The 2011 season was the St. Louis Rams' 74th in the National Football League (NFL), their 17th in St. Louis, and their third and final season under head coach Steve Spagnuolo. They finished with a 2–14 record, a failure to improve on their 7–9 record from 2010. The day after the season finale, head coach Steve Spagnuolo and general manager Billy Devaney were fired from the team.

The Rams' offense was among the worst in the league in 2011. They scored only 193 points (12.1 points per game), last in the league, and 11th-fewest all-time for a 16-game season.Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1978 to 2012, in the regular season, sorted by ascending Points For. Their −214-point differential was last in the league.Pro-Football-Reference: In a single season, in 2011, in the regular season, sorted by ascending Points Differential

Football Outsiders ranked St. Louis the worst team in the league, per play, in 2011. The 2012 Football Outsiders Almanac, however, noted that the Rams went from the league's easiest schedule in 2010 to the league's hardest schedule in 2011.Football Outsiders Almanac 2012 (), p.216-217: "In 2011, St. Louis became the first person in [Football Outsiders' history] (1991–2011) to go from the easiest schedule one season to the hardest schedule the next."

With their 2–14 record, the Rams capped a stretch from 2007 to 2011 in which they went 15–65, setting a new mark for the worst five-season span in NFL history. This mark has since been matched by the Cleveland Browns of 2013 to 2017. To date, this is the last season with the Rams getting at most two victories. As of 2022, the 2011 Rams are the most recent team to finish a season scoring less than 200 points.

Offseason

Coaching changes On January 18, the Rams hired former Denver Broncos' head coach Josh McDaniels as the team's new offensive coordinator, replacing Pat Shurmur, who became the new head coach of the Cleveland Browns five days earlier (January 13).

Draft

The Rams traded its sixth-round selection (#145 overall) to the Atlanta Falcons in exchange for the Falcons' sixth-round selection (#158 overall) and their seventh-round selection (#229 overall). The Rams traded its sixth-round selection (#180 overall) to the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for the Ravens' seventh-round selection (#228 overall) and WR Mark Clayton.

Staff St. Louis Rams 2011 staff Front office Owner/chairman – Stan Kroenke Owner/vice chairman – Chip Rosenbloom Owner/chair of community outreach – Lucia Rodriguez general manager – Billy Devaney Executive vice president of football operations/coo – Kevin Demoff Vice president of player personnel – Mike Williams Director of player personnel – Lawrence McCutcheon Director of college scouting – John Mancini

Head coaches Head coach – Steve Spagnuolo

Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Josh McDaniels Running backs – Sylvester Croom Wide receivers – Nolan Cromwell Tight ends – Frank Leonard Offensive line – Steve Loney Quality control/offense – Andy Sugarman  Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Ken Flajole Defensive line – Brendan Daly Linebackers – Paul Ferraro Defensive backs/cornerbacks – Clayton Lopez Defensive backs/safeties – Andre Curtis Quality control/defense – Matt House

Special teams coaches Special teams coordinator – Tom McMahon Quality control/special teams – Derius Swinton

Strength and conditioning Strength – Rock Gullickson Assistant strength – Adam Bailey

Coaching assistants Lou Paolillo

Final roster

Preseason

Schedule The Rams' preseason schedule was announced on April 12, 2011. Week Date Opponent Result Record Game site NFL.comrecap HOF August 7 vs. Chicago Bears Cancelled due to the 2011 NFL Lockout 1 August 13 Indianapolis Colts W 33–10 1–0 Edward Jones Dome Recap 2 August 20 Tennessee Titans W 17–16 2–0 Edward Jones Dome Recap 3 August 26 at Kansas City Chiefs W 14–10 3–0 Arrowhead Stadium Recap 4 September 1 at Jacksonville Jaguars W 24–17 4–0 EverBank Field Recap

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Game site NFL.comrecap 1 September 11 Philadelphia Eagles L 13–31 0–1 Edward Jones Dome Recap 2 September 19 at New York Giants L 16–28 0–2 MetLife Stadium Recap 3 September 25 Baltimore Ravens L 7–37 0–3 Edward Jones Dome Recap 4 October 2 Washington Redskins L 10–17 0–4 Edward Jones Dome Recap 5 Bye 6 October 16 at Green Bay Packers L 3–24 0–5 Lambeau Field Recap 7 October 23 at Dallas Cowboys L 7–34 0–6 Cowboys Stadium Recap 8 October 30 New Orleans Saints W 31–21 1–6 Edward Jones Dome Recap 9 November 6 at Arizona Cardinals L 13–19 (OT) 1–7 University of Phoenix Stadium Recap 10 November 13 at Cleveland Browns W 13–12 2–7 Cleveland Browns Stadium Recap 11 November 20 Seattle Seahawks L 7–24 2–8 Edward Jones Dome Recap 12 November 27 Arizona Cardinals L 20–23 2–9 Edward Jones Dome Recap 13 December 4 at San Francisco 49ers L 0–26 2–10 Candlestick Park Recap 14 December 12 at Seattle Seahawks L 13–30 2–11 CenturyLink Field Recap 15 December 18 Cincinnati Bengals L 13–20 2–12 Edward Jones Dome Recap 16 December 24 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 0–27 2–13 Heinz Field Recap 17 January 1 San Francisco 49ers L 27–34 2–14 Edward Jones Dome Recap

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Philadelphia Eagles

With the loss, the Rams started the season 0–1.

Week 2: at New York Giants

With the loss, the Rams fell to 0–2.

Week 3: vs. Baltimore Ravens

With the loss, the Rams fell to 0–3.

Week 4: vs. Washington Redskins

With the loss, the Rams went into their bye week at 0–4.

Week 6: at Green Bay Packers

Coming off of their bye week in week 5, the Rams traveled to Lambeau Field to take on the undefeated Packers. The loss dropped the team to 0–5.

Week 7: at Dallas Cowboys

With the loss, the Rams dropped to 0–6.

Week 8: vs. New Orleans Saints

This home game for the team also had a celebration of the St. Louis Cardinals showing off the World Series trophy. The Rams would then go on to win this game and improve to 1–6.

Week 9: at Arizona Cardinals

The game featured the Rams' scoring the four points in the third quarter as they got two safeties on consecutive drives. This was first time in NFL history that a team had recorded four points in a quarter.

With the loss, the Rams fell to 1–7 and last place in the NFC West.

Week 10: at Cleveland Browns

With the close win, the Rams improved to 2–7.

Week 11: vs. Seattle Seahawks

With the loss, the Rams dropped to 2–8.

Week 12: vs. Arizona Cardinals

With the loss, the Rams dropped to 2–9 securing them their 5th straight losing season.

Week 13: at San Francisco 49ers

With the loss, the Rams fell to 2–10.

Week 14: at Seattle Seahawks

With the loss, the Rams fell to 2–11 and were swept by the Seahawks for the first time since 2009.

Week 15: vs. Cincinnati Bengals

With the loss, the Rams fell to 2–12.

Week 16: at Pittsburgh Steelers

This game became the Steelers' 2nd shutout win of the season as the Rams dropped to 2–13.

Week 17: vs. San Francisco 49ers

With the loss, the Rams finished the season at 2–14 tied with the Colts for the league's worst record.

Standings

Notes and references