The Los Angeles Rams are back in the Super Bowl, continuing the success that the team has achieved since leaving St. Louis. The Rams are favored over the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI, trying to win their first championship in two-plus decades.

Since Sean McVay became the Rams head coach for the 2017 NFL season, no NFC team has been a more consistent winner than L.A. In five straight seasons with a winning record, the Rams have made four playoff appearances and two trips to the Super Bowl. Los Angeles’ 2018 season ended with a 13-3 loss to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LIII.

This year marks the franchise’s fifth Super Bowl appearance. The Rams won the NFC twice during their tenure in St. Louis (1995-2015), winning Super Bowl XXXIV in the 1999 season before coming up short two years later in Super Bowl XXXVI. Super Bowl XIV was the Rams’ first trip to the Super Bowl.

The Rams moved from Cleveland to Los Angeles in 1946. The franchise relocated to St. Louis in 1995 before returning to the west coast in 2016.

Los Angeles made the playoffs every year from 1973-1978 with four trips to the NFC Championship Game without reaching the Super Bowl. The Rams finally broke through in the 1979 season before losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-19 in Super Bowl XIV.

The Rams came close to dethroning the Steelers’ dynasty, which claimed four championships in six years. Los Angeles entered the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XIV with a 19-17 lead. The Rams made it to the Steelers’ 32-yard line, trailing 24-19, but Vince Ferragamo’s interception with 5:53 left essentially ended Los Angeles’ chances.

After seven playoff seasons and no NFC championships from 1980-1989, the Rams went nine straight years without reaching the playoffs. In the 1999 season, Kurt Warner came out of nowhere to become the NFL MVP and lead the franchise to its only Super Bowl championship.

The Rams beat the Tennessee Titans 23-16 in Super Bowl XXXIV. Warner won the Super Bowl MVP award with 414 passing yards and two touchdowns. The Titans came a yard shy of sending the game into overtime. Rams linebacker Mike Jones tackled Titans receiver Kevin Dyson just short of the goal line as time expired in one of the most memorable plays in NFL history.

Two years later, the Rams were back in the Super Bowl. This time, the Greatest Show on Turf suffered one of the greatest upsets in Super Bowl history. Tom Brady won his first championship, leading the New England Patriots past the then-St. Louis Rams 20-17 in Super Bowl XXXVI.

Adam Vinatieri kicked a 48-yard field goal as time expired to defeat the Rams.

Prior to the Super Bowl rematch between the two franchises, the Rams suffered a 12-year playoff drought from 2005 to 2016. New England’s win over Los Angeles in Super Bowl LIII was the lowest-scoring Super Bowl of all time. Rams quarterback Jared Goff was sacked four times and limited to a 57.9 passer rating.

Los Angeles swapped Goff for Matthew Stafford in the 2021 offseason, hoping the upgrade at quarterback would be what it needed to get over the hump and win a second Super Bowl title.

Matthew Stafford Los Angeles Rams
Quarterback Matthew Stafford #9 of the Los Angeles Rams celebrates with running back Darrell Henderson #27 after scoring a touchdown against the Seattle Seahawks in the second half at Lumen Field on Oct. 7, 2021, in Seattle. Lindsey Wasson/Getty Images
RELATED STORIES