The 1974 Los Angeles Rams season was the team's 37th year with the National Football League and the 29th season in Los Angeles. The Rams looked to improve on their 12–2 season from 1973. While not improving on their record, they successfully defended their NFC West division title with a 10–4 record, the second-best in the NFC.

In the playoffs, Los Angeles hosted the Washington Redskins in a rematch of week 13's game, which Washington won 23–17 on Monday night, in the Rams' only home loss of the season. In the postseason game, L.A. forced six turnovers to win 19–10 and advance to their first NFC Championship Game, but committed five turnovers and lost 14–10 on the road to the Minnesota Vikings.

During week 5 of the regular season, the Rams were upset 17–6 in Milwaukee by the Green Bay Packers; veteran quarterback John Hadl was benched in the second half after throwing three interceptions, replaced by James Harris. The next game, a 37–14 home win over rival San Francisco, was the first NFL start for Harris, and Hadl was traded two days later to Green Bay for five future draft picks.

The win over Washington in the playoffs was the Rams' first postseason victory in 23 years, when they won the NFL title. (Los Angeles won the third-place Playoff Bowl twice (after the 1967 and 1969 seasons); these consolation games are now considered exhibition contests.)

Offseason NFL draft = Made roster = Pro Bowler Players are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro-Bowl at any time in their career. = Hall of Famer

1974 Los Angeles Rams draft selections Round Pick Player Position College Notes 1 11 John Cappelletti RB Penn State 2 50 Bill Simpson S Michigan State 3 76 Al Oliver OT UCLA 4 99 Norris Weese QB Mississippi Would later make Denver Broncos 1976 roster 4 102 Frank Johnson OT UC Riverside 7 158 John Harvey RB Arlington 9 221 Derek Williams DB UC Riverside 11 284 Rick Hayes T Washington 12 310 Roger Freberg G UCLA 13 336 Pete Solverson T Drake 14 362 Ananias Carson WR Langston 15 388 Bob Thomas K Notre Dame Would later make Chicago Bears 1975 roster 16 414 Dave Ottmar P Stanford 17 440 Willie Townsend WR Notre Dame

Personnel Staff / Coaches 1974 Los Angeles Rams staff Front Office Owner – Carroll Rosenbloom President / General Manager – Don Klosterman

Coaching Staff Head coach - Chuck Knox

Offensive Coaches: Offensive Coordinator - Ken Meyer Offensive Backfield Coach - Elijah Pitts Offensive Line - Ray Prochaska Receivers Coach - Leeman Bennett Defensive Coaches: Defensive Coordinator - Ray Malavasi Linebackers - Tom Catlin

Special Teams Coaches: None - N/A

Strength and Conditioning: None - N/A

Other Assistant Coaches: Training Assistant - Garrett Giemont Advance Scott - Jack Faulkner

Roster

Regular season

Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 September 15 at Denver Broncos W 17–10 1–0 Mile High Stadium 51,121 Recap 2 September 22 New Orleans Saints W 24–0 2–0 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 64,178 Recap 3 September 29 at New England Patriots L 14–20 2–1 Schaefer Stadium 61,279 Recap 4 October 6 Detroit Lions W 16–13 3–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 64,987 Recap 5 October 13 at Green Bay Packers L 6–17 3–2 Milwaukee County Stadium 47,499 Recap 6 October 20 San Francisco 49ers W 37–14 4–2 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 67,319 Recap 7 October 27 at New York Jets W 20–13 5–2 Shea Stadium 56,110 Recap 8 at San Francisco 49ers W 15–13 6–2 Candlestick Park 57,502 Recap 9 November 10 Atlanta Falcons W 21–0 7–2 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 70,056 Recap 10 November 17 at New Orleans Saints L 7–20 7–3 Tulane Stadium 57,287 Recap 11 November 24 Minnesota Vikings W 20–17 8–3 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 90,266 Recap 12 December 1 at Atlanta Falcons W 30–7 9–3 Atlanta Stadium 18,648 Recap 13 Washington Redskins L 17–23 9–4 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 87,313 Recap 14 December 15 Buffalo Bills W 19–14 10–4 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 84,324 Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Playoffs Round Date Opponent Result Venue Attendance Recap Divisional December 22 Washington Redskins W 19–10 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 80,118 Recap NFC Championship December 29 at Minnesota Vikings L 10–14 Metropolitan Stadium 47,404 Recap

Standings

Awards and records Merlin Olsen, Bert Bell Award

References

External links 1974 Los Angeles Rams at jt-sw.com 1974 Los Angeles Rams at Pro-Football-Reference.com