with 2:12 left on an Al Del Greco field goal. On the next drive, Warner, who had been a clutch performer all season long, came through once again, connecting with Isaac Bruce for a 73-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the drive to give the Rams a 23–16 lead with 1:53 to play.
History of the National Football League in Los Angeles
The Rams quickly became established as an NFL power, winning 7 straight divisional titles from 1973 to 1979, with top quarterbacks like Roman Gabriel and the legendary Fearsome Foursome, consisting of Rosey Grier, Lamar Lundy, Merlin Olsen and Deacon Jones.
1983 Los Angeles Rams season
The 1983 Los Angeles Rams season was the team's 46th year with the National Football League and the 38th season in the city of Los Angeles. The franchise drafted a future Hall of Fame Running Back in Eric Dickerson. The season saw the team attempt to improve on its 2-7 record from 1982. The team started out 5-2 before splitting their next 4 games and then lost at home to Washington to sit at 7-5. They would split their last 4 games to finish 9-7 and make the playoffs for the first time since 1980 after a 2-year absence. In the playoffs, they defeated the Cowboys 24-17 in Dallas to advance to the Divisional Round. However, in the game, the Rams were annihilated 51-7 by the Redskins, who would move on to the Super Bowl later, only to lose to the Los Angeles Raiders, 38-9.
Super Bowl IV
Meanwhile, the Vikings recorded their first postseason win in franchise history by defeating the Los Angeles Rams, 23-20. Though the Rams held the lead for most of the time in regulation, Kapp led a touchdown drive to give the team a 21-20 4th quarter lead. Eller made a key play to preserve the lead, sacking Rams quarterback Roman Gabriel in the end zone for a safety and Alan Page intercepted a pass with 30 seconds left on the clock.
History of the Los Angeles Rams
The Rams opened their 2018 season on September 10 by defeating the Oakland Raiders 33–13 on Monday Night Football, scoring 23 unanswered second half points in a game where head coach McVay took on his former mentor, Jon Gruden, who was making his return to coaching. It was the first of two Monday Night Football appearances for the Rams in the season. The Rams continued their strong start throughout the season finishing the first half of the season 8–0, their best start since 1969. The Rams were the only remaining undefeated team in the NFL in 2018 until losing on the road to the New Orleans Saints in Week 9 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The Rams bounced back with three straight wins, defeating the Seattle Seahawks 36–31, and then winning a wild 54–51 shootout against the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football. Following a bye week, the Rams beat the host Detroit Lions 30–16 in Week 13 to clinch both a playoff berth and their second straight NFC West title. Los Angeles stumbled with back-to-back losses to the Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles, but finished strong with victories over the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers to clinch a first round bye. The Rams' 13–3 record tied for the best record in the league, while having the second-most wins in a single season in franchise history and were the most ever for any NFL team in Los Angeles.
Los Angeles Rams
After winning the 1945 NFL Championship Game, the franchise moved to Los Angeles in 1946, making way for Paul Brown's Cleveland Browns of the All-America Football Conference and becoming the only NFL championship team to play the following season in another city. The club played their home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum before moving into a reconstructed Anaheim Stadium in Orange County, California in 1980.
Super Bowl
The Pittsburgh Steelers have won six Super Bowls, the most of any team; the Dallas Cowboys, New England Patriots and San Francisco 49ers have five victories each, while the Green Bay Packers and New York Giants have four Super Bowl championships. Fourteen other NFL franchises have won at least one Super Bowl. Eight teams have appeared in Super Bowl games without a win. The Minnesota Vikings were the first team to have appeared a record four times without a win. The Buffalo Bills played in a record four Super Bowls in a row and lost every one. Four teams (the Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Houston Texans) have never appeared in a Super Bowl. The Browns and Lions both won NFL Championships prior to the creation of the Super Bowl, while the Jaguars (1995) and Texans (2002) are both recent NFL expansion teams. (Detroit, Houston, and Jacksonville, however, have hosted a Super Bowl, leaving the Browns the only team to date who has neither played in nor whose city has hosted the game.) The Minnesota Vikings won the last NFL Championship before the merger but lost to the AFL champion Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl IV.
The Greatest Show on Turf
The Rams went 13-3, 10-6, and 14-2 in those three seasons, respectively, and reached the playoffs every year. In 1999, the team reached Super Bowl XXXIV and defeated the Tennessee Titans to claim the first franchise championship in almost half a century. The Rams lost in the first round of the 2000 playoffs to the New Orleans Saints, but returned the next year to reach Super Bowl XXXVI, where they ultimately fell to the New England Patriots.
List of Baltimore Ravens seasons
Overall, the Ravens have won two Super Bowl championships in franchise history: 2000, when the team defeated the New York Giants 34–7 in Super Bowl XXXV; and in 2012, when the team defeated the San Francisco 49ers 34–31 in Super Bowl XLVII. They are currently the only team to reach the Super Bowl multiple times and never lose an appearance.
Sam Shields
On March 8, 2018, Shields signed with the Los Angeles Rams after sitting out the entire 2017 season while recovering from concussions. In his first season with the Rams, Shields recorded 22 tackles and 1 interception. Shields mainly played on special teams throughout the season. In the NFC Championship Game against the New Orleans Saints with the Rams down 13-0 early in the second quarter, the Rams did a fake punt and Shields caught the ball from Johnny Hekker for 12 yards to help the Rams get their first score of the game. The Rams went on to win in overtime 26-23 to advance to Super Bowl LIII where they will face the New England Patriots.
1990 Los Angeles Rams season
The 1990 Los Angeles Rams season was the team's 53rd year with the National Football League and the 45th season in Los Angeles. On November 11, 1990, Marcus Dupree made his NFL debut against the New York Giants. The Rams temporarily playing in the Los Angeles Coliseum looked to improve on their 11-5 season from 1989 and make the playoffs for the 3rd straight season and be possible contenders for the Super Bowl. However, the Rams would struggle all season, starting 1-4 before winning 2 of their next 3 games before losing their next 2 games as they dipped to a 3-7 record. After a win over Cleveland, the Rams upset the 49ers 28-17 in San Francisco to improve to 5-7. However, this would be perhaps the only good highlight of the season for the Rams, as after the win, they ended the season on a 4 game losing streak as the Rams finished with a disappointing 5-11 record and missed the playoffs for the first time since 1987.
