By the Numbers: L.A. Rams
The Cleveland/Los Angeles/St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams have been playing football since 1937 and are just 11 games over .500 at 607-596-21 in 87 seasons, which includes a 26-27 record in the playoffs. But the franchise has seen some of the NFL’s most iconic players wear the navy blue, gold and white over its many seasons. Here is a look at some the Rams by the numbers before Sunday afternoon’s game against Dallas.
4 – That is the total amount of titles that line the trophy case for the Los Angeles Rams. The franchise has two championships and two Super Bowl victories in franchise’s 87-season history. The franchise won its first championship in 1945, the final season in Cleveland, by beating the Washington Redskins 15-14 in front of 32,178 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Then after a move to Los Angeles, the Rams won the championship for the second time in 1951, beating the Cleveland Browns 24-17 before 59,475 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. After several decades in L.A., the Rams moved to St. Louis and rewarded their fans with the first Super Bowl victory in franchise history in 1999. The Rams defeated the Tennessee Titans 23-16 in Super Bowl XXXIV at the Georgia Dome. Their final crown came after the franchise moved back to L.A., beating the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 at SoFi Stadium in Super Bowl LVI to finish off the 2021 season. The first time the Super Bowl winner played at their home stadium.
33 – There are 33 players, coaches and team officials that were a member of the Rams organization that are currently in the NFL Hall of Fame, however the team only has eight retired numbers. Those players are quarterback Bob Waterfield (No. 7, 1945-52), running back Marshall Faulk (No, 28, 1994-2005), running back Eric Dickerson (No. 29, 1983-87), defensive tackle Merlin Olsen (No. 74, 1962-76), defensive end Deacon Jones (No. 75, 1961-74), offensive tackle/guard Jackie Slater (No. 78, 1976-95), wide receiver Isaac Bruce (No. 80, 1994-2007), defensive end Jack Youngblood (No. 85, 1971-84). That’s a list of some of the NFL’s very best at their positions. Some of those that played for the franchise at one point in time and are in the Hall of Fame are coach George Allen, coach Sid Gillman, coach Dick Vermeil, wide receiver James Lofton, receiver Elroy Hirsch, quarterback Kurt Warner, offensive tackle Ron Yary and defensive back Aeneas Williams.
58 – What a start to the season for Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua. The rookie fifth round pick from BYU leads the NFL in catches this season with 58 and third in yards with 752. He was the 20th wide receiver taken in the 2023 draft, just after the Packers took Dontayvion Wicks out of Virginia and just before the Jaguars took Parker Washington of Penn State. Wicks has eight catches for 112 yards, while Washington suffered a knee injury on his first NFL snap and is on the IR. Nacua already has two games with double digit receptions, including a season high 15 grabs in the Rams 30-27 loss to San Francisco in Week 2. His last outing, he pulled in 8 passes on 12 targets for 154 yards against Pittsburgh. He is currently on pace for 140 catches this season, which would shatter the NFL record for receptions by rookie of 104 set by Jaylen Waddle in 2021.
105.5 – Some of the best sack artists to suit up in the NFL have played for the Rams, including Aaron Donald, who now sits third all-time on the team’s sack list with 105.5. Unless he plays another five or six seasons and produces at his current rate, Donald won’t catch Jack Youngblood (151.5) or Deacon Jones (159.5) at the top of the list, but that’s not something the future Hall of Famer will hang his head over. The closest current Ram to catching Donald on the list is Byron Young, who has just three sacks in seven games this season with the franchise. As for Donald, he has had an incredible career so far, and now in his 10th year he doesn’t appear to be slowing down. He currently has 29 total tackles, eight tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.
137 – With starting running back Kyren Williams and backup Ronnie Rivers on the injured list, the Rams come into the game with Dallas on Sunday with three running backs that have accumulated just 137 yards this season. Royce Freeman leads the trio with 66 yards on 12 carries in four games, but it is Darrell Henderson Jr. that takes over the starting spot. Henderson had 18 carries for 61 yards in just his one game of action, scoring a touchdown in the Rams loss in Week 7 at Pittsburgh. Zach Evans is the only other running back on the roster not on the injured list, but he has just four carries for 10 yards over three games.
53,990 – Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford has had quite the career. His nearly 54,000 yards passing ranks him 11th all time in career passing yards in the NFL. He is one good season from moving past Eli Manning (57,023) and moving into the top 10, behind the only current player ahead of him on the list – Aaron Rodgers (59,055). Since joining the Rams to start the 2021 season, Stafford has thrown for 8,881 yards. He amassed 45,109 yards during his 12 seasons in Detroit. This season, he has thrown for 1,908 yards in seven games and is on pace, if he stays healthy, to have more than 4,633 yards through the air this season. That would be good enough for the fifth best season of his career.