1978 Los Angeles Rams season

The 1978 Los Angeles Rams season was the team's 41st year with the National Football League and the 33rd season in Los Angeles. They improved on their 10–4 record from the previous season and finished 12–4.

The Rams began the regular season with seven straight victories and earned their sixth straight division title along with homefield advantage throughout the NFC playoffs, including wins over the Dallas Cowboys (27-14) and Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7), the teams that would ultimately face each other in Super Bowl XIII. After defeating the Minnesota Vikings 34–10 in the divisional round, Los Angeles hosted the NFC Championship game, losing 28–0 at home in a rematch with the Cowboys.

Chuck Knox, who had coached the Rams for the previous five seasons, left the team after the 1977 season to join the Buffalo Bills.

In February, 1978, Rams owner Carroll Rosenbloom hired former Rams coach George Allen, with much media fanfare. Allen had coached the Rams from 1966 to 1970, and had recently been dismissed by the Washington Redskins, whom he had coached from 1971 to 1977.

His second stint as the Rams' head coach was an unfortunate experience for all concerned. Allen did not have full authority over personnel and thus worked with general manager Don Klosterman to oversee a talented roster that had made the team a perennial playoff challenger. Allen brought with him his scrupulous discipline and attention to detail, which extended to practice-field protocol and dining-hall decorum. Almost immediately, a group of Ram players chafed at the regulations, and some made their grievances public. A few, including standout linebacker Isiah Robertson, briefly left camp.

As newspaper reports were quoting players expressing confidence that differences would be resolved, the Rams played listlessly and lost the first two games of the exhibition schedule, 14–7 to the New England Patriots and 17–0 to the San Diego Chargers. Rosenbloom decided that for the season to be salvaged a change must be made, and the announcement of Allen's abrupt dismissal was made on August 13, 1978, just weeks before the season opener. Many of Allen's own players were surprised by the decision. Defensive coordinator Ray Malavasi, well-respected and liked by players (and the only holdover from Chuck Knox' staff), replaced Allen.

On Tuesday, July 25, 1978, the Rams announced plans to leave the Coliseum for Anaheim Stadium beginning with the 1980 season. [1]

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• TV Network: CBS
• Announcers: Lindsey Nelson and Paul Hornung

In a penalty-filled game typical of those two teams, Pat Haden threw a pair of touchdown passes, one from 3 yards to John Cappelletti and the other from 11 yards to Wayne Miller helped the Rams stay unbeaten and spoiled the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum return of former USC star O. J. Simpson, who rushed for 83 yards on 20 carries and caught four passes for 30 yards. Frank Corral booted two field goals from 47 and 38 yards while the 49ers' Ray Wersching kicked a 25-yard field goal. Steve Deberg hit only 7 of 26 passes for 83 yards and missed on a fourth-down pass from the Rams' two late in the game.

• Los Angeles Rams 34, Minnesota Vikings 10

at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles

• TV: CBS

• Attendance: 69,631

After the game was tied 10–10 at halftime, the Rams dominated the second half by scoring 24 unanswered points to defeat Minnesota in the playoffs for the first time after four previous losses. After the Vikings opened up the scoring with a field goal, Los Angeles marched 59 yards to score on quarterback Pat Haden's 9-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Willie Miller. Haden passed for 209 yards and threw a second touchdown pass in the third quarter, a 27-yard strike to wide receiver Ron Jessie. Kicker Frank Corral had two field goals in the game, and running back Cullen Bryant ran 27 times for 100 yards, including a 3-yard run in the third quarter to give the Rams the lead for good, while backup Jim Jodat added another touchdown for the game's final points. On defense, safety Bill Simpson intercepted two passes from Vikings quarterback Fran Tarkenton in what turned out to be the final game of Tarkenton's NFL career.

• Dallas Cowboys 28, Los Angeles Rams 0

at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles

• TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshier
• Referee: Ben Dreith
• Attendance: 67,470

This game was a scoreless defensive struggle until the third quarter when Dallas safety Charlie Waters intercepted two Pat Haden passes intended for tight end Terry Nelson. Waters' first interception came in the middle of the third and led to a 5-yard touchdown run by running back Tony Dorsett. The Cowboys increased their lead to 14-0 as quarterback Roger Staubach threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to running back Scott Laidlaw. Then after the Rams were stopped on 4th and inches at the Dallas 21 yard line, Staubach then led a long scoring drive that ended with an 11-yard touchdown pass to tight end Billy Joe Dupree. Cowboys linebacker Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson, who had said in pre-game interviews that the Rams "didn't have enough class to go to the Super Bowl", backed up his words by capping the scoring with touchdown off a 68-yard interception return (the Cowboys' fifth of the game) of a Vince Ferragamo pass. Rams kicker Frank Corral missed two first half field goal attempts, the closest Los Angeles would get to scoring in the game, their fourth loss in the NFC Championship Game in five seasons.