John Robinson (American football coach)
Robinson is considered one of the more successful coaches in Rams history, twice leading the team to the NFC title game. Both of those contests ended in defeat against eventual Super Bowl champions, the 1985 Chicago Bears and the 1989 San Francisco 49ers. Robinson's tenure as Rams coach was made more difficult by the fact that the Rams played in the same division as the 49ers, the dominant team of the 1980s (the only time he won the NFC West title during his tenure was 1985), but he was also the coach who drafted running back Eric Dickerson. His 79 victories are the most in Rams franchise history.
1978 Dallas Cowboys season
Later that same season, they met the Rams again in the NFC Championship match. Both teams entered the game with a 12-4 regular season record. Both teams dominated their first round playoff opponents, which included a Rams 34-10 blowout victory at home over their other long time playoff nemesis, the Minnesota Vikings. And now, because of that emotionally charged week-3 loss to the Rams, the Cowboys were forced to play for the NFC Championship on the road in Los Angeles, California - in order to give themselves the chance to defend their Super Bowl title in Miami against the Pittsburgh Steelers, who had already won the AFC Championship against the Houston Oilers earlier that same day. But, as far as the Rams and their fans were concerned, the Cowboys would never get that chance because this was definitely going to be the year the Rams finally got over the hump, and became "this years champions".
San Francisco 49ers
In the divisional playoffs, they easily defeated the Vikings, 41–13. In the NFC championship game, they played against the Rams for a third time; the previous two games were decided by a total of 4 points, but they were able to blow out the Rams 30–3 earning another trip to the Super bowl, where they defeated the Denver Broncos in relatively easy fashion by a score of 55–10 in Super Bowl XXIV – setting a record for points scored and widest margin of victory in a Super Bowl. Montana himself set many Super Bowl records (some since tied or surpassed) en route to his third Super Bowl MVP. In winning the Super Bowl, the 49ers became the only team to win back-to-back Super Bowls under different head coaches. This 1989 championship team is often regarded as one of the most dominant teams in NFL history, winning three playoff games by a combined 100 points.
Los Angeles
Other notable sports teams include the UCLA Bruins and the USC Trojans in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), both of which are Division I teams in the Pac-12 Conference.
Los Angeles is the second-largest city in the United States but hosted no NFL team between 1995 and 2015. At one time, the Los Angeles area hosted two NFL teams: the Rams and the Raiders. Both left the city in 1995, with the Rams moving to St. Louis, and the Raiders moving back to their original home of Oakland. After 21 seasons in St. Louis, on January 12, 2016, the NFL announced the Rams would be moving back to Los Angeles for the 2016 NFL season. A new stadium will be built in Inglewood, California for the team by the 2020 season. Prior to 1995, the Rams played their home games in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum from 1946 to 1979 and the Raiders played their home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum from 1982 to 1994. The San Diego Chargers announced on January 12, 2017 they would relocate to Los Angeles and become the Los Angeles Chargers beginning in the 2017 NFL season and play at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California for the next three seasons until the Rams' Inglewood stadium is completed.
List of Los Angeles Rams head coaches
Rams owner Georgia Frontiere, who had taken over the team following the death of her husband Carroll Rosenbloom in 1979, hired former USC head coach John Robinson for the 1983 season. Bringing a host of former Trojan assistants with him, Robinson installed his trademark running game that worked perfectly with the Rams' powerful offensive line and explosive running back Eric Dickerson. Robinson led the Rams to playoff appearances in six of the next seven seasons, including an NFC West title in 1985 as well as reaching the NFC Championship Games in 1985 and 1989. But back-to-back losing seasons in 1990 and 1991 doomed Robinson, who stepped down after a 3-13 campaign. Robinson ended his NFL career with the most wins (79) in Rams franchise history.
Los Angeles Rams
It was the Rams' weakest divisional winner (an aging 1979 team that only achieved a 9-7 record) that would achieve the team's greatest success in that period. Led by third-year quarterback Vince Ferragamo, the Rams shocked the heavily favored and two-time defending NFC champion Dallas Cowboys 21-19 in the Divisional Playoffs, then shut out the upstart Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-0 in the conference championship game to win the NFC and reach their first Super Bowl. Along with Ferragamo, key players for the Rams were halfback Wendell Tyler, offensive lineman Jackie Slater, and Pro Bowl defenders Jack Youngblood and Jack "Hacksaw" Reynolds.
Super Bowl XXXVI
Super Bowl XXXVI ended up being the last Super Bowl that the Rams participated while based in St. Louis; they relocated back to Los Angeles in 2016. The Rams would once again reach the Super Bowl in 2019.
History of the Los Angeles Rams
On September 12, 2016, the Rams played their first regular season game since returning to Los Angeles, where they lost to the San Francisco 49ers 28–0 at Levi's Stadium. On September 18, in front of over 91,000 fans at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, The Rams played their first home game on September 18, 2016, defeating the Seattle Seahawks 9-3
Super Bowl XXIV
The 49ers then entered the NFC Championship Game against the Los Angeles Rams, who had defeated San Francisco in one of their two regular season games against them, and were coming off postseason wins against two of the NFC's toughest teams, the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles. The Rams scored first to take a 3–0 lead. However, the 49ers took over in the 2nd quarter, scoring 21 unanswered points on two touchdown passes by Montana and a touchdown run by Craig. By halftime, San Francisco had a commanding 21–3 lead and went on to a surprisingly easy 30–3 win and their second consecutive Super Bowl appearance. Montana had another superb performance, compiling 262 passing yards and 2 touchdowns, again without throwing an interception. Rams quarterback Jim Everett was held to 163 yards and threw 3 interceptions.
Super Bowl XLVI
The Giants joined the 2008 Arizona Cardinals and 1979 Los Angeles Rams as the only other team to advance to the Super Bowl with fewer than ten victories since the NFL expanded to a 16-game season in 1978, and the only one of those three to win the Super Bowl they had advanced to. They have won six consecutive playoff games away from their home stadium, dating back to their victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2007 Wild Card round. That includes their Super Bowl XLII victory over these same Patriots, although that game was played at a neutral site (and the Giants were the designated "away" team for the game). The 2011 Giants are the first team in NFL history to reach the Super Bowl after having been outscored by their opponents in the regular season (394 points scored, 400 points allowed).
