Who Are The Los Angeles Rams' Biggest Rivals?

Since the Los Angeles Rams got their start in professional football in 1936, they have proved to be a franchise that is capable of success. Since 1999, the Rams have appeared in four Super Bowls and won two of them. However, they’ve also totaled an impressive 31 playoff appearances over their long history in the league. 14 of those appearances came from winning their current division, the NFC West, which has been one of the more competitive divisions in recent memory. Such competition naturally breeds rivalry in the NFL. Read on to learn about the Los Angeles Rams’ greatest rivalries over their decades of professional play.

San Francisco 49ers

Being division opponents, the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams are natural rivals after playing each other twice every year. This means their rivalry has had more than enough time to develop. In fact, the two teams have played each other nearly 150 times over the course of their long mutual histories.

The all-time record is lopsided in favor of the Rams, with the Los Angeles-based team winning 77 of their matchups. In the postseason, however, the teams have only met twice, and that record stands at 1-1. Their most recent meeting was in 2021 for the NFC Championship, which the Rams won 20-17 on their way to a Super Bowl win that year. The last time they met in the playoffs was in 1989, which ended in a 30-3 blowout in favor of the 49ers. The rivalry has only grown in recent years, especially in the 2010s, which saw both teams repeatedly competing for the division championship.

Seattle Seahawks

Also a member of the NFC West, the Seattle Seahawks have been a thorn in the Rams’ side for decades. All told, the two teams have met a total of 51 times, with the edge going to Seattle with 27 victories. However, the two teams have met twice in the playoffs, and the Rams have won both times. This includes a 27-20 win in the 2004 Wild Card round and a Wild Card matchup in 2020, which the Rams won 30-20.

The largest run of dominance between the two teams was in the mid-to-late 2000s, during which the Seahawks rattled off ten wins in a row against the Rams. And like their rivalry with the 49ers, the animosity between the Rams and the Seahawks only grew during the 2010s when both teams were playing at an extremely competitive level. The 2020 season saw the development of some especially bad blood between the two teams, as they both fostered some of the largest, most competitive personalities in football, and both teams were hoping for deep playoff runs.

After the Seahawks beat the Rams in the 2020 regular season, Seattle safety Jamal Adams celebrated by lighting a cigar in the post-game press conference and calling out multiple Rams players. When the Rams ultimately beat the Seahawks in the NFL Playoffs in that year’s postseason, Jalen Ramsey not only celebrated his own team’s advancing to the next round but also that they ended Seattle’s season. With two games played between these teams annually, it’s unlikely that this bad blood will fizzle out anytime soon.

Minnesota Vikings

While this rivalry may not be quite as fresh as those between the Rams and the 49ers or the Seahawks, the Minnesota Vikings have a long history with the Rams, which has developed into a rivalry that’s lasted decades. Over the course of their histories, the Rams and Vikings have played 47 times, with the all-time record tilting in favor of the Vikings with 27 wins.

What’s unique about this rivalry, however, is the NFL playoff history between both teams. The Seahawks and the Vikings have met each other in the playoffs seven times, with five victories belonging to the Vikings. In 1974, the Rams lost another NFC Championship to Minnesota. The Vikings then again ended Seattle’s seasons for two straight years (in 1976 at the NFC Championship and in 1977 during the Divisional Round).

Their most recent matchup, however, was in 1999, which the Rams won on their way to another Super Bowl win. Though the rivalry between the Vikings and the Rams lays somewhat dormant at the moment, the history between these two teams will surely light like a match again whenever the teams end up in a playoff matchup.

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