1984 Los Angeles Rams season

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
Head coach	John Robinson
Owner	Georgia Frontiere
Home field	Anaheim Stadium
Results
Record	10–6
Division place	2nd NFC West
Playoff finish	Lost Wild Card playoffs (Giants) 13–16

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article: 1984 NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School/Club Team

Roster

1984 Los Angeles Rams roster

	Quarterbacks 15 Vince Ferragamo  9 Jeff Kemp Running backs 29 Eric Dickerson 44 Mike Guman 46 John Kamana 30 Barry Redden Wide receivers 89 Ron Brown 80 Henry Ellard 84 George Farmer 82 Otis Grant 87 Drew Hill 43 Mike Pleasant Tight ends 88 Chris Faulkner 81 David Hill		Offensive linemen 62 Bill Bain T 60 Dennis Harrah G 72 Kent Hill G 75 Irv Pankey T 78 Jackie Slater T 56 Doug Smith C Defensive linemen 70 Charles DeJurnett DT 71 Reggie Doss DE 69 Greg Meisner DT 98 Shawn Miller 93 Doug Reed DE 85 Jack Youngblood DE		Linebackers 52 George Andrews 50 Jim Collins 55 Carl Ekern 51 Norwood Vann 54 Mike Wilcher OLB Defensive backs 21 Nolan Cromwell FS 27 Gary Green CB 47 LeRoy Irvin CB 20 Johnnie Johnson SS 22 Vince Newsome FS 37 Ivory Sully CB Special teams  1 Mike Lansford K  6 John Misko P		Reserve lists Practice squad Rookies in italics

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.[1] His efforts earned him All-Pro, Pro Bowl, Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year honors.[2]

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.[1] Dickerson broke OJ’s record with a 215-yard performance in a 27–16 Rams win over the Houston Oilers in Week 15.

Schedule

Game	Date	Opponent	Result	Rams points	Opponents	Record	Summary	Attendance
1	September 3, 1984	Dallas Cowboys	L	13	20	0–1	In this Monday Night opener, Rams got off to 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.	65,403
2	September 9, 1984	Cleveland Browns	W	20	17	1–1	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.	43,043
3	September 16, 1984	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L	14	24	1–2	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.	58,104
4	September 23, 1984	at Cincinnati Bengals	W	24	14	2–2	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.	45,406
5	September 30, 1984	New York Giants	W	33	12	3–2	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.	53,417
6	October 7, 1984	Atlanta Falcons	L	28	30	3–3	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	47,832
7	October 14, 1984	at New Orleans Saints	W	28	10	4–3	Dickerson ran for 175 yards. Kemp completed only 8 passes, but three were for touchdowns. Nolan Cromwell had an interception return touchdown.	63,161
8	October 22, 1984	at Atlanta Falcons	W	24	10	5–3	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.	52,681
9	October 28, 1984	San Francisco 49ers	L	0	33	5–4	The powerful 49ers got 376 yards passing and 3 touchdowns from Joe Montana. Dickerson was held to 38 rushing yards.	65,481
10	November 4, 1984	at St. Louis Cardinals	W	16	13	6–4	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	51,010
11	November 11, 1984	Chicago Bears	W	29	13	7–4	Rams continued their playoff push by overcoming a 10–0 deficit behind 149 yards and 2 touchdowns by Dickerson.	62,021
12	November 18, 1984	at Green Bay Packers	L	6	31	7–5	Eddie Lee Ivery ran for 3 touchdowns and Tim Lewis returned an interception 99 yards for another.	52,031
13	November 25, 1984	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W	34	33	8–5	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.	42,242
14	December 2, 1984	New Orleans Saints	W	34	21	9–5	Rams built a 24–7 halftime lead and cruised behind 2 Kemp touchdown passes and 149 yards and a touchdown from Dickerson.	49,348
15	December 9, 1984	Houston Oilers	W	27	16	10–5	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.	49,092
16	December 14, 1984	at San Francisco 49ers	L	16	19	10–6	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.	59,743
WC	December 23, 1984	New York Giants	L	13	16	10–7	Dickerson rushed for 107 yards and a touchdown.	67,037

Game summaries

Week 3

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. **

Los Angeles Rams (1-1) at Pittsburgh Steelers (1-1)

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) TV announcers (NFL on CBS): Jim Hill (American football) and John Dockery

[3]

Week 5

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

Scoring summary Q1 NYG Phil McConkey special teams fumble recovery in end zone 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

The Rams become 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.[4]

Week 15

See also: 1984 Houston Oilers season

Week Fifteen: Houston Oilers (3–11) at Los Angeles Rams (9–5)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Oilers	3	10	3	0	16
Rams	17	3	0	7	27

at Anaheim Stadium, Anaheim, California

• Date: December 9, 1984
• Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST
• 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

First quarter LA – Drew Hill 57-yard pass from Jeff Kemp (Mike Lansford kick), 13:08. Rams 7–0. Drive: HOU – Joe Cooper 21-yard field goal, 7:22. Rams 7–3. Drive: LA – Eric Dickerson 7-yard run (Mike Lansford kick), 4:28. Rams 14–3. Drive: LA – Mike Lansford 35-yard field goal, 1:42. Rams 17–3. Drive: Second quarter HOU – Joe Cooper 42-yard field goal, 13:19. Rams 17–6. Drive: HOU – Larry Moriarty 4-yard run (Joe Cooper kick), 6:13. Rams 17–13. Drive: LA – Mike Lansford 19-yard field goal, 2:26. Rams 20–13. Drive: Third quarter HOU – Joe Cooper 18 yard field goal, 7:50. Rams 20–16. Drive: Fourth quarter LA – Eric Dickerson 6–yard run, 5:49. Rams 27–16. Drive: Top passers HOU – Warren Moon – 19/29, 200 yards, INT LA – Jeff Kemp – 12/23, 199 yards, TD Top rushers HOU – Larry Moriarty – 24 rushes, 102 yards, TD LA – Eric Dickerson – 27 rushes, 215 yards, 2 TD Top receivers HOU – Tim Smith – 6 receptions, 69 yards LA – Drew Hill – 1 reception, 57 yards, TD

• Eric Dickerson sets NFL single season rushing record in the game.
• Jack Youngblood missed his first NFL game due to injury in his career.

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

• California Angels (Anaheim Stadium)
  • 1984 California Angels season

References

1. Eric's Days as a Ram, http://www.ericdickerson29.com/rams.htm Archived 2007-10-14 at the Wayback Machine
2. Eric Dickerson: Pro Football Hall of Fame, http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/member.jsp?PLAYER_ID=55
3. . Retrieved 2020-Jul-07.
4. New York Giants at Los Angeles Rams. Retrieved 2014-Oct-17.

External links

• 1984 Los Angeles Rams Season at Pro-Football Reference