Los Angeles Rams
On November 26, 2017, the Rams defeated the New Orleans Saints 26–20. The win was their eighth of the season, which secured the franchise's first non-losing year since 2006, as well as their first in Los Angeles since 1989. A week later, the Rams would defeat the Cardinals 32–16 to secure a winning season for the first time since the 2003 season. On December 24, 2017, the Rams defeated the Tennessee Titans 27–23 to clinch their first NFC West title since 2003, and their first in Los Angeles since 1985; they finished the regular season with an 11-5 record. However, the team would meet an early exit in the first round of the playoffs at the hands of the defending conference champion Atlanta Falcons 26–13.
History of the Los Angeles Rams
The Rams' coach for this run was Chuck Knox, who led the team through 1977. The Chuck Knox-coached Rams featured an unremarkable offense carried into the playoffs annually by an elite defensive unit. The defining player of the 1970s L.A. Rams was Jack Youngblood. Youngblood was called the 'Perfect Defensive End' by fellow Hall of Famer Merlin Olsen. His toughness was legendary, notably playing on a broken leg during the Rams' run to the 1980 Super Bowl. His blue-collar ethic stood in opposition to the perception that the Rams were a soft 'Hollywood' team. However, several Rams players from this period took advantage of their proximity to Hollywood and crossed over into acting after their playing careers ended. Most notable of these was Fred Dryer, who starred in the TV series "Hunter" from 1984 to 1991, as well as Olsen, who retired after 1976. During the 1977 offseason, the Rams, looking for a veteran quarterback, acquired Joe Namath from the Jets. In spite of a 2–1 start to the regular season, Namath's bad knees rendered him nearly immobile and after a Monday night defeat in Chicago, he never played again. With Pat Haden at the helm, the Rams won the division and advanced to the playoffs, but lost at home to Minnesota. Chuck Knox left for the Bills in 1978, after which Ray Malavasi became head coach. Going 12–4, the team won the NFC West for the sixth year in a row and defeated the Vikings, thus avenging their earlier playoff defeat. However, success eluded them again as they were shut out in the NFC Championship by the Cowboys.
2000 St. Louis Rams season
The 2000 St. Louis Rams season was the team's 63rd year with the National Football League and the sixth season in St. Louis. For the first time in franchise history, the Rams entered the season as the defending Super Bowl champions. The Rams finished the regular-season with a record of 10–6 but would go on to lose to the New Orleans Saints in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. They led the NFL in scoring for a second straight year with 540 points. The Rams became the first team in NFL history to score more than 500 points on offense, while allowing more than 450 points on defense.
History of the National Football League in Los Angeles
In , the defending NFL champions, the Cleveland Rams moved to Los Angeles. The other league owners were not pleased with the move, but the league relented due in large part to concern that Los Angeles could potentially become the nucleus of a rival league. The Rams played home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, at the time shared with two NCAA teams – the USC Trojans and the UCLA Bruins – and an AAFC franchise, the Los Angeles Dons. It was the establishment of the Rams in Los Angeles that prompted the league to lift its moratorium on African-American players that had been in place since the early 1930s: terms of the Rams' lease on the Coliseum required the team to integrate, and to do so, the Rams signed former UCLA stars Kenny Washington and Woody Strode. When the AAFC folded in 1950, the Dons went out of business, but the AAFC's San Francisco 49ers were admitted to the NFL. This provided the NFL with a workable pair of West Coast cities for travel.
Super Bowl XIX
This was the second time a team could have been considered a home team for a Super Bowl, with Stanford just 30 miles away from San Francisco proper - Stanford is actually 15 miles closer to the city than Santa Clara, where the 49ers play home games today. The 49ers' practice facility was located in Redwood City at the time, just five miles from Stanford Stadium. Promotion for the Super Bowl also contributed to that feeling with many photographs of the Vince Lombardi Trophy near San Francisco landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge. Thus, the 49ers may be considered the only team to have won the Super Bowl at home. The Los Angeles Rams also played near home at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California in Super Bowl XIV, but lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Governor's Cup (Missouri)
When the Los Angeles Rams relocated to St. Louis, the rivalry among Missourians re-emerged. Both the Rams and the Chiefs possessed the two most productive offenses in the NFL in the early 2000s, and the meetings often resulted in shootouts. Former Rams coach Dick Vermeil was hired by the Chiefs in 2001 after he had won Super Bowl XXXIV with the Rams with one of the NFL's most powerful offensive squads in history.
History of the Los Angeles Rams
Prior to the 1979 NFL season, owner Carroll Rosenbloom died in a drowning accident, and his widow, Georgia Frontiere, inherited 70 percent ownership of the team. Frontiere then fired stepson Steve Rosenbloom and assumed total control of Rams operations. As had been planned prior to Rosenbloom's death, the Rams moved from their longtime home at the Coliseum to Anaheim Stadium in nearby Orange County in 1980.
San Francisco 49ers
The rivalry between the Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers is considered by many to be one of the greatest NFL rivalries ever, placing No. 8 on "Sports Illustrated"'s "Top 10 NFL Rivalries of All Time" list, compiled in 2008. After the Rams moved to St. Louis, Roger Craig stated in "Tales from the San Francisco 49ers Sideline" that "the Rams will always be the 49ers' biggest rival. It doesn't matter if they no longer play in Los Angeles. If the Rams played their home games on Mars, it would still be a rivalry." In fact, the Rams are the only team to have played the 49ers twice every season for the last 58 seasons to combine for more than 100 regular season games; the all-time regular season lead is held by the 49ers 65–63–3. They have only met once in a playoff game, when the 49ers beat the Rams 30–3 in 1989.
