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1977 Los Angeles Rams season

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1977 Los Angeles Rams season
OwnerCarroll Rosenbloom
Head coachChuck Knox
Home fieldLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Results
Record10–4
Division place1st NFC West
Playoff finishLost Divisional Playoffs
(vs. Vikings) 7–14
Uniform
The Rams playing against the Vikings in the 1977 NFC Divisional Playoffs

The 1977 Los Angeles Rams season was the team's 40th year with the National Football League and the 32nd season in Los Angeles.

Hobbled by chronic knee woes, quarterback Joe Namath was waived by the New York Jets after the 1976 season, after they were unable to trade him. Namath signed with the Rams in May 1977. Hope of a Rams revival sprung when Los Angeles won two of their first three games, but Namath was hampered by low mobility. After a poor performance in a Monday Night loss to the Bears, Namath never saw NFL game action again.[1]

After a home playoff loss to the Minnesota Vikings 14–7 on a saturated field in game which has been termed the "Mud Bowl", Rams head coach Chuck Knox was fired due to ownership's frustration that Knox had not been able to reach the Super Bowl.[2]

Offseason

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NFL Draft

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Main article: 1977 NFL Draft
1977 Los Angeles Rams draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 23 Bob Brudzinski  Linebacker Ohio State
2 31 Nolan Cromwell *  Safety Kansas
2 50 Billy Waddy  Wide receiver Colorado
3 68 Ed Fulton  Guard Maryland
3 79 Wendell Tyler *  Running back UCLA
4 91 Vince Ferragamo  Quarterback Nebraska
4 107 Earl Jones  Defensive end Memphis State
5 130 Donnie Hickman  Guard USC
5 134 Jeff Williams  Guard Rhode Island
6 156 Art Best  Running back Kent State
8 218 Rod Bockwoldt  Defensive back Weber State
10 274 Don Peterson  Tight end Boston College
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Roster

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1977 Los Angeles Rams roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Reserve


Rookies in italics

Regular season

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Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap
1 September 18 at Atlanta Falcons L 6–17 0–1 Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium Recap
2 September 25 Philadelphia Eagles W 20–0 1–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Recap
3 October 2 San Francisco 49ers W 34–14 2–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Recap
4 October 10 at Chicago Bears L 23–24 2–2 Soldier Field Recap
5 October 16 New Orleans Saints W 14–7 3–2 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Recap
6 October 24 Minnesota Vikings W 35–3 4–2 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Recap
7 October 30 at New Orleans Saints L 26–27 4–3 Louisiana Superdome Recap
8 November 6 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 31–0 5–3 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Recap
9 November 13 at Green Bay Packers W 24–6 6–3 Milwaukee County Stadium Recap
10 November 20 at San Francisco 49ers W 23–10 7–3 Candlestick Park Recap
11 November 27 at Cleveland Browns W 9–0 8–3 Cleveland Stadium Recap
12 December 4 Oakland Raiders W 20–14 9–3 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Recap
13 December 11 Atlanta Falcons W 23–7 10–3 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Recap
14 December 17 at Washington Redskins L 14–17 10–4 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

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Week 1

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Namath threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to Harold Jackson early, but then it was all Falcons as their defense totally shut down the running game. Scott Hunter, starting in place of injured Steve Bartkowski, directed a ball-control attack and ran for a touchdown.

Week 2

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Namath passed for two touchdowns in this game, 14 yards to Lawrence McCutcheon and 2 yards to Terry Nelson. Rafael Septién provided the other scoring with 2 extra points and 2 field goals (20 and 23). It also turned out to be the final two touchdowns Namath would ever throw in his Hall of Fame career.

Week 3

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McCutcheon and John Cappelletti both ran for two touchdowns in this blowout. Jim Plunkett was completely ineffective against the Rams defense.

