1966 Los Angeles Rams season

The 1966 Los Angeles Rams season was the team's 29th year with the National Football League and the 21st season in Los Angeles.

1966 Los Angeles Rams season
Owner	Dan Reeves
Head coach	George Allen
Home field	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Local radio	KMPC
Results
Record	8–6
Division place	3rd NFL Western
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	FB Dick Bass, LB Maxie Baughan, K Bruce Gossett, DE Deacon Jones, TE Marlin McKeever, FS Eddie Meador, DT Merlin Olsen
AP All-Pros	DE Deacon Jones, DT Merlin Olsen

The Rams had an 8–6 record, their first winning season since 1958, and only their second since 1955, when the Rams went all the way to the NFL Championship Game. Los Angeles finished in third place in the Western Conference, four games behind the Green Bay Packers. The Rams were led by first-year head coach George Allen, who was inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002.

Roster

1966 Los Angeles Rams roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 18 Roman Gabriel 19 Bill Munson Running backs (RB) 22 Dick Bass FB 43 Les Josephson 25 Tom Moore 26 Jim Stiger Wide receivers (WR) 29 Tommy McDonald 80 Bucky Pope 84 Jack Snow Tight ends (TE) 86 Marlin McKeever 87 Billy Truax

Offensive linemen (OL) 63 Joe Carollo T 73 Charlie Cowan T 65 Tom Mack G 71 Joe Scibelli G 54 Joe Wendryhoski C Defensive linemen (DL) 76 Rosey Grier DT 75 Deacon Jones DE 72 Earl Leggett DT 85 Lamar Lundy DE 74 Merlin Olsen DT

Linebackers (LB) 55 Maxie Baughan 58 Dan Currie 32 Jack Pardee 66 Myron Pottios 61 Bill George Defensive backs (DB) 27 Irv Cross CB 21 Eddie Meador S 46 Hank Gremminger S 24 Clancy Williams CB Special teams 30 Bruce Gossett K 13 Jon Kilgore P

Practice squad 61 Bill Nancarrow G Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 11	at Atlanta Falcons	W 19–14	1–0	Atlanta Stadium	54,418
2	September 16	Chicago Bears	W 31–17	2–0	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	58,916
3	September 25	at Green Bay Packers	L 13–24	2–1	Lambeau Field	50,861
4	September 30	San Francisco 49ers	W 34–3	3–1	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	45,642
5	October 9	at Detroit Lions	W 14–7	4–1	Tiger Stadium	52,793
6	October 16	at Minnesota Vikings	L 7–35	4–2	Metropolitan Stadium	47,426
7	October 23	at Chicago Bears	L 10–17	4–3	Wrigley Field	47,475
8	October 30	Baltimore Colts	L 3–17	4–4	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	57,898
9	November 6	at San Francisco 49ers	L 13–21	4–5	Kezar Stadium	35,372
10	November 13	New York Giants	W 55–14	5–5	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	34,746
11	November 20	Minnesota Vikings	W 21–6	6–5	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	38,775
12	November 27	at Baltimore Colts	W 23–7	7–5	Memorial Stadium	60,238
13	December 4	Detroit Lions	W 23–3	8–5	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	40,039
14	Bye
15	December 18	Green Bay Packers	L 23–27	8–6	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	72,416
Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text.

• A bye week was necessary in 1966, as the league expanded to an odd-number (15) of teams (Atlanta); one team was idle each week.

Game summaries

Week 1 at Atlanta Falcons

Week One: Los Angeles Rams (0–0) at Atlanta Falcons (0–0)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Rams	3	13	3	0	19
Falcons	0	7	7	0	14

at Atlanta Stadium, Atlanta

• Date: September 11
• Game weather: 71 °F (22 °C)
• Box Score

Game information

First Quarter Los Angeles – Bruce Gossett 15-yard field goal, Rams 7–0. Second Quarter Los Angeles – Jack Snow) 51-yard pass from Roman Gabriel (Gossett kick), Rams 10–0. Los Angeles – Bruce Gossett 15-yard field goal, Rams 13–0. Los Angeles – Bruce Gossett 23-yard field goal, Rams 16–0. Atlanta – Gary Barnes 53-yard pass from Randy Johnson (Traynham kick), Rams 16–7. Third Quarter Atlanta – Randy Johnson 3-yard rush (Traynham kick), Rams 16–14. Los Angeles – Bruce Gossett 22-yard field goal, Rams 19–7. Fourth Quarter Top Passers Rams – Roman Gabriel: 21/35, 294 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT Falcons – Randy Johnson: 9/25, 154 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT Top rushers Rams – Dick Bass: 14 car, 81 yds. Falcons – Ernie Wheelwright: 6 car, 91 yds, Top receivers Rams– Tommy McDonald: 9 rec, 114 yds Falcons – Gary Barnes: 1 rec, 53 yds 1 TD

Week 10 vs New York Giants

Week Ten: Los Angeles Rams (4-5) vs New York Giants (1-6-1)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Giants	0	7	0	7	14
Rams	14	10	10	21	55

at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles

• Date: November 13
• Game weather: 62 °F (17 °C)
• Box Score

Game information

First Quarter Los Angeles – Tom Moore 11-yard pass from Roman Gabriel (Gossett kick), Rams 7–0. Los Angeles – Roman Gabriel 1-yard rush (Gossett kick), Rams 14–0. Second Quarter New York – Henry Carr 101-yard interception return (Gogolak kick), Rams 14–7. Los Angeles – Bruce Gossett 12-yard field goal, Rams 17–7. Los Angeles – Roman Gabriel 1-yard rush (Gossett kick), Rams 24–7. Third Quarter Los Angeles – Bruce Gossett 15-yard field goal, Rams 27–7. Los Angeles – Irv Cross 60-yard interception return (Gossett kick, Rams 34–7. Fourth Quarter Los Angeles – Tom Moore 4-yard pass from Roman Gabriel (Gossett kick), Rams 41–7. New York – Joe Morrison 25-yard pass from Tom Kennedy (Gogolak kick), Rams 41–14. Los Angeles – Les Josephson 4-yard pass from Bill Munson (Gossett kick), Rams 48–14. Los Angeles – Bucky Pope 14-yard pass from Bill Munson (Gossett kick), Rams 55–14. Top Passers Giants – Tom Kennedy: 8/18, 126 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT Rams – Roman Gabriel: 24/35, 298 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT Top rushers Giants – Allen Jacobs: 5 car, 20 yds, Rams – Dick Bass: 19 car, 106 yds. Top receivers Giants – Joe Morrison: 4 rec, 71 yds 1 TD Rams– Marlin McKeever: 7 rec, 115 yds

Standings

NFL Western Conference
	W	L	T	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Green Bay Packers	12	2	0	.857	10–2	335	163	W5
Baltimore Colts	9	5	0	.643	7–5	314	226	W1
Los Angeles Rams	8	6	0	.571	6–6	289	212	L1
San Francisco 49ers	6	6	2	.500	5–5–2	320	325	L1
Chicago Bears	5	7	2	.417	4–6–2	234	272	W1
Detroit Lions	4	9	1	.308	3–8–1	206	317	L3
Minnesota Vikings	4	9	1	.308	4–7–1	292	304	L1

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