2017 Los Angeles Rams season
For the second consecutive year, the Rams started out in first place in the NFC West with a 3–1 record. The Los Angeles Rams also scored 107 points in the first three games of the season, the second highest in franchise history and a league leader. Furthermore, the team went from being dead last in total offense the previous season with an NFL-low 224 points to becoming the highest scoring team in the league in 2017 with an average of 29.9 points per game and 478 total points scored - tops in both categories. On Christmas Eve, the Rams defeated the Tennessee Titans 27–23 in a Super Bowl XXXIV rematch to clinch the NFC West for the first time since 2003 and their first playoff berth since 2004. This was also their first division title as the Los Angeles Rams since the 1985 season. Their promising season came to a end as they were defeated by the No. 6 seed and defending NFC Champions, the Atlanta Falcons, 13–26 in the Wild Card Round. Coincidentally in the Rams' last playoff game in 2005, they were also beaten by the Falcons.
Super Bowl LIII
Los Angeles finished the 2018 season earning the #2 seed in the NFC, before knocking off the Dallas Cowboys and top seeded New Orleans Saints to earn their fourth Super Bowl in franchise history. It was the culmination of a long journey for the Rams, who went from 2004 to 2016 without recording a winning record. But after relocating from St. Louis back to Los Angeles and posting a dismal 4–12 season in 2016, the team's fortunes changed with the hiring of 30-year old head coach Sean McVay, the youngest head coach in NFL history. Under McVay and second year quarterback Jared Goff, who recovered from a lackluster winless rookie season to record a triple digit passer rating, the Rams improved to an 11–5 record in 2017. Then in 2018, they won their first 8 games and finished the year with a 13–3 record, tying the Saints for the best record in the NFC.
49ers–Raiders rivalry
Although the Walsh-led Niners suffered losing seasons in 1979 and 1980 and the Raiders won Super Bowl XV in 1980 as the first wild-card team to win the Super Bowl, their fortunes were about to change. In 1980, Raiders owner Al Davis's failure to get luxury boxes added to the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum resulted in a hard-fought legal battle that made 1981 the Raiders' last year in Oakland. That same year, the 49ers with Montana under center led a dramatic comeback in the NFC championship to earn their first ever Super Bowl appearance, which they won against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Super Bowl LIV
On May 19, 2015, the league announced the four finalists that will compete to host either Super Bowl LIII in 2019 or Super Bowl LIV. NFL owners voted on these cities in May 2016, with the first round of voting determining who will host Super Bowl LIII, and the second round deciding the site for Super Bowl LIV. The league had also originally announced in 2015 that Los Angeles would be eligible as a potential Super Bowl LIV site if there is a stadium in place, and a team moved there by the start of the 2018 season. The league opened the relocation window in January 2016, selecting the former St. Louis Rams to return to Los Angeles; their new stadium in Inglewood, California was, at the time of the vote, not scheduled to open until August 2019 (it began construction in December 2016, giving nearly three years to construct the stadium). This meant that the new stadium was scheduled to be open in time for the game (and the league selected the relocating team just in time to be considered for Super Bowl LIV), but, under the current construction timetable, would require a waiver of league policy to host Super Bowl LIV, as the league does not allow stadiums in their first year of existence to host the Super Bowl to ensure that stadium construction delays and unforeseen problems do not jeopardize the game. In May 2016, the league granted this waiver and confirmed that Los Angeles was still in consideration for Super Bowl LIV. Los Angeles has hosted the Super Bowl seven times, most recently in 1993 with Super Bowl XXVII; that game, along with the four prior Super Bowls in the area, were held at the Rose Bowl while first two Super Bowls in Los Angeles area were held at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. On May 24, 2016, Atlanta was chosen to host Super Bowl LIII, thereby making it ineligible to host Super Bowl LIV. Meanwhile, Los Angeles removed itself from the running for Super Bowl LIV; it was awarded rights to Super Bowl LV shortly thereafter. However, a year later, on May 23, 2017, NFL owners opted to instead award Super Bowl LV to Tampa and give Super Bowl LVI to Los Angeles after it was announced that Los Angeles Stadium at Hollywood Park would open in 2020 due to construction delays.
Los Angeles Rams
Prior to the 1979 NFL season, owner Carroll Rosenbloom died in a drowning accident, and his widow, Georgia Frontiere, inherited 70 percent ownership of the team. Frontiere then fired stepson Steve Rosenbloom and assumed total control of Rams operations. As had been planned prior to Rosenbloom's death, the Rams moved from their longtime home at the Coliseum to Anaheim Stadium in nearby Orange County in 1980.
The reason for the move was twofold. First, the NFL's blackout rule forbade games from being shown on local television if they did not sell out within 72 hours of the opening kickoff. As the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum seated 92,604 at the time, it was rarely possible to sell that many tickets even in the Rams' best years, and so most Rams home games were blacked out. Second, this move was following the population pattern in Southern California. During the 1970s and 1980s, the decline of manufacturing industries in the northeastern United States combined with the desire of many people to live in a warmer climate caused a large-scale population shift to the southern and western states. As a result, many affluent new suburbs were built in the Los Angeles area. Anaheim Stadium was originally built in 1966 to be the home of the California Angels. To accommodate the Rams' move, the ballpark was reconfigured and enclosed to accommodate a capacity of 69,008 in the football configuration. With their new, smaller home, the Rams had no problem selling out games.
Los Angeles Express (USFL)
The team struggled to compete with the popularity of the Raiders, who had just won the Super Bowl, and the Rams. Despite the all-star lineup, the Express only drew 15,000 people per game–4,000 fewer than they drew a year earlier. On three occasions, the team drew crowds of fewer than 11,000 people. Largely due to the poor attendance, they reportedly lost $15 million.
List of Los Angeles Rams head coaches
The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams played their first season in 1936 in Cleveland, Ohio. During World War II, the Rams did not play during the 1943 season because of wartime restrictions and shortages. The team became known as the Los Angeles Rams after it moved to Los Angeles, California in 1946. After the 1979 season, the Rams moved south to the suburbs in nearby Orange County, playing their home games at Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim for 15 seasons (1980–1994) but kept their Los Angeles name. The club moved east to St. Louis, Missouri before the 1995 season, and moved back to Southern California before the 2016 season.
