# 1988 Los Angeles Rams season

The 1988 Los Angeles Rams season was the franchise's 51st season in the National Football League, their 52nd overall, and their 43rd in the Greater Los Angeles Area. The team improved on a disappointing 6–9 record the previous year, going 10–6 and qualifying as a Wild Card before losing to the Minnesota Vikings 28–17 in the NFC Wild Card game.

## Offseason
### NFL draft

1988 Los Angeles Rams draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
| 1 | 14 | Gaston Green | Running back | UCLA | |
| 1 | 20 | Aaron Cox | Wide receiver | Arizona State | |
| 2 | 35 | Anthony Newman | Safety | Oregon | |
| 2 | 46 | Flipper Anderson | Wide receiver | UCLA | |
| 2 | 47 | Fred Strickland | Linebacker | Purdue | |
| 3 | 82 | Mike Piel | Defensive end | Illinois | |
| 5 | 117 | Robert Delpino | Running back | Missouri | |
| 5 | 137 | James Washington | Safety | UCLA | |
| 6 | 147 | Keith "End Zone" Jones | Running back | Nebraska | |
| 6 | 165 | Jeff Knapton | Defensive tackle | Wyoming | |
| 8 | 201 | Darryl Franklin | Wide receiver | Washington | |
| 9 | 231 | Pat Foster | Defensive tackle | Montana | |
| 10 | 258 | R. C. Mullin | Offensive tackle | Southwestern Louisiana | |
| 12 | 333 | Jeff Beathard | Wide receiver | Southern Oregon | 1988 Mr. Irrelevant |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

## Regular season

1988 Team Starters
Offense
Defense
Kicking Team

### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 4 | at Green Bay Packers | W 34–7 | 1–0 | Lambeau Field | 53,769 |
| 2 | September 11 | Detroit Lions | W 17–10 | 2–0 | Anaheim Stadium | 46,262 |
| 3 | September 18 | at Los Angeles Raiders | W 22–17 | 3–0 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 84,870 |
| 4 | September 25 | at New York Giants | W 45–31 | 4–0 | Giants Stadium | 75,617 |
| 5 | October 2 | Phoenix Cardinals | L 27–41 | 4–1 | Anaheim Stadium | 49,830 |
| 6 | October 9 | at Atlanta Falcons | W 33–0 | 5–1 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 30,852 |
| 7 | October 16 | San Francisco 49ers | L 21–24 | 5–2 | Anaheim Stadium | 65,450 |
| 8 | October 23 | Seattle Seahawks | W 31–10 | 6–2 | Anaheim Stadium | 57,033 |
| 9 | October 30 | at New Orleans Saints | W 12–10 | 7–2 | Louisiana Superdome | 68,238 |
| 10 | November 6 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 24–30 | 7–3 | Veterans Stadium | 65,624 |
| 11 | November 13 | New Orleans Saints | L 10–14 | 7–4 | Anaheim Stadium | 63,305 |
| 12 | November 20 | San Diego Chargers | L 24–38 | 7–5 | Anaheim Stadium | 45,462 |
| 13 | November 27 | at Denver Broncos | L 24–35 | 7–6 | Mile High Stadium | 74,141 |
| 14 | December 5 | Chicago Bears | W 23–3 | 8–6 | Anaheim Stadium | 65,579 |
| 15 | December 11 | Atlanta Falcons | W 22–7 | 9–6 | Anaheim Stadium | 42,828 |
| 16 | December 18 | at San Francisco 49ers | W 38–16 | 10–6 | Candlestick Park | 62,444 |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |||||||

### Season summary
#### Week 4

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Rams | 7 | 21 | 7 | 10 | 45 |
| Giants | 0 | 10 | 14 | 7 | 31 |

### Standings

NFC West :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| San Francisco 49ers$^{(2)}$ | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 4–2 | 8–4 | 369 | 294 | L1 |
| Los Angeles Rams$^{(5)}$ | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 4–2 | 8–4 | 407 | 293 | W3 |
| New Orleans Saints | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 3–3 | 6–6 | 312 | 283 | W1 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 1–5 | 4–8 | 244 | 315 | L3 |

## Playoffs

| Round | Date | Opponent (seed) | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| Wildcard | December 26 | at Minnesota Vikings (4) | L 17–28 | 0–1 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 57,666 |

## Awards and records

* Greg Bell, NFL Leader, Touchdowns, 31 TD's
* Greg Bell, NFL Comeback Player of the Year
* Jerry Gray, NFC Pro Bowl selection
* Pete Holohan, Franchise Record, most receptions by a tight end (59)