1984 Los Angeles Rams season
NFL team season
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The 1984 Los Angeles Rams season was the franchise's 47th season in the National Football League, their 48th overall, and their 39th in the Greater Los Angeles Area. The Rams looked to improve on their 9–7 record from 1983 and make the playoffs for the second consecutive season and 10th in the last 12. They improved on their record by one game, going 10–6, good enough for second place in the NFC West behind the 15–1 San Francisco 49ers. In the playoffs, the Rams lost a low-scoring game to the New York Giants at home, 16–13. During this season, second-year running back Eric Dickerson set the NFL record for most rushing yards in a season, with 2,105 yards.
| 1984 Los Angeles Rams season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Georgia Frontiere |
| Head coach | John Robinson |
| Offensive coordinator | Jimmy Raye |
| Defensive coordinator | Fritz Shurmur |
| Home stadium | Anaheim Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 10–6 |
| Division place | 2nd NFC West |
| Playoffs | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (vs. Giants) 13–16 |
| Uniform | |
| |
Prior to the season in February 1984, starting cornerback Kirk Collins died of gastroesophageal cancer. Rams teammates would honor Collins during the season by placing a "42" decal on the rear of their helmets. [1]
Before the season
NFL draft
| 1984 Los Angeles Rams draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 133 | Hal Stephens | Defensive end | East Carolina | |
| 7 | 188 | George Radachowsky | Defensive back | Boston College | |
| 8 | 215 | Ed Brady | Linebacker | Illinois | |
| 9 | 242 | George Reynolds | Punter | Penn State | |
| 10 | 253 | Norwood Vann | Linebacker | East Carolina | |
| 10 | 274 | Joe Dooley | Center | Ohio State | |
| 11 | 293 | Michael Harper | Wide receiver | USC | |
| 11 | 301 | Dwayne Love | Running back | Houston | |
| 12 | 309 | Rod Fisher | Defensive back | Oklahoma State | |
| 12 | 328 | Moe Bias | Linebacker | Illinois | |
| Made roster | |||||
Roster
Regular season
Eric Dickerson
In his second season, Dickerson continued his onslaught of the NFL record book. As a rookie, Dickerson established rookie records for most rushing attempts (390), most rushing yards gained (1,808) and most touchdowns rushing (18), including another two receiving touchdowns.[3] His efforts earned him All-Pro, Pro Bowl, Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year honors.[4]
Eleven times during the 1984 season, he gained more than 100 yards rushing, breaking the record of 100-yard games in a season held by O. J. Simpson. His 2,105 total yards rushing in the 1984 NFL season beat Simpson’s 1973 NFL season record of 2,003 yards rushing in a single season. To date, no one has rushed for more yards in a single NFL season. However, Simpson’s career high rushing total came in a 14-game season, whereas Dickerson’s mark was set during a 16-game season.[3] Dickerson broke OJ’s record with a 215-yard performance in a 27–16 Rams win over the Houston Oilers in week 15.
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Recap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 3 | Dallas Cowboys | L 13–20 | 0–1 | Anaheim Stadium | Recap | |
| 2 | September 9 | Cleveland Browns | W 20–17 | 1–1 | Anaheim Stadium | Recap | |
| 3 | September 16 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 14–24 | 1–2 | Three Rivers Stadium | Recap | |
| 4 | September 23 | at Cincinnati Bengals | W 24–14 | 2–2 | Riverfront Stadium | Recap | |
| 5 | September 30 | New York Giants | W 33–12 | 3–2 | Anaheim Stadium | Recap | |
| 6 | October 7 | Atlanta Falcons | L 28–30 | 3–3 | Anaheim Stadium | Recap | |
| 7 | October 14 | at New Orleans Saints | W 28–10 | 4–3 | Louisiana Superdome | Recap | |
| 8 | October 22 | at Atlanta Falcons | W 24–10 | 5–3 | Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium | Recap | |
| 9 | October 28 | San Francisco 49ers | L 0–33 | 5–4 | Anaheim Stadium | Recap | |
| 10 | November 4 | at St. Louis Cardinals | W 16–3 | 6–4 | Busch Stadium | Recap | |
| 11 | November 11 | Chicago Bears | W 29–13 | 7–4 | Anaheim Stadium | Recap | |
| 12 | November 18 | at Green Bay Packers | L 6–31 | 7–5 | Milwaukee County Stadium | Recap | |
| 13 | November 25 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 34–33 | 8–5 | Tampa Stadium | Recap | |
| 14 | December 2 | New Orleans Saints | W 34–21 | 9–5 | Anaheim Stadium | Recap | |
| 15 | December 9 | Houston Oilers | W 27–16 | 10–5 | Anaheim Stadium | Recap | |
| 16 | December 14 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 16–19 | 10–6 | Candlestick Park | Recap | |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | |||||||
Game summaries
Week 1
In this Monday Night opener, Rams got off to a 13–0 first-quarter lead with Eric Dickerson running for a touchdown, but the Cowboys stormed back behind 343 passing yards by new QB Gary Hogeboom and a defense that held Vince Ferragamo to 11 pass completions in 33 attempts and just 84 yards, and intercepted 5 passes.