2018 Los Angeles Rams season
After defeating the Kansas City Chiefs 54–51 in Week 11 in the third highest-scoring game in NFL history, and a 30–16 victory over the Detroit Lions in Week 13, the Rams clinched the NFC West for the second consecutive year, giving Los Angeles its first back-to-back division titles since the 1978 and 1979 seasons. With that victory, the Rams clinched consecutive playoff berths for the first time since the 2003 and 2004 seasons, when the franchise was based in St. Louis. Following wins over the Arizona Cardinals and the San Francisco 49ers in the final two weeks, the Rams ended the regular season tied with New Orleans for the NFL's best record at 13–3. The 13 regular season victories was tied for the second-most in franchise history and is the most-ever wins in a season for an Los Angeles-based professional football team.
Super Bowl XXXV
The New York Giants started a trend of seven different NFC Champions in seven years. The Giants would return to the Super Bowl in 2007 and again in 2011 defeating the New England Patriots on both occasions, ending the current trend at the time, but starting a new one. Beginning with the 2001 St. Louis Rams, who played in Super Bowl XXXVI, there were ten different NFC Champions in ten years. Once again, the Giants ended the trend and started another one. Beginning with the 2008 Super Bowl XLIII participant Arizona Cardinals, there were 6 different NFC Champions in 6 years. This streak was finally ended by the Seattle Seahawks, who advanced to the Super Bowl in both 2013 and 2014.
Super Bowl XXVII
This marked the first time since the AFL–NFL merger that the two Super Bowl teams each won their conference championship on the road, with Dallas winning in San Francisco and Buffalo in Miami. The only time it happened prior to 1992 was in 1966 (Super Bowl I), when Kansas City won at Buffalo and Green Bay won at Dallas. This would happen again in 1997, with Green Bay winning in San Francisco and Denver in Pittsburgh; in 2012, with San Francisco winning in Atlanta and Baltimore in New England; and in 2018, with the Los Angeles Rams winning in New Orleans and New England in Kansas City.
History of the Los Angeles Rams
Until the Los Angeles Stadium at Hollywood Park has finished construction and is ready for use, the Rams are playing their home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which had been home to the team for 33 seasons (1946–1979), and is currently also the home of the USC Trojans college football team.
Venues of the 1984 Summer Olympics
When the Summer Olympics came to Los Angeles in 1932, two of the venues that hosted were the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. The former hosted the athletics, equestrian eventing and jumping, field hockey, and gymnastics event while the latter was constructed into a velodrome for track cycling events. In 1973, the Coliseum played host to Super Bowl VII where the Miami Dolphins defeated the Washington Redskins 14-7 to go undefeated for the entire 1972 National Football League (NFL) season. In 1979, the Los Angeles Rams won their seventh straight NFL National Football Conference (NFC) Western Division title, and finally advanced to Super Bowl XIV where they lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Rose Bowl. That season would also be the Rams' last season at the Coliseum where they lost their last game there against the New Orleans Saints 29-14. For the 1980 NFL season, the Rams moved to Anaheim (southeast of Los Angeles) to Anaheim Stadium (Angel Stadium of Anaheim since 2004) though they lost their first game there against the Detroit Lions. The Rams would remain at Anaheim Stadium until the end of the 1994 season when they moved to St. Louis, Missouri where they remained until 2015 before returning to Los Angeles in 2016. Their last game in Anaheim was against the Redskins, losing 24-21. Following the 1981 NFL season, the Coliseum became home for the Oakland Raiders NFL team, where they opened up their 1982 season results with a win over the defending Super Bowl champions San Francisco 49ers 23-17. The Coliseum since 1923 has continued to play host for the University of Southern California football team and still does as of 2010. The Trojans' cross-town rivals, the UCLA Bruins, shared the Coliseum with Trojans from 1928 to 1981. In 1982, the Bruins moved to the Rose Bowl where they have remained as of 2010. Besides Super Bowl XIV, the Rose Bowl hosted Super Bowl XVII where the Redskins avenged their Super Bowl loss to the Dolphins from ten years earlier with a 27-17 victory.
1999 St. Louis Rams season
The Rams were undefeated at home for the first time since 1973. On the road, the Rams were 5–3. In the post-season, they defeated the Minnesota Vikings, who had just posted one of the greatest offenses in NFL history the year before, by a score of 49–37 in the NFC Divisional Playoffs and went on to defeat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 11–6 in the NFC Championship Game. Both of those games were played in St. Louis. The Rams then won their first ever Super Bowl title, defeating the Tennessee Titans by a score of 23–16 in Super Bowl XXXIV. The game was played on January 30, 2000 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. It was also the franchise’s first NFL World Championship since 1951, when the Rams played in Los Angeles. The Rams also became the first “dome-field” (indoor home games) team to win a Super Bowl.
Super Bowl XLVII
Because of the February 3 date of Super Bowl XLVII, the 2013 Mardi Gras calendar in Orleans Parish was changed. Parades scheduled for February 3 and before were moved ahead one week. The same situation occurred in 2002 when the 9/11 attacks caused a one-week delay in the 2001 NFL season, resulting in the Super Bowl XXXVI falling within the Mardi Gras parade calendar.
This was the 49ers' second Super Bowl played at the Superdome—the first being Super Bowl XXIV when they beat the Denver Broncos 55–10. The 49ers, Broncos and New England Patriots are the only teams so far to play two or more Super Bowls at the Superdome. The 49ers also joined the Broncos and the Colts in playing two Super Bowls at two different stadiums. The 49ers won Super Bowls XXIII and XXIX in Miami at what is now known as Hard Rock Stadium.
John Sullivan (center)
On March 16, 2018, Sullivan signed a two-year contract with the Rams. In 2018, Sullivan started all 16 games and helped the Rams reach Super Bowl LIII after they defeated the Dallas Cowboys in the Divisional Round and the New Orleans Saints in the NFC Championship Game. The Rams will play the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.
Oakland Raiders
The newly minted Los Angeles Raiders finished the strike-shortened 1982 season 8–1 to win the AFC West, but lost in the second round of the playoffs to the Jets. The following season, the Raiders finished 12–4 to win the AFC West. Convincing playoff wins over the Steelers and Seattle Seahawks in the AFC playoffs propelled the Raiders to their fourth Super Bowl. Against the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XVIII, the Raiders built a lead after blocking a punt and recovering for a touchdown early in the game. A Branch touchdown reception from Plunkett put the Raiders up 14–0 with more than nine minutes remaining in the first quarter. With seven seconds remaining in the first half, linebacker Jack Squirek intercepted a Joe Theismann swing pass at the Washington five yard line and scored, sending the Raiders to a 21–3 halftime lead. Following a John Riggins one-yard touchdown run (extra point was blocked), Marcus Allen scored from five yards out to build the lead to 28–9. The Raiders sealed the game with Allen reversed his route on a Super Bowl record run that turned into a 74-yard touchdown. The Raiders went on to a 38–9 victory and their third NFL championship. Allen set a record for most rushing yards (191) and combined yards (209) in a Super Bowl as the Raiders won their third Super Bowl in eight years.
