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 gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

, their fiftieth overall, and their 41st in the

Greater Los Angeles Area Greater Los Angeles is the most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. state of California, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino County and Riverside County in the east, ...

. 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 n ...

, which ended with them getting shut out by the Chicago Bears 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 semifinal National Football League playoffs, playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional Ame ...

, 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the 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 ...

, 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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

. 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 Card ...

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.

Offseason

NFL draft

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

(Quarterback,

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

) was selected by the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston, Texas, from its founding in 1960 Houston Oilers season, 1960 to 1996 Houston Oilers season, 1996. The Houston Oilers began play as a charter member of the Ame ...

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 American football, footalll player who was an offensive lineman for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily for the Los Angeles Rams. He played col ...

, 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 Ma ...

, and their first pick in the 1988 NFL draft.

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 (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

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 t ...

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. O ...

* Eric Dickerson, UPI NFC Player of the Year * Carl Ekern, NFC Pro Bowl selection * Jerry Gray, NFC Pro Bowl selection * Dennis Harrah, NFC Pro Bowl selection * LeRoy Irvin, NFC Pro Bowl selection * Jackie Slater, 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: Jackie Slater, Nolan Cromwell, Gary Jeter,

Norwood Vann Norwood Vann (born February 18, 1962) is an American former professional football player who played five seasons with the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Raiders of the National Football League (NFL) in the early 1980s. He played college foot ...

, Dennis Harrah * Verse 2: David Hill, Jim Collins, Ron Brown, Tony Hunter * Verse 3: Barry Redden, Carl Ekern, 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 for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the SMU Mustangs, earning unanimous ...

Dance segments of the video show the above players, plus

Tom Newberry Thomas J. Newberry (born December 20, 1962) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a Guard (American football), guard for 10 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played with the Los Angeles R ...

. 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, one of which is typically obvious, and the other often conveys a message that would be too socially unacc ...

lyrics.

References

External links

1986 Los Angeles Rams Season
at Pro-Football Reference {{DEFAULTSORT:1986 Los Angeles Rams Season

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

Los Angeles Rams seasons Los Ang