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Best moments in Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams history

Frank Schwab
NFL writer
Kevin Dyson tries but fails to get the ball into the end zone as he is tackled by St. Louis Rams’ Mike Jones on the final play of Super Bowl XXXIV. (AP)
Kevin Dyson tries but fails to get the ball into the end zone as he is tackled by St. Louis Rams’ Mike Jones on the final play of Super Bowl XXXIV. (AP)

What are the best moments for each NFL franchise? Yahoo Sports provides our opinion, which you are free to disagree with (and we’re sure you will).

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5. Billy Waddy shocks the Cowboys

With a little more than two minutes left in a 1979 NFC divisional playoff game, the Los Angeles Rams trailed 19-14 to a star-studded Dallas Cowboys team. But Vince Ferragamo hit Billy Waddy on a crossing route over the middle and Waddy slipped by Dallas’ defensive backs for what would be the game-winning 50-yard touchdown. A week later the Rams beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-0 to advance to their first Super Bowl.

4. “Greatest Show on Turf” gets back to Super Bowl

Great teams can come and go in a hurry. When the 2001 Rams beat the Philadelphia Eagles 29-24 in the NFC championship game, that ended up being the last great moment of the “Greatest Show on Turf” dynasty. The Rams went 37-11 in the regular season from 1999-2001 with two NFC titles and a Super Bowl. But this ended up being Kurt Warner’s last playoff win with the Rams.

3. Eric Dickerson breaks O.J. Simpson’s record

The most popular player in Rams history – at least Los Angeles Rams history – might be Eric Dickerson. And 1984, his second season, was his masterpiece. Dickerson rushed for 2,105 yards that season, a single-season record that has still not been broken. O.J. Simpson’s record fell on Dec. 9 when Dickerson rushed for 215 yards against the Houston Oilers. Given how running backs are used in this era, Dickerson’s record might stand for a long time.

2. The 1951 Rams win it all

After moving from Cleveland to Los Angeles in 1946, the Rams became a force in L.A., drawing record crowds with a fun, high-scoring offense. The 1950 team might have been Los Angeles’ best team in that era (it’s still the highest-scoring offense ever at 38.8 points per game; the Rams scored 65 and 70 points in consecutive games) but the 1951 Rams won it all. They beat the Cleveland Browns 24-17 in the NFL championship game, the greatest moment the Rams have had in Los Angeles.

1. Mike Jones saves a Cinderella story

There has never been an NFL underdog story like the 1999 St. Louis Rams. The 1998 Rams were 4-12 and lost quarterback Trent Green in the preseason with a season-ending knee injury. So nobody expected anything out of the Rams in ‘99. Except the ‘99 Rams ended up being one of the best teams of all time and finished the Cinderella story to end all NFL Cinderella stories in Super Bowl XXXIV. Kurt Warner, who went from backup to league MVP, threw a go-ahead touchdown in the final minutes to Isaac Bruce. Then, linebacker Mike Jones made one of the most famous tackles in NFL history, stopping Tennessee Titans receiver Kevin Dyson at the 1-yard line on the game’s final play to preserve a 23-16 win for the Rams. The entire story is still unbelievable.