1 234Total
49ers 7 070 14
• Rams 3 14017 34
Scoring summary
1LARafael Septién 33 yard field goalRams 3–0
1SFDelvin Williams 17 yard pass from Jim Plunkett (Tom Wittum kick)49ers 7–3
2LALawrence McCutcheon 6 yard run (Rafael Septién kick)Rams 10–7
2LAJohn Cappelletti 1 yard run (Rafael Septién kick)Rams 17–7
3SFDelvin Williams 3 yard run (Tom Wittum kick)Rams 17–14
4LARafael Septién 24 yard field goalRams 20–14
4LAJohn Cappelletti 1 yard run (Rafael Septién kick)Rams 27–14
4LALawrence McCutcheon 1 yard run (Rafael Septién kick)Rams 34–14

[3]

Week 4

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Namath's final NFL start and game. He was 16 for 40 and once again victimized by no running game. Rams did get off to a 13–0 lead, but Bears QB Bob Avellini completed two long touchdown passes to James Scott and Walter Payton ran for 126 yards to bring the Bears back.

Week 5

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Pat Haden took back over as the starting quarterback and led a ball-control attack with McCutcheon gaining 152 yards and rookie Wendell Tyler scoring his first career NFL touchdown on a 16-yard run.

Week 6

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In a Monday Night blowout, Haden passed for two touchdowns and ran for another. The Rams' defense sacked Fran Tarkenton four times and intercepted him twice, both by rookie Pat Thomas.

Week 7

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In a wild game at the New Orleans Superdome, the Saints won on a 31-yard field goal by Rich Szaro with 16 seconds left.

Week 8

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Haden continued to roll with two more touchdown passes and Jim Youngblood scored on a 25-yard interception return and handed the Buccaneers their 22nd straight loss.

Week 9

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McCutcheon and Tyler each scored running touchdowns and Haden passed for another.

Week 10

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Rookie wide receiver Billy Waddy scored his first NFL touchdown on a pass from Haden and McCutcheon scored on a 42-yard run.

Week 11

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Rams won slug-it-out game in the mud despite Haden throwing 3 INT's. Cappelletti scored on a 7-yard run and Rafael Septién added a field goal.

Week 12

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Against the defending Super Bowl champions, the Rams survived a late scoring drive and a touchdown pass by Ken Stabler by answering with a 43-yard Haden-to-Harold Jackson touchdown bomb with around two minutes left. The win clinched the Rams' fifth straight division title.

1 234Total
Raiders 0 707 14
• Rams 7 0310 20
Scoring summary
Q1LACappelletti 1 yard run (Septien kick)LA 7–0
Q2OAKBanaszak 1 yard run (Mann kick)Tie 7–7
Q3LASeptién 21 yard field goalLA 10–7
Q4LASeptién 44 yard field goalLA 13–7
Q4OAKCasper 21 yard pass from Stabler (Mann kick)OAK 14–13
Q4LAJackson 43 yard pass from Haden (Septién kick)LA 20–14

[4]

Week 13

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  • TV Network: CBS

Rams avenged their season-opening loss to the Falcons as Haden ran for a touchdown and passed for another to Cappelletti.

Week 14

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In the cold and rain at RFK Stadium, Redskins quarterback Billy Kilmer threw for two early touchdowns. Rookie backup quarterback Vince Ferragamo nearly led the Rams back in the second half with two touchdowns of his own, but Septién missed a potential game-tying FG with no time left. It turned out to be George Allen's final regular-season game as an NFL coach.

Playoffs

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Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Recap
Divisional December 26 Minnesota Vikings (3) L 14–7 0–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Recap

Standings

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A football signed by the 1977 Los Angeles Rams, including Tom Mack, Joe Namath, Pat Haden, and Vince Ferragamo.
NFC West
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Los Angeles Rams(2) 10 4 0 .714 4–2 8–4 302 146 L1
Atlanta Falcons 7 7 0 .500 3–3 7–5 179 129 W1
San Francisco 49ers 5 9 0 .357 3–3 5–7 220 260 L3
New Orleans Saints 3 11 0 .214 2–4 3–9 232 336 L4

References

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  1. ^ "Joe Namath - Los Angeles Rams - Icons at the End of the Road - Photos - SI.com". Archived from the original on February 3, 2009. Retrieved August 8, 2008.
  2. ^ The Super '70s, Tom Danyluk, Mad Uke Publishing, 2005, page 95. The person being interviewed, "LM," is former Rams running back (1972-'79) Lawrence McCutcheon.
  3. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
  4. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Jun-16.
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