The team had another successful regular season in 1984, finishing 11–5, but a three-game losing streak forced them to enter the playoffs as a wild-card, where they fell to the Seahawks in the Wild Card game.
1998 St. Louis Rams season
The 1998 St. Louis Rams season was the team’s 61st year with the National Football League (NFL) and the fourth season in St. Louis. It was the second year for head coach Dick Vermeil. The team failed to improve on its 5–11 record from 1997, and instead finished the season 4–12 and missed the playoffs for the ninth consecutive season, during which they had compiled a league-worst 45–99 record. Despite all of this, the Rams showed many signs of life during the season when they beat playoff teams such as the New York Jets (who would make the AFC Championship game during the season) and the New England Patriots (who would make a wild card). Some skeptics claim that those 2 wins helped them build signs of strong life into next season, when they won Super Bowl XXXIV over the Tennessee Titans.
Super Bowl XLIII
It also was the first time that two quarterbacks who previously started for a Super Bowl winning team (Kurt Warner and Ben Roethlisberger) opposed one another since Jim Plunkett's Los Angeles Raiders defeated Joe Theismann's Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XVIII. Warner started for the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXIV and Super Bowl XXXVI, winning the first (aided by a heads-up defensive play by linebacker Mike Jones on the final play of the game) and losing the second one (the first of Tom Brady's five in eight attempts), while Roethlisberger was the winning quarterback in Super Bowl XL.
History of the Los Angeles Rams
In 1982, the Oakland Raiders moved to Los Angeles and took up residence in the Rams' then-former home, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The combined effect of these two moves was to divide the Rams' traditional fanbase in two. This was coupled with the early 1980s being rebuilding years for the club, while the Raiders were winners of Super Bowl XVIII in the 1983 season. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers won championships in 1980 and 1982 en route to winning five titles in that decade, the Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series in 1981 and 1988, and even the Los Angeles Kings made a deep run in the playoffs in 1982. As a result, the Rams declined sharply in popularity during the 1980s even though the team remained a playoff contender during the decade.
NFL International Series
Due to NFL rules, teams that are playing in temporary homes as part of a relocation or that have recently been awarded the Super Bowl are required to play a home game internationally. The Los Angeles Rams, upon relocating from St. Louis, agreed to host an international game from 2016–2019, while their new stadium is being built. The Los Angeles Chargers, who will be sharing the stadium with the Rams once it is completed, will also host an international game in 2018 and 2019, only getting out of the 2017 game because the team had executed its out clause to move from San Diego after the 2017 International Series games had been announced. The Raiders, who will spend the 2019 off-season in limbo due to the expiration of their stadium deal in Oakland and the lack of an NFL-ready stadium in their eventual home in Las Vegas, have also agreed to annual international games. The rule was not in place when the Minnesota Vikings were using TCF Bank Stadium so they had no requirement to host abroad.
Oakland, California
Oakland currently has professional teams in three sports: baseball, basketball, and football. The Oakland Athletics MLB club won three consecutive World Series championships in 1972, 1973, and 1974, and appeared in another three consecutive World Series from 1988 to 1990, winning their fourth championship in 1989. The Golden State Warriors won the 1974–75, 2014–15, 2016–17, and the 2017–18 NBA championships, while losing in 2016. The Oakland Raiders of the NFL won Super Bowl XI in 1977, Super Bowl XV in 1981, and Super Bowl XVIII in 1984, while they were in Los Angeles. They also appeared in Super Bowl II in 1968 and Super Bowl XXXVII in 2003. The Raiders left Oakland for Los Angeles in 1982, where they won a third Super Bowl championship and returned to Oakland in 1995. The Warriors announced in April 2014 that they will leave Oakland once their new arena is built across the Bay in San Francisco, while the Raiders are in the process of relocating to Las Vegas. On March 27, 2017, it was confirmed the Raiders would be moving to Las Vegas. On November 28, 2018, the Athletics announced plans to build a new ballpark at Howard Terminal, set to open in 2023.
Los Angeles Rams
In 1972, Chicago industrialist Robert Irsay purchased the Rams for $19 million and then traded the franchise to Carroll Rosenbloom for his Baltimore Colts and cash. The Rams remained solid contenders in the 1970s, winning seven straight NFC West championships between 1973 and 1979. Though they clearly were the class of the NFC in the 1970s along with the Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings, they lost the first four conference championship games they played in that decade, losing twice each to Minnesota (1974, 1976) and Dallas (1975, 1978) and failing to win a league championship.
49ers–Rams rivalry
The 49ers dominated the rivalry during the 1990s, winning seventeen straight games against the Rams. They also won their fifth Super Bowl at the end of the 1994 season. After nearly fifty years, it seemed like the rivalry was coming to an end when the Rams relocated to St. Louis in 1995. Yet, some players did not believe so. Roger Craig stated in "Tales from the San Francisco 49ers Sideline" that "the Rams will always be the 49ers' biggest rival. It doesn't matter if they no longer play in Los Angeles. If the Rams played their home games on Mars, it would still be a rivalry."
New England Patriots strategy
The St. Louis Rams ran the Coryell system successfully under coordinator and then head coach Mike Martz. Martz served as St. Louis's offensive coordinator under head coach Dick Vermeil in the 1999 season, when the Rams won Super Bowl XXXIV. Martz then served as the Rams head coach 2000-2005. His teams were anchored offensively by QB Kurt Warner and RB Marshall Faulk, both of whom are Hall of Famers. Earlier still, Joe Gibbs won 3 Super Bowls running his version of the Coryell offense when he was head coach of the Washington Redskins from 1981-1992 (He also served as Redskins head coach from 2004-2007). Gibbs, who earned induction into the Hall of Fame as a head coach, is the only coach to win 3 Super Bowls with 3 different quarterbacks (Joe Theismann, Doug Williams and Mark Rypien).
