1976 Los Angeles Rams season explained

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

NFL Draft

See main article: article and 1976 NFL Draft.

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 12	at Atlanta Falcons	W 30–14	1–0	Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium	53,607
2	September 19	at Minnesota Vikings	T 10–10	1–0–1	Metropolitan Stadium	47,310
3	September 26	New York Giants	W 24–10	2–0–1	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	60,698
4	October 3	at Miami Dolphins	W 31–28	3–0–1	Miami Orange Bowl	60,753
5	October 11	San Francisco 49ers	L 0–16	3–1–1	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	80,532
6	October 17	Chicago Bears	W 20–12	4–1–1	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	71,751
7	October 24	at New Orleans Saints	W 16–10	5–1–1	Louisiana Superdome	51,984
8	October 31	Seattle Seahawks	W 45–6	6–1–1	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	52,035
9	November 7	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 12–20	6–2–1	Riverfront Stadium	52,480
10	November 14	St. Louis Cardinals	L 28–30	6–3–1	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	64,698
11	November 21	at San Francisco 49ers	W 23–3	7–3–1	Candlestick Park	58,573
12	November 28	New Orleans Saints	W 33–14	8–3–1	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	54,906
13	December 4	Atlanta Falcons	W 59–0	9–3–1	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	57,366
14	December 11	at Detroit Lions	W 20–17	10–3–1	Pontiac Municipal Stadium	73,470
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Playoffs

See main article: 1976–77 NFL playoffs.

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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