1968 Los Angeles Rams season
Head coachGeorge Allen
Home fieldLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Results
Record10–3–1
Division place2nd Western Coastal
Playoff finishDid not qualify

The 1968 Los Angeles Rams season was the team's 31st year with the National Football League and the 23rd season in Los Angeles. The season saw the Rams attempting to improve on their 11-1-2 record from 1967 and qualifying for the playoffs for the second straight season. The Rams started off by winning their first six games before losing to the Baltimore Colts for their first loss. After 2 more victories, the Rams tied the San Francisco 49ers. They rebounded by winning their next 2 games and were in firm control of their playoff hopes. However, 2 close losses to the Chicago Bears and Baltimore Colts at home dampened their playoff hopes, and they barely missed the playoffs as a result.

Offseason

Draft

1968 Los Angeles Rams draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
2 30 Gary Beban  Quarterback UCLA
2 51 Mike LaHood  Guard Wyoming
5 135 Don Martin  Kicker Washington
      Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Roster

1968 Los Angeles Rams roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists


Practice squad


Rookies in italics

Season Recap

Just as they had in 1967, the Rams and Colts staged a season long battle for the Coastal Division title. The Rams won their first six games, but lost to the Colts in Baltimore in week seven, 27-10, to fall into a tie with the Colts. Both teams won their next two games, but then the Rams had to rally from a 10-point 4th quarter deficit to tie the 49ers in San Francisco, 20-20.

Going into the second to the last game of the season against the Bears, the Rams trailed the Colts by 1/2 game, with a regular season finale vs. the Colts in Los Angeles looming the following week to decide the title. The Colts won a Saturday game in Green Bay (eliminating the Packers from playoff contention) 16-3. On Sunday, the Bears, the breaks, and the officials all played a role in the Bears 17-16 win that eliminated the Rams. The Bears played inspired defense, even knocking quarterback Roman Gabriel out of the game for a time. The Rams blocked a Bears punt, but it rolled out of the end zone for a safety just before the Rams were about to recover the ball in the end zone for a touchdown. Finally, trailing by a point, Gabriel rallied the Rams and appeared to pass them into field goal range. But a late flag for clipping cost the Rams the gain and set them back 15 yards into their own territory. At the same time, the officials neglected to re-set the down marker back to 3rd down (the down is supposed to go over on a penalty), so when the next play was an incomplete pass, the officials awarded the Bears the ball. The Rams protested vehemently that it was still their ball down but to no avail. The NFL later acknowledged the officials' mistake but said the result of the game could not be changed.

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 16 at St. Louis Cardinals W 24–13 1–0 Busch Memorial Stadium 49,757
2 September 22 Pittsburgh Steelers W 45–10 2–0 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 49,647
3 September 29 at Cleveland Browns W 24–6 3–0 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 82,514
4 October 6 San Francisco 49ers W 24–10 4–0 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 69,520
5 October 13 at Green Bay Packers W 16–14 5–0 Milwaukee County Stadium 49,646
6 October 20 Atlanta Falcons W 27–14 6–0 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 54,443
7 October 27 at Baltimore Colts L 10–27 6–1 Memorial Stadium 60,238
8 November 3 Detroit Lions W 10–7 7–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 77,982
9 November 10 at Atlanta Falcons W 17–10 8–1 Atlanta Stadium 53,979
10 November 17 at San Francisco 49ers T 20–20 8–1–1 Kezar Stadium 41,815
11 November 24 New York Giants W 24–21 9–1–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 68,534
12 December 1 at Minnesota Vikings W 31–3 10–1–1 Metropolitan Stadium 47,644
13 December 8 Chicago Bears L 16–17 10–2–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 66,368
14 December 15 Baltimore Colts L 24–28 10–3–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 69,397
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

NFL Coastal
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Baltimore Colts 13 1 0 .929 6–0 10–0 402 144 W8
Los Angeles Rams 10 3 1 .769 3–2–1 6–3–1 312 200 L2
San Francisco 49ers 7 6 1 .538 2–3–1 4–5–1 303 310 W1
Atlanta Falcons 2 12 0 .143 0–6 1–9 170 389 L4

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

References


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