History of the Los Angeles Rams
The Rams managed to return in 1988 with a 10–6 record, but then were defeated by Minnesota in the wild card round. Los Angeles won the first five games of 1989, including a sensational defeat of the defending champion 49ers. They beat the Eagles in the wild card game, then beat the Giants in overtime before suffering a 30–3 flogging at the hands of the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game.
Los Angeles Rams
In 1982, the Oakland Raiders moved to Los Angeles and took up residence in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The combined effect of these two moves was to divide the Rams' traditional fanbase in two. This was coupled with the early 1980s being rebuilding years for the club, while the Raiders were winners of Super Bowl XVIII in the 1983 season. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers won championships in 1980 and 1982 en route to winning five titles in that decade, the Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series in 1981 and 1988, and even the Los Angeles Kings made a deep run in the playoffs in 1982, and acquired fan interest following the arrival of Wayne Gretzky in 1988. As a result, the Rams declined sharply in popularity during the 1980s, despite the fact that they were playoff contenders for most of the decade.
Los Angeles Rams
The Rams' first heyday in Southern California was from 1949 to 1955, when they played in the pre-Super Bowl era NFL Championship Game four times, winning once in 1951. During this period, they had the best offense in the NFL, even though there was a quarterback change from Bob Waterfield to Norm Van Brocklin in 1951. The defining offensive players of this period were wide receiver Elroy Hirsch, Van Brocklin and Waterfield. Teamed with fellow Hall of Famer Tom Fears, Hirsch helped create the style of Rams football as one of the first big play receivers. During the 1951 championship season, Hirsch posted a then stunning 1,495 receiving yards with 17 touchdowns. The popularity of this wide-open offense enabled the Los Angeles Rams to become the first pro football team to have all their games televised in 1950.
1979 Los Angeles Rams season
The 1979 Rams were the first team in NFL history to have a less than a +50 point differential and make it to the Super Bowl. (The Rams scored only 14 points more than their opponents in 1979.) Thirty two years later, the New York Giants, also with a 9–7 record, became the first team to reach the Super Bowl with a negative point differential (−6); unlike the 1979 Rams, the Giants won the big game. The 2008 Arizona Cardinals also reached the Super Bowl, but lost in the final moments of XLIII.
Super Bowl XIV
The Rams barely outscored their opponents, 323–309, and finished the regular season with a 9–7 record, the worst ever by a team who advanced to the Super Bowl (that record was later tied by the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII and the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLVI). The team was plagued with injuries during the regular season, including the loss of their starting quarterback Pat Haden. His replacement, Vince Ferragamo, completed less than 50 percent of his passes and threw twice as many interceptions (10) as touchdowns (5). But he still led the Rams to victory in 6 of their last 7 games.
1951 Los Angeles Rams season
After their 8–5 campaign, Los Angeles won the National Conference and advanced to their third NFL Championship Game in a row and faced the then-powerhouse Cleveland Browns. The Rams ended up winning their second NFL Championship in seven seasons, and their first in Los Angeles. The 1951 NFL Championship was also the State of California's first major professional championship and the Rams' only title while in Southern California. The Rams would advance to the championship round three more times (1955, Super Bowl XIV, and Super Bowl LIII), but failed to win another championship during their first stint in Los Angeles until after the Rams had moved out of the market.
2001 St. Louis Rams season
The Rams returned to the Super Bowl for a second time after shockingly winning their first title 2 years before, but this time against the 11-5 New England Patriots, led by Bill Belichick and sophomore quarterback Tom Brady. The Rams lost 17–20 and were expected by many to win their 2nd Super Bowl title. This was the Rams' last Super Bowl appearance until 2019, when they defeated the Saints 26–23 in the NFC Championship game.
1989 Los Angeles Rams season
The 1989 Los Angeles Rams season was the team's 52nd year with the National Football League and the 44th season in Los Angeles. It constituted their last postseason appearance in Los Angeles before owner Georgia Frontiere, who would eventually move the team, sold many top players, and they were only stopped by a powerful 49ers team from reaching the Super Bowl. It also constituted their last winning season until 1999 in St. Louis, and last as the L.A. Rams until 2017.
Kevin Warren
In 1997, Warren was hired by then St. Louis Rams head coach Dick Vermeil in a legal/front office position. Kevin Warren held the position of Vice President of Player Programs/Football Legal Counsel for the St. Louis Rams from 1997 to 2000 before his promotion to Vice President of Football Administration. Working closely with Vermeil, Warren gained insight into how football operations functioned. Warren credits this experience for providing him with priceless knowledge and credits Coach Vermeil for providing him his big break into the NFL. Kevin Warren earned a Super Bowl Ring with the Rams when they defeated the Tennessee Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV. Vermeil praised Warren in 2012 as being "as critical and important a part of [the] Rams Super Bowl Championship team as anybody in [the] organization."
List of Super Bowl champions
The Pittsburgh Steelers (6–2) have won the most Super Bowls with six championships, while the New England Patriots (5–5), the Dallas Cowboys (5–3), and the San Francisco 49ers (5–1) have five wins. New England has the most Super Bowl appearances with eleven, while the Buffalo Bills (0–4) have the most consecutive appearances with four (all losses) from 1990 to 1993. The Miami Dolphins (1971–1973) and New England Patriots (2016–2018) are the only other teams to have at least three consecutive appearances. The Denver Broncos (3–5) and Patriots have each lost a record five Super Bowls. The Minnesota Vikings (0–4) and the Bills have lost four. The record for consecutive wins is two and is shared by seven franchises: the Green Bay Packers (1966–1967), the Miami Dolphins (1972–1973), the Pittsburgh Steelers (1974–1975 and 1978–1979, the only team to accomplish this feat twice), the San Francisco 49ers (1988–1989), the Dallas Cowboys (1992–1993), the Denver Broncos (1997–1998), and the New England Patriots (2003–2004). Among those, Dallas (1992–1993; 1995) and New England (2001; 2003–2004) are the only teams to win three out of four consecutive Super Bowls. The 1972 Dolphins capped off the only perfect season in NFL history with their victory in Super Bowl VII. The only team with multiple Super Bowl appearances and no losses is the Baltimore Ravens, who in winning Super Bowl XLVII defeated and replaced the 49ers in that position. Four current NFL teams have never appeared in a Super Bowl, including franchise relocations and renaming: the Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Houston Texans, though both the Browns (1950, 1954, 1955, 1964) and Lions (1935, 1952, 1953, 1957) had won NFL championship games prior to the creation of the Super Bowl.