Week 2
Mike Lansford kicked a late FG to win it. Dickerson had 102 yards rushing and CB Leroy Irvin returned a pickoff 81 yards for a touchdown.
Week 3
Steelers defense held Dickerson to 49 yards and got 2 passing touchdowns from David Woodley. Ferragamo threw 2 more INT's, giving him eight in three games. He was injured in this game & replaced by Jeff Kemp, who would be the starter for the rest of the season.
Starting QBs: Los Angeles Rams: Vince Ferragamo vs Pittsburgh Steelers: David Woodley.
Vegas Line: Pittsburgh Steelers -3.5
Over/Under 43.0 (under)
- Vince Ferragamo was injured (hand) during the first half and replaced by Jeff Kemp. **
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rams | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| • Steelers | 0 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 24 |
- Date: Sep 16, 1984
- Location: Three Rivers Stadium - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game start: 4:00pm EST
- Game weather: 50 °F (10 °C) • 7 miles per hour (11 km/h; 6.1 kn)
- Referee: Ben Dreith
- TV announcers (NFL on CBS): Jim Hill (American football) and John Dockery
Week 4
Dickerson ran for a touchdown and Kemp passed for another. Bengals scored late on a touchdown pass from Ken Anderson to Cris Collinsworth and tried an onside kick, but Mike Guman scooped it up and ran for the final touchdown.
Week 5
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Giants | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 12 |
| • Rams | 0 | 17 | 16 | 0 | 33 |
- Date: September 30
- Location: Anaheim Stadium, Anaheim, California
- Game start: 4:00 p.m.
- Game weather: 70 °F (21.1 °C); humidity 73%; wind 11 miles per hour (18 km/h; 9.6 kn)
- Referee: Gordon McCarter
- TV announcers (CBS): Frank Glieber and Dick Vermeil
| Q1 | NYG | Phil McConkey Special teams recovery in end zone on opening kickoff. Receiving team did not touch ball. | NYG 6–0 | |
| Q2 | LA | Dwayne Crutchfield 1 yard rush (Mike Lansford kick) | LA 7–6 | |
| Q2 | LA | Henry Ellard 83 yard punt return (Mike Lansford kick) | LA 14–6 | |
| Q2 | LA | Mike Lansford 33 yard field goal | LA 17–6 | |
| Q3 | LA | Safety, Ivory Sully blocked punt out of end zone | LA 19–6 | |
| Q3 | LA | Safety, Reggie Doss and Jack Youngblood tackled Phil Simms in end zone | LA 21–6 | |
| Q3 | LA | David Hill 2 yard pass from Jeff Kemp (Mike Lansford kick) | LA 28–6 | |
| Q3 | LA | Mike Lansford 35 yard field goal | LA 31–6 | |
| Q3 | LA | Safety, Norwood Vann blocked punt out of end zone | LA 33–6 | |
| Q4 | NYG | Earnest Gray 15 yard pass from Phil Simms | LA 33–12 | |
Rams’ defense tied an NFL-record by scoring three safeties. They also held the Giants to 8 yards rushing. Henry Ellard returned a punt 83 yards for a touchdown, and Kemp continued to play mistake-free football, passing for another touchdown. The Rams also became the most recent NFL team (the last one prior was before 1940) to score three safeties in one game as they easily defeat Phil Simms and the Giants.[6]
Week 6
The game lead changed six times in the second half. The Falcons won on three rushing touchdowns by Lynn Cain and a late FG by Mick Luckhurst.
Week 7
Dickerson ran for 175 yards. Kemp completed only 8 passes, but three were for touchdowns. Nolan Cromwell had an interception return touchdown.
Week 8
Rams got revenge on the road against the Falcons as Dickerson ran for 145 yards and a touchdown and Ellard caught a pass and returned another punt for touchdowns.
Week 9 (Sunday, October 28, 1984): vs. San Francisco 49ers
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 49ers (8–1) | 3 | 16 | 7 | 7 | 33 |
| Rams (5–4) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
at Anaheim Stadium • Anaheim, California
- Date: October 28, 1984
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. PST
- Game weather: 60 °F (16 °C); wind 7 miles per hour (11 km/h; 6.1 kn)
- Game attendance: 65,481
- Referee: Bob Frederic
- TV announcers (CBS): Tom Brookshier (play-by-play) and Wayne Walker (color commentator)
- [8]
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| SF | Passing | Joe Montana | 21/31, 365 YDS, 3 TDs |
| Rushing | Wendell Tyler | 13 CAR, 27 YDS | |
| Receiving | Freddie Solomon | 6 REC, 94 YDS, 1 TD | |
| LARams | Passing | Jeff Kemp | 14/30, 180 YDS, 2 INTs |
| Rushing | Eric Dickerson | 13 CAR, 38 YDS | |
| Receiving | Henry Ellard | 4 REC, 91 YDS |
| Scoring summary | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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- Point spread: 49ers by 3
- Over/under: 45.0 (under)
- Time of game:
| 49ers | Game statistics | Rams |
|---|---|---|
| 23 | First downs | 12 |
| 39–111 | Rushes–yards | 19–72 |
| 376 | Passing yards | 180 |
| 22–32–0 | Passes | 14–30–2 |
| 2–15 | Sacked–yards | 5–46 |
| 361 | Net passing yards | 134 |
| 472 | Total yards | 206 |
| 35 | Return yards | 123 |
| 3–38.0 | Punts | 6–39.8 |
| 2–2 | Fumbles–lost | 5–3 |
| 6–41 | Penalties–yards | 3–25 |
| 34:26 | Time of Possession | 25:34 |
The 49ers got 376 yards passing and 3 touchdowns from Joe Montana. Dickerson was held to 38 rushing yards.
