1979 Los Angeles Rams season The 1979 Los Angeles Rams season was the team ' s 42nd year with the National Football League and the 34th season in Los Angeles . It was the final season for the franchise in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum , as owner Carroll Rosenbloom previously announced the Rams would move to Anaheim Stadium for the 1980 season . Rosenbloom drowned on April 2 , 1979 , while swimming in the Atlantic Ocean just off of his home in Golden Beach , Florida , leaving the team to his widow , Georgia . Key regular season games and moments . Game 2 : Rams 13 , Denver Broncos 9 . In an early Monday night affair , the Rams were on the verge of starting the season 0 - 2 , trailing 9 - 6 in a game that featured a rare safety scored by the Broncos when Rams offensive tackle John Williams was penalized for holding Broncos linebacker Larry Evans in the Rams ' end zone . Late in the fourth quarter , however , Rams defensive tackle Mike Fanning laid a hit on running back Larry Canada deep in Broncos territory and Jack Reynolds picked up the resulting fumble and bulled his way into the end zone for the winning touchdown . Game 4 : Tampa Bay Buccaneers 21 , Rams 6 . The Buccaneers asserted themselves as a legitimate NFC contender in this game . Jim Youngblood intercepted a Doug Williams pass in the first quarter and returned it for a Rams touchdown , but then it was all Bucs as game conditions ( heavy rain ) and the vaunted Bucs defense took over . Williams only completed five passes , but two were for touchdowns in a 21 - point second quarter . This would be the final start of aging running back great Lawrence McCutcheon ' s Rams career . The Rams , in an attempt to get more speed on offense , would start Wendell Tyler in McCutcheon ' s place for the rest of the season . Game 6 : Rams 35 , Saints , 17 . The " new look " Rams played one of their better games of the season in this one . Pat Haden threw for three touchdowns for the first and only time in his NFL career and Wendell Tyler rushed for two more . Two of Haden ' s scores were to veteran Ron Jessie , but Jessie would be injured late and lost for the remainder of the season . With veteran Willie Miller also lost for the season , the Rams would have an inexperienced wide receiver corps for the rest of 1979 . Game 10 : Rams 24 , Seattle Seahawks 0 . The Rams broke out of a mid - season slump by holding the Seahawks to minus - 7 yards of total offense , only two pass completions , and only one first down for the entire game . However , starting quarterback Pat Haden broke the index finger on his throwing hand late in the third quarter and would be lost for the remainder of the season . Game 12 : Rams 20 , Falcons 14 . Vince Ferragamo made his first start of the season in this Monday night game and immediately showed his " big - play " capability , something the Rams had lacked at the quarterback position . Ferragamo completed long touchdown passes to young speedsters Preston Dennard and Billy Waddy as the Rams would embark on a winning streak that would carry them to the NFC West title and the playoffs . Game 14 : Rams 27 , Vikings 21 ( OT ) . The Rams lined up for a potential game - winning field goal in overtime , but holder Nolan Cromwell took the snap and scooted around left end for a 5 - yard touchdown to lift Los Angeles into first place in the NFC West . The Rams took sole possession of the division lead the next night when the Raiders rallied from a 35 - 14 deficit in New Orleans to defeat the Saints 42 - 35 . Vikings ' defensive back Paul Krause intercepted two passes in this game , giving him 81 for his career and breaking the previous all - time record set by Emlen Tunnell . The record still stands to this day . Game 15 : Rams 34 , Falcons 13 . In this impressive romp , the Rams clinched their seventh straight NFC West division title . Vince Ferragamo was entrenched as the Rams ' quarterback by this time , and would go on to an impressive postseason . Game 16 : Saints 29 , Rams 14 . Wendell Tyler rushed for 141 yards and a first quarter touchdown , but New Orleans scored the next 27 points to win going away in the Rams ' final game at the Coliseum . The victory allowed the Saints to finish 8 - 8 , the franchise ' s first non - losing record after 12 consecutive losing seasons . Playoffs . NFC Divisional . Quarterback Vince Ferragamo led the Rams to a victory by throwing for 3 touchdown passes , the last one with 2 : 06 left in the game . The Cowboys scored first when defensive tackle Randy White sacked Ferragamo in the end zone for a safety . However , Ferragamo responded by throwing a 32 - yard touchdown pass to running back Wendell Tyler . Dallas kicker Rafael Septien kicked a 33 - yard field goal with 52 seconds left in the first half , but Ferragamo completed a 43 - yard touchdown pass to Ron Smith before time expired to make it a 14 - 5 halftime lead . The Cowboys , led by quarterback Roger Staubach in what proved to be his last NFL game of his hall of fame career , then scored 2 unanswered touchdowns in the second half to take the lead , 19 - 14 . With about 2 minutes left in the game and the Rams at midfield , Ferragamo found wide receiver Billy Waddy on a short crossing route and Waddy sprinted the rest of the way for a game winning 50 - yard touchdown . Staubach was unable to engineer a late fourth quarter comeback like the ones that made him famous throughout his career . The Rams defense forced a sack , and then pressured the Dallas quarterback to throw a pass illegally to an ineligible receiver , guard Herbert Scott , on third down ; the last pass of his career to be caught ; on fourth down overthrew Tony Hill . NFC Championship Game . In a defensive battle in which the Rams squandered numerous scoring opportunities , Rams kicker Frank Corral kicked 3 field goals to win the game . Los Angeles was able to record 369 yards of total offense , while running backs Cullen Bryant and Wendell Tyler rushed for 106 and 86 yards , respectively . Meanwhile , the Buccaneers only had 177 total offensive yards , including 92 rushing yards and 85 passing yards . Most of Tampa Bay ' s passing yards came from a 42 - yard halfback option pass from Jerry Eckwood to wide receiver Larry Mucker in the fourth quarter . During the game , two touchdowns were nullified by penalties , one by each team : A four yard run by Bryant and a 27 - yard reception by Buccaneers ' tight end Jimmie Giles .