# 1998 St. Louis Rams season

The 1998 St. Louis Rams season was the team's 61st year with the National Football League (NFL) and the fourth season in St. Louis. It was the second year for head coach Dick Vermeil. The team failed to improve on its 5–11 record from 1997, and instead finished the season 4–12 and missed the playoffs for the ninth consecutive season, during which they had compiled a league-worst 45–99 record.
Despite all of this, the Rams showed signs of life during the season when they beat playoff teams such as the New York Jets (who would make the AFC Championship game during the season) and the New England Patriots (who would make a wild card). Some claim that those two wins helped them build signs of strong life into next season, when they won Super Bowl XXXIV against the Tennessee Titans. Despite the Rams finishing 4–12, six of those losses were only by a touchdown or less.

## Offseason
### NFL Draft

1998 St. Louis Rams draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 6 | Grant Wistrom | Defensive end | Nebraska |
| 2 | 37 | Robert Holcombe | Fullback | |
| 3 | 65 | Leonard Little | Defensive end | |
| 4 | 96 | Az-Zahir Hakim | Wide receiver | |
| Und | Und | London Fletcher | Linebacker | John Carroll |
| Made roster ||||||

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 6 | New Orleans Saints | L 17–24 | 0–1 | Trans World Dome | 56,943 |
| 2 | September 13 | Minnesota Vikings | L 31–38 | 0–2 | Trans World Dome | 56,234 |
| 3 | September 20 | at Buffalo Bills | W 34–33 | 1–2 | Ralph Wilson Stadium | 65,199 |
| 4 | September 27 | Arizona Cardinals | L 17–20 | 1–3 | Trans World Dome | 55,832 |
| 5 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 6 | October 11 | New York Jets | W 30–10 | 2–3 | Trans World Dome | 55,938 |
| 7 | October 18 | at Miami Dolphins | L 0–14 | 2–4 | Pro Player Stadium | 65,418 |
| 8 | October 25 | San Francisco 49ers | L 10–28 | 2–5 | Trans World Dome | 58,563 |
| 9 | November 1 | at Atlanta Falcons | L 15–37 | 2–6 | Georgia Dome | 37,996 |
| 10 | November 8 | at Chicago Bears | W 20–12 | 3–6 | Soldier Field | 50,263 |
| 11 | November 15 | at New Orleans Saints | L 3–24 | 3–7 | Louisiana Superdome | 46,430 |
| 12 | November 22 | Carolina Panthers | L 20–24 | 3–8 | Trans World Dome | 50,716 |
| 13 | November 29 | Atlanta Falcons | L 10–21 | 3–9 | Trans World Dome | 47,971 |
| 14 | December 6 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 14–17 | 3–10 | Veterans Stadium | 66,155 |
| 15 | December 13 | New England Patriots | W 32–18 | 4–10 | Trans World Dome | 48,946 |
| 16 | December 20 | at Carolina Panthers | L 13–20 | 4–11 | Ericcson Stadium | 50,047 |
| 17 | December 27 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 19–38 | 4–12 | 3Com Park | 68,386 |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |||||||

## Standings

NFC West :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK |
| $^{(2)}$ Atlanta Falcons | 14 | 2 | 0 | .875 | 442 | 289 | W9 |
| $^{(4)}$ San Francisco 49ers | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 479 | 328 | W1 |
| New Orleans Saints | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 305 | 359 | L3 |
| Carolina Panthers | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 336 | 413 | W2 |
| St. Louis Rams | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 285 | 378 | L2 |