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1976 Los Angeles Rams season

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1976 Los Angeles Rams season
OwnerCarroll Rosenbloom
Head coachChuck Knox
Home fieldLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Results
Record10–3–1
Division place1st NFC West
Playoff finishWon Divisional Playoffs
(at Cowboys) 14–12
Lost NFC Championship
(at Vikings) 13–24
Uniform

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

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1976 Expansion Draft

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Main article: 1976 NFL expansion draft
Los Angeles Rams selected during the Expansion Draft
Round Overall Name Position Expansion Team
0 0 Ken Geddes Linebacker Seattle Seahawks
0 0 Eddie McMillan Cornerback Seattle Seahawks
0 0 Willie McGee Wide receiver Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NFL Draft

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

Roster

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1976 Los Angeles Rams roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Reserve


Rookies in italics

Regular season

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Schedule

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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

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Main article: 1976–77 NFL playoffs
Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Attendance
Divisional December 19 at Dallas Cowboys (2) W 14–12 1–0 Texas Stadium 62,436
NFC Championship December 26 at Minnesota Vikings (1) L 13–24 1–1 Metropolitan Stadium 47,191

Standings

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NFC West
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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