1978 Los Angeles Rams season

1978 Los Angeles Rams season
Head Coach	Ray Malavasi
Home Field	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Results
Record	12-4
Place	1st NFC West
Playoff Finish	Won Divisional Lost Conference
Timeline
Previous season	Next season
1977	1979

The 1978 Los Angeles Rams season was the team's 41st year with the National Football League and the 33rd season in Los Angeles.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article: 1978 NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School/Club Team

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Notes	Attendance
1	September 3, 1978	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 16-14	Rookie kicker Frank Corral won it with a 46-yard field goal.	64,721
2	September 10, 1978	Atlanta Falcons	W 10-0	Rams dominated on both offense and defense, outgaining the Falcons 358 yards to 73. Cullen Bryant had a TD run.	46,201
3	September 17, 1978	Dallas Cowboys	W 27-14	Rams got some early bragging rights against the defending Super Bowl champs. Pat Haden's 42-yard bomb in the third quarter to Willie Miller and Rod Perry's interception return TD provided the winning points.	65,749
4	September 24, 1978	at Houston Oilers	W 10-6	Rams won a tight defensive struggle as Cullen Bryant had a TD run and Corral a 25-yard FG. This game would be remembered for Houston rookie Earl Campbell's memorable run in the third quarter through Isiah Robertson and Bill Simpson that ended with a concussion.	45,749
5	October 1, 1978	at New Orleans Saints	W 26-20	Rams jumped to a 20-0 lead, aided by Rod Perry's second interception return TD of the season, then held on for the win despite three scoring passes by Archie Manning.	61,659
6	October 8, 1978	San Francisco 49ers	W 27-10	Defense held 49ers QB Steve DeBerg to 7 for 26 passing and 83 yards. Meanwhile, Rams rushed for 227 yards and another Cullen Bryant TD and Pat Haden threw for two.	59,337
7	October 15, 1978	at Minnesota Vikings	W 34-17	Rams held the Vikings to 222 yards total offense and only 42 yards rushing while rushing for 180 themselves and scoring three fourth-quarter TD's.	46,551
8	October 22, 1978	New Orleans Saints	L 10-3	Rams struggled at home as tackle John Williams was called for seven holding penalties. Archie Manning hit Tony Galbreath with a 19-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter after Rams punter Glen Walker fumbled a snap and was tackled by Saints defensive end Elois Grooms.	47,574
9	October 30, 1978	at Atlanta Falcons	L 15-7	Falcons kicker Tim Mazzetti, who just a month prior had been bartending in New Orleans, booted five field goals in this Monday Night game.	57,250
10	November 5, 1978	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 26-23	Bucs QB Doug Williams left early with a broken jaw, but backup Mike Rae nearly led a comeback to a major upset with his passing and running (4 scrambles for 95 yards). Bucs tied it in fourth on a tipped TD pass from Rae to J.K. McKay, but Corral won it with a late field goal as Rams narrowly avoided a third straight loss.	55,182
11	November 12, 1978	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 10-7	Rams won a tough defensive struggle at home as John Cappelletti ran for 105 yards and Pat Haden passed to Willie Miller for the winning touchdown in the fourth.	63,089
12	November 19, 1978	at San Francisco 49ers	W 31-28	Rams won once again on a late field goal by Corral, overcoming three rushing TD's by Paul Hofer and a kickoff return TD by Dave Williams.	45,022
13	November 26, 1978	at Cleveland Browns	L 30-19	Browns dominated on a cold, rainy day, intercepting three Pat Haden passes and getting a 57-yard TD run by Greg Pruitt. Rams RB Lawrence McCutcheon suffered a severe calf muscle pull and was declared out for the season.	55,158
14	December 3, 1978	at New York Giants	W 20-17	This one was won by the Rams' pass defense. Giants had only 12 completions in 34 attempts and 4 interceptions, including one returned for a TD by Pat Thomas. Giants ran ball well (185 yards), but it wasn't enough.	62,629
15	December 11, 1978	Cincinnati Bengals	L 20-19	Rams jumped to a 13-0 lead at home, but couldn't hold back the Bengals as kicker Chris Bahr won it with two late field goals. Pat Haden threw for a career-high 283 yards despite injuring his passing thumb in the third quarter.	47,471
16	December 17, 1978	Green Bay Packers	W 31-14	Rod Perry had his third interception return TD of the season and Cullen Bryant ran for a career-high 121 yards and two TD's.	42,500

Standings

NFC West
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA
Los Angeles Rams	12	4	0	.750	316	245
Atlanta Falcons	9	7	0	.563	240	290
New Orleans Saints	7	9	0	.438	281	298
San Francisco 49ers	2	14	0	.125	219	350

Postseason

NFC Divisional Playoff

• Los Angeles Rams 34, Minnesota Vikings 10

	1	2	3	4	OT
Vikings	3	7	0	0	10
Rams	0	10	14	10	34

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. 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 Willie Miller.

NFC Championship Game

• Dallas Cowboys 28, Los Angeles Rams 0

	1	2	3	4	OT
Cowboys	0	0	7	21	28
Rams	0	0	0	0	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 tough defensive struggle until 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 TD run by Tony Dorsett.