The 1986 Los Angeles Rams season was the franchise's 49th season in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

, their 39th overall, and their 41st in the

Greater Los Angeles Area Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino Coun ...

. The season began with the Rams looking to improve on their 11–5 record from

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

, which ended with them getting shut out by

the Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

in the

NFC Championship Game The NFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the National Football Conference (NFC) and one of the two semi-final playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the world. ...

, 24–0. The Rams began the season with three straight wins against the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

, and

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

. However, in Week 4, the Philadelphia Eagles (0–3) upset the Rams, 34–20. The Rams would then win four of their next five, including a 20–17 win over the Bears in a rematch of the NFC Championship Game. The Rams would then close out the season with losses in four of their final seven games to end the year 10–6, good enough for second place in the

NFC West The National Football Conference - Western Division or NFC West is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It currently has four members: the Arizona Cardinal ...

behind the 49ers (10–5–1). In the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

, the Rams lost to the Washington Redskins, 19–7, in the NFC Wild Card Game to end the season with an overall record of 10–7.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Jim Everett James Samuel Everett III (born January 3, 1963) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the Los Angeles Rams. He played college football for the Purdue Boilerm ...

(Quarterback,

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

) was selected by the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 as ...

as the third pick in the first round, and was the first quarterback taken. Unable to work out a contract agreement with Everett, the Oilers traded his rights to the Rams. In exchange for Everett, the Rams sent the Oilers guard

Kent Hill Kent Angelo Hill (born March 7, 1957) is an American former professional footalll player who was an offensive lineman for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily for the Los Angeles Rams. He played college football for t ...

, defensive end William Fuller, their first pick and fifth pick in the

1987 NFL Draft The 1987 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 28–29, 1987, at the Marriot Marq ...

, and their first pick in the

1988 NFL Draft The 1988 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 24–25, 1988, at the Marriot Marq ...

Roster

Source:

Regular season

Schedule

Standings

Playoffs

Awards and records

* Eric Dickerson, NFC

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

selection * Eric Dickerson,

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list th ...

selection * Eric Dickerson,

NFL Offensive Player of the Year The National Football League Offensive Player of the Year Award is an annual American football award given by various organizations to the National Football League (NFL) player who is considered the top offensive player during the regular season. Or ...

* Eric Dickerson,

UPI NFC Player of the Year From 1970 to 1984, United Press International (UPI) awarded the NFC Player of the Year award to players from the National Football League's National Football Conference (NFC). An NFC Defensive Player of the Year was named from 1975 to 1996, and an N ...

Carl Ekern Carl Frederick Ekern (May 27, 1954 – August 1, 1990) was an NFL football player. Biography Ekern was born in Richland, Washington. He attended Fremont High School in Sunnyvale, California. Ekern was a graduate of San Jose State University and ...

, NFC Pro Bowl selection *

Jerry Gray Jerry Don Gray (born December 16, 1962) is an American football coach and former player who is the defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). Gray played college football ...

, NFC Pro Bowl selection *

Dennis Harrah Dennis Wayne Harrah (born March 9, 1953) is a former offensive lineman who played 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Los Angeles Rams. He played college football for the University of Miami. He played for and graduated from ...

, NFC Pro Bowl selection * LeRoy Irvin, NFC Pro Bowl selection *

Jackie Slater Jackie Ray Slater (born May 27, 1954), nicknamed "Big Bad Jackie", is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle for 20 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played his entire career with the Rams fra ...

, NFC Pro Bowl selection * Doug Smith, NFC Pro Bowl selection

''Let's Ram It''

The team recorded a promotional video, ''Let's Ram It'' by "The Rammers", starring multiple players with solo verses: * Verse 1:

Nolan Cromwell Nolan Neil Cromwell (born January 30, 1955) is an American former professional football player who was a safety for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Kansas Jayhawks, where he earn ...

Gary Jeter Gary Michael Jeter (January 24, 1955 – March 9, 2016) was a professional American football defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). An All-American at the University of Southern California in 1976, Jeter was drafted by the New Yor ...

, Norwood Vann,

* Verse 2: David Hill, Jim Collins,

Ron Brown Ronald Harmon Brown (August 1, 1941 – April 3, 1996) was an American politician. He served as the United States Secretary of Commerce during the first term of President of the United States, President Bill Clinton. Prior to this he was chairm ...

, Tony Hunter * Verse 3:

Barry Redden Barry Redden (born July 21, 1960) is a former American football running back who played for the Los Angeles Rams, the San Diego Chargers, and the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University ...

, Johnnie Johnson, LeRoy Irvin,

Eric Dickerson Eric Demetric Dickerson (born September 2, 1960) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. Dickerson played college football for the Mustangs of Southern Me ...

Dance segments of the video show the above players, plus

Tom Newberry Thomas J. Newberry (born December 20, 1962) is a former American football guard from Onalaska, Wisconsin who played ten seasons in the National Football League with the Los Angeles Rams for nine years and the Pittsburgh Steelers for one year. ...

. The song features a number of

double entendre A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, of which one is typically obvious, whereas the other often conveys a message that would be too socially ...

lyrics.

References

External links

1986 Los Angeles Rams Season
at Pro-Football Reference

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

Los Angeles Rams seasons Los Ang {{Americanfootball-season-stub