Super Bowl XXXIV
Super Bowl XXXIV was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion St. Louis Rams and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Tennessee Titans to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1999 season. The Rams defeated the Titans by the score of 23–16, capturing their first Super Bowl win and first NFL championship since 1951. The game, played on January 30, 2000 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, was the fourth Super Bowl to be held a week after the conference championship games (the previous time this happened was Super Bowl XXVIII, and coincidentally that game was also played on January 30 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta).
Joe Gibbs
The following season (1983), Gibbs' surprising success continued with a 14–2 regular season record and a win against the Los Angeles Rams 51–7 at home, in the divisional round of the playoffs. The Redskins then once again won an NFC Championship, defeating the San Francisco 49ers 24–21 on a last-second field goal (aided by a controversial pass interference call), advancing to Super Bowl XVIII. The Redskins were installed as a 2-point favorite by Nevada books going into the game, but were soundly defeated by the Los Angeles Raiders 38–9. Some call this Redskins team one of the better teams to not win the Super Bowl.
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
The Rams hosted the 1949, 1951, and 1955 NFL championship games at the Coliseum. The Coliseum was the site of the very first NFL-AFL Championship Game in January 1967, an event since renamed the Super Bowl. It also hosted the Super Bowl in 1973, but future Super Bowls in the Los Angeles region would instead be hosted at the Rose Bowl, which has never had an NFL tenant. The venue was also the site of the NFL Pro Bowl from 1951 to 1972 and again in 1979.
Los Angeles Rams
The Rams managed to return in 1988 with a 10-6 record, but then were defeated by Minnesota in the wild card round. Los Angeles won the first five games of 1989, including a sensational defeat of the defending champion 49ers. They beat the Eagles in the wild card game, then beat the Giants in overtime before suffering a 30-3 flogging at the hands of the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game.
Super Bowl LIII
The Patriots are making their third consecutive Super Bowl appearance, their fourth in five years, their record 11th overall, and ninth under the Belichick–Brady head coach–quarterback tandem; the Patriots are also the first team to play in three consecutive Super Bowls since the Buffalo Bills played in four straight from Super Bowl XXV through Super Bowl XXVIII. The Patriots are only the third team overall to play in three consecutive Super Bowls, after the aforementioned Bills and the 1971–73 Miami Dolphins. The Rams are making their fourth Super Bowl appearance in franchise history, their first appearance in the Super Bowl since moving back to Los Angeles in 2016, and their first as a franchise since Super Bowl XXXVI.
2018–19 NFL playoffs
This will be the first Super Bowl since 2012 to feature neither top seeds from each conference, and the first time both number two seeds are involved. This will be the Patriots' third consecutive Super Bowl appearance. The Rams last made an appearance in 2001 when the team was based in St. Louis, coincidentally, facing the Patriots. The Patriots won that game 20–17 on a field goal, as time expired, by Adam Vinatieri. The Patriots' current head coach–starting quarterback tandem of Bill Belichick and Tom Brady are only active personnel left from the previous title game against the Rams. The Patriots are looking to win their sixth Super Bowl in 18 years (2001, 2003, 2004, 2014, 2016), and are trying to tie the Pittsburgh Steelers with the most Super Bowl wins, while the Rams are looking to win their second since 1999, which was coincidentally hosted by Atlanta, that would end a 20-year drought. This will be the Patriots' eleventh Super Bowl appearance (ninth under Brady and Belichick) and the Rams' fourth.
List of Los Angeles Rams head coaches
The Rams interviewed a variety of candidates, but surprised many observers by hiring then 30-year-old Sean McVay as head coach on January 12, 2017. With a work ethic and reservoir of knowledge that belied his age, McVay refashioned the team in his own image. The youngest head coach in modern league history hired longtime NFL coach Wade Phillips as defensive coordinator and retained Fassel as special teams coordinator. The results were overwhelmingly positive as McVay's new-look Rams went 11-5 in 2017 and clinched their first NFC West title since 2003, and McVay was named NFL Coach of the Year. In 2018, the Rams improved to 13-3, tying for the second-most regular season wins in team history, and qualified to play in Super Bowl LIII against the New England Patriots.
History of the Los Angeles Rams
The Rams were the first team in the NFL to play in Los Angeles (the 1926 Los Angeles Buccaneers were strictly a road team), but they were not the only professional football team to play its home games in the Coliseum between 1946 and 1949. The upstart All-America Football Conference had the Los Angeles Dons compete there as well. Reeves was taking a gamble that Los Angeles was ready for its own professional football team – and suddenly there were two in the City of Angels. Reeves was proved to be correct when the Rams played their first pre-season game against the Washington Redskins in front of a crowd of 95,000 fans. The team finished their first season in L.A. with a 6–4–1 record, second place behind the Chicago Bears. At the end of the season Walsh was fired as head coach. The Coliseum would be the home of the Rams for more than 30 years (the Dons merged with them in late 1949), but the facility was already over 20 years old on the day of the first kickoff. In 1948, halfback Fred Gehrke painted horns on the Rams' helmets, making the first modern helmet emblem in pro football.
Super Bowl XI
This was the Raiders’ second Super Bowl appearance after losing Super Bowl II. They posted a 13–1 regular season record before defeating the New England Patriots and the Pittsburgh Steelers in the playoffs. The Vikings were making their fourth Super Bowl appearance after posting an 11–2–1 regular season record and playoff victories over the Washington Redskins and the Los Angeles Rams. The Vikings became the first team to appear in four Super Bowls, a record they held until the Dallas Cowboys advanced to a Super Bowl for the fifth time in Super Bowl XIII. They had not won in their previous three attempts, losing Super Bowl IV to the Kansas City Chiefs in the final Super Bowl before the AFL–NFL merger and following that up with losses in Super Bowls VIII and IX.