Week 10
Kemp only completed 5 of 14 passes with one touchdown to Ron Brown and Dickerson rushed for 208 yards; Dickerson accounted for almost all of the Rams' 261 yards of offense. Lansford kicked a FG late to win the game as the Rams defense sacked Neil Lomax six times, three by veteran Jack Youngblood
Week 11
Rams continued their playoff push by overcoming a 10–0 deficit behind 149 yards and 2 touchdowns by Dickerson.
Week 12
Eddie Lee Ivery ran for 3 touchdowns and Tim Lewis returned an interception 99 yards for another.
Week 13
In a wild affair at Tampa, the Rams overcame 322 yards passing by Steve DeBerg and scored 17 4th quarter points. The Rams rushed for 299 yards, 191 by Dickerson along with 3 touchdowns.
Week 14
Rams built a 24–7 halftime lead and cruised behind 2 Kemp touchdown passes and 149 yards and a touchdown from Dickerson.
Week 15
at Anaheim Stadium, Anaheim, California
- Date: December 9, 1984
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. PST
- Game weather: Sunny, 58 °F (14 °C)
- Game attendance: 49,092
- Referee: Fred Silva
- TV: NBC
- Pro-Football-Reference.com, The Football Database
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
The Rams clinched a wild-card playoff berth and Dickerson surpassed O. J. Simpson's NFL single-season rushing record by rushing for a season-high 215 yards.
- Eric Dickerson sets NFL single season rushing record in the game.
- Jack Youngblood missed his first NFL game due to injury in his career.
Week 16 (Friday, December 14, 1984): at San Francisco 49ers
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rams (10–6) | 3 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 16 |
| 49ers (15–1) | 14 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 19 |
at Candlestick Park • San Francisco, California
- Date: December 14, 1984
- Game time: 6:00 p.m. PST
- Game weather: 51 °F (11 °C); wind 13 miles per hour (21 km/h; 11 kn)
- Game attendance: 59,743
- Referee: Jerry Seeman
- TV announcers (ABC): Frank Gifford (play-by-play), Don Meredith (color commentator) and O. J. Simpson (color commentator)
- [10]
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| LARams | Passing | Jeff Kemp | 11/22, 180 YDS |
| Rushing | Eric Dickerson | 26 CAR, 98 YDS, 1 TD | |
| Receiving | Ron Brown | 3 REC, 55 YDS | |
| SF | Passing | Joe Montana | 20/31, 219 YDS, 2 TDs |
| Rushing | Roger Craig | 8 CAR, 59 YDS | |
| Receiving | Earl Cooper | 5 REC, 40 YDS, 1 TD |
| Scoring summary | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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- Point spread: 49ers by 6
- Over/under: 44.0 (under)
- Time of game:
| Rams | Game statistics | 49ers |
|---|---|---|
| 19 | First downs | 15 |
| 37–185 | Rushes–yards | 20–89 |
| 180 | Passing yards | 219 |
| 11–22–0 | Passes | 20–31–0 |
| 1–10 | Sacked–yards | 4–19 |
| 170 | Net passing yards | 200 |
| 355 | Total yards | 289 |
| 95 | Return yards | 88 |
| 4–37.8 | Punts | 6–44.5 |
| 2–1 | Fumbles–lost | 2–0 |
| 6–57 | Penalties–yards | 8–75 |
| 32:52 | Time of Possession | 27:08 |
The 49ers got two early touchdown passes from Montana and held off a late Ram charge for the win, culminating in a sack for a safety by Gary "Big Hands" Johnson. With this win, the 49ers became the first team in NFL history to win 15 games in an NFL regular season.
Postseason
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wild Card | December 23 | New York Giants | L 13–16 | 0–1 | Anaheim Stadium | Recap |
Standings
| NFC West | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| San Francisco 49ers(1) | 15 | 1 | 0 | .938 | 6–0 | 12–0 | 475 | 227 | W9 |
| Los Angeles Rams(4) | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 3–3 | 7–5 | 346 | 316 | L1 |
| New Orleans Saints | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 1–5 | 4–8 | 298 | 361 | W1 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 2–4 | 3–9 | 281 | 382 | W1 |
Awards and honors
- Eric Dickerson, NFC Pro Bowl Selection
- Eric Dickerson, All-Pro Selection
- Eric Dickerson, UPI NFC Player of the Year
Milestones
- Eric Dickerson, NFL Record 2,105 Rushing Yards in a Single Season
See also
- Other Anaheim–based teams in 1984