# 1974 Los Angeles Rams season

The 1974 Los Angeles Rams season was the team's 37th year with the National Football League and the 29th season in Los Angeles. The Rams looked to improve on their 12–2 season from 1973. While not improving on their record, they successfully defended their NFC West division title with a 10–4 record, the second-best in the NFC.
In the playoffs, Los Angeles hosted the Washington Redskins in a rematch of week 13's game, which Washington won 23–17 on Monday night, in the Rams' only home loss of the season. In the postseason game, L.A. forced six turnovers to win 19–10 and advance to their first NFC Championship Game, but committed five turnovers and lost 14–10 on the road to the Minnesota Vikings.
During week 5 of the regular season, the Rams were upset 17–6 in Milwaukee by the Green Bay Packers; veteran quarterback John Hadl was benched in the second half after throwing three interceptions, replaced by James Harris. The next game, a 37–14 home win over rival San Francisco, was the first NFL start for Harris, and Hadl was traded two days later to Green Bay for five future draft picks.
The win over Washington in the playoffs was the Rams' first postseason victory in 23 years, when they won the NFL title. (Los Angeles won the third-place Playoff Bowl twice (after the 1967 and 1969 seasons); these consolation games are now considered exhibition contests.)

## Offseason
### NFL Draft

1974 Los Angeles Rams Draft :
| Round | Selection | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 11 | John Cappelletti | RB | Penn State |
| 2 | 50 | Bill Simpson | S | Michigan State |
| 3 | 76 | Al Oliver | OT | UCLA |
| 4 | 99 | Norris Weese | QB | Mississippi |

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
| 1 | September 15 | at Denver Broncos | W 17–10 | 1–0 | Mile High Stadium | 51,121 | Recap |
| 2 | September 22 | New Orleans Saints | W 24–0 | 2–0 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 64,178 | Recap |
| 3 | September 29 | at New England Patriots | L 14–20 | 2–1 | Schaefer Stadium | 61,279 | Recap |
| 4 | October 6 | Detroit Lions | W 16–13 | 3–1 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 64,987 | Recap |
| 5 | October 13 | at Green Bay Packers | L 6–17 | 3–2 | Milwaukee County Stadium | 47,499 | Recap |
| 6 | October 20 | San Francisco 49ers | W 37–14 | 4–2 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 67,319 | Recap |
| 7 | October 27 | at New York Jets | W 20–13 | 5–2 | Shea Stadium | 56,110 | Recap |
| 8 | November 4 | at San Francisco 49ers | W 15–13 | 6–2 | Candlestick Park | 57,502 | Recap |
| 9 | November 10 | Atlanta Falcons | W 21–0 | 7–2 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 70,056 | Recap |
| 10 | November 17 | at New Orleans Saints | L 7–20 | 7–3 | Tulane Stadium | 57,287 | Recap |
| 11 | November 24 | Minnesota Vikings | W 20–17 | 8–3 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 90,266 | Recap |
| 12 | December 1 | at Atlanta Falcons | W 30–7 | 9–3 | Atlanta Stadium | 18,648 | Recap |
| 13 | December 9 | Washington Redskins | L 17–23 | 9–4 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 87,313 | Recap |
| 14 | December 15 | Buffalo Bills | W 19–14 | 10–4 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 84,324 | Recap |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. ||||||||

### Playoffs

| Round | Date | Opponent | Result | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
| Divisional | December 22 | Washington Redskins | W 19–10 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 80,118 | Recap |
| NFC Championship | December 29 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 10–14 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,404 | Recap |

### Standings

NFC West :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Los Angeles Rams | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 5–1 | 7–3 | 263 | 181 | W1 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | 4–2 | 6–5 | 226 | 236 | W2 |
| New Orleans Saints | 5 | 9 | 0 | .357 | 3–3 | 5–6 | 166 | 263 | L1 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 3 | 11 | 0 | .214 | 0–6 | 3–8 | 111 | 271 | W1 |

## Awards and records

* Merlin Olsen, Bert Bell Award