# 1976 Los Angeles Rams season

The 1976 Los Angeles Rams season was the team's 39th year with the National Football League (NFL) and the 31st season in Los Angeles. The Rams continued their dominance of the NFC West to win a fourth consecutive division title. After a record-setting previous season in which their defense was nearly untouchable, the Rams were picked by many to win the Super Bowl.
Despite not improving on its 12–2 record from 1975, the team continued to be one of the best in the NFL. This Rams team is quite notable for setting many records during the season, including the franchise record for points scored in a game (59) in a 59–0 shutout of the Atlanta Falcons in week thirteen. Los Angeles was 10–3–1 (.750) in the regular season; the tie (in overtime) came in week two at Minnesota (11–2–1) and expectedly became pivotal in the playoff seedings. The surprising shutout loss at home to rival San Francisco on Monday night in week five also contributed.
Third-seeded in the NFC and on the road in the playoffs, the Rams upset Dallas 14–12 in the divisional round, but lost 13–24 to the top-seeded Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship game.
This was the final year for the last member of the "Fearsome Foursome" defensive line of the 1960s; defensive tackle Merlin Olsen retired after fifteen NFL seasons, all with the Rams.

## Offseason
### 1976 Expansion Draft

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

1976 Los Angeles Rams draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 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 ||||||

## Regular season
### Schedule

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

### Playoffs

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

### Standings

NFC West :
| viewtalkedit | 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 |