2015 St. Louis Rams season

2015 St. Louis Rams season
Head coach	Jeff Fisher
General manager	Les Snead
Owner	Stan Kroenke
Home field	Edward Jones Dome
Results
Record	7–9
Division place	3rd NFC West
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	Aaron Donald, DT Todd Gurley, RB Johnny Hekker, P
Uniform

The 2015 St. Louis Rams season was the franchise's 78th season in the National Football League and the fourth under head coach Jeff Fisher.

It was also the 21st and final season that the team resided in St. Louis, Missouri, its home since the 1995 season. After the Rams finished last in attendance for the 2015 season, and an arbitral tribunal gave permission for the Rams to void their lease on the Edward Jones Dome, Rams owner Stan Kroenke filed a formal application with the league to relocate the Rams to Los Angeles, California, where the team will temporarily play at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for three seasons until the already under construction stadium in Inglewood, California is complete. Kroenke's request to move the team to Los Angeles was approved on January 12, 2016, at a meeting in Houston, Texas.^[1]

The Rams missed the playoffs for the eleventh straight season, tying a record set between 1956-66.

2015 draft class

2015 St. Louis Rams Draft

Round	Selection	Player	Position	College
1	10	Todd Gurley	RB	Georgia
2	57	Rob Havenstein	OT	Wisconsin
3	72	Jamon Brown	OT	Louisville
	89	Sean Mannion	QB	Oregon State
4	119	Andrew Donnal	OT	Iowa
6	201	Bud Sasser	WR	Missouri
	215	Cody Wichmann	OG	Fresno State
7	224	Bryce Hager	ILB	Baylor
	227	Martin Ifedi	DE	Memphis

Compensatory selection

Draft trades

• The Rams traded their original fourth- and sixth-round selections (Nos. 109 and 184 overall, respectively) to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in exchange for safety Mark Barron.
• The Rams traded quarterback Sam Bradford and their fifth-round selection (No. 145 overall) to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for quarterback Nick Foles, the Eagles' fourth-round selection (No. 119 overall) and the Eagles' second round selection in 2016. The trade also includes a conditional selection in 2016 that the Eagles could receive depending on Bradford's playing time in 2015. The Eagles will receive a 2016 fourth-round selection if Bradford plays fewer than 50 percent of the snaps; the selection will upgrade to a third-rounder if Bradford does not play at all in 2015. Bradford started for the Eagles Week 1, eliminating the possibility of the third-round upgrade.
• The Rams traded one of their two seventh-round selections (No. 249 overall — acquired in a trade that sent wide receiver Greg Salas to the New England Patriots), along with their 2013 second-round selection to the Atlanta Falcons in exchange for the Falcons' 2013 first-, third- and sixth-round selections.
• The Rams traded their second round selection (No. 41 overall) to the Carolina Panthers (used to select Devin Funchess, WR, Michigan) for Carolina's second round selection (No. 57 overall, used to select Rob Havenstein), third round selection (No. 89 overall, used to select Sean Mannion) and sixth round selection (No. 201 overall, used to select Bud Sasser).
• The Rams traded RB Zac Stacy to the New York Jets for their seventh round selection (No. 224 overall, used to select Bryce Hager).

Supplemental draft

The Rams selected Clemson offensive tackle Isaiah Battle in the 2015 Supplemental draft. As a result, the team will forfeit their fifth-round selection in the 2016 draft.^[2]

Staff

2015 St. Louis Rams staff
	Front office Owner/Chairman – Stan Kroenke Owner/Vice Chairman – Chip Rosenbloom Executive Vice President of Football Operations/COO – Kevin Demoff General Manager – Les Snead Director of College Scouting – Brad Holmes Director of Player Personnel – Taylor Morton Director of Pro Personnel – Ran Carthon Head coaches Executive Vice President/Head Coach – Jeff Fisher Assistant Head Coach – Dave McGinnis, Rob Boras Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – Rob Boras Quarterbacks – Chris Weinke Running Backs – Ben Sirmans Wide Receivers – Ray Sherman Tight Ends – Kenan Smith Offensive Line – Paul Boudreau Assistant Offensive Line – Andy Dickerson Offensive Quality Control – Andy Sugarman			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Gregg Williams Defensive Line – Mike Waufle Assistant Defensive Line – Clyde Simmons Linebackers – Frank Bush Assistant Linebackers – Joe Bowden Secondary – Chuck Cecil Assistant Secondary – Brandon Fisher Defensive Quality Control – Dennard Wilson Special teams coaches Special Teams Coordinator – John Fassel Assistant Special Teams Coordinator – Paul F. Boudreau Strength and conditioning Head Strength and Conditioning – Rock Gullickson Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Adam Bailey Assistant Strength and Conditioning – J. Aggabao

Final roster

2015 St. Louis Rams final roster
	Quarterbacks  5 Nick Foles 17 Case Keenum 14 Sean Mannion Running backs 39 Malcolm Brown 36 Benny Cunningham 30 Todd Gurley 46 Cory Harkey FB 27 Tre Mason 34 Chase Reynolds Wide receivers 11 Tavon Austin 18 Kenny Britt 15 Bradley Marquez 83 Brian Quick 81 Nick Toon 19 Wes Welker Tight ends 89 Jared Cook 88 Lance Kendricks		Offensive linemen 61 Tim Barnes C 77 Isaiah Battle T 64 Andrew Donnal T 67 Brian Folkerts C 79 Rob Havenstein T 60 Eric Kush C 71 Garrett Reynolds G 65 Demetrius Rhaney G 73 Greg Robinson T 69 Cody Wichmann G Defensive linemen 90 Michael Brockers DT 99 Aaron Donald DT 95 William Hayes DE 91 Chris Long DE 63 Matt Longacre DE 97 Eugene Sims DE 62 Louis Trinca-Pasat DT 93 Ethan Westbrooks DT		Linebackers 56 Akeem Ayers OLB 26 Mark Barron OLB 53 Daren Bates MLB 54 Bryce Hager MLB 55 James Laurinaitis MLB 50 Cameron Lynch OLB Defensive backs 31 Maurice Alexander SS 37 Christian Bryant S 38 Cody Davis FS -- Troy Hill CB 21 Janoris Jenkins CB 22 Trumaine Johnson CB 20 Lamarcus Joyner CB 23 Rodney McLeod FS 47 Marcus Roberson CB Special teams  6 Johnny Hekker P 44 Jacob McQuaide LS  4 Greg Zuerlein K		Reserve lists 12 Stedman Bailey WR (NF-Inj.) 68 Jamon Brown G (IR) 98 Nick Fairley DT (IR)  2 Isiah Ferguson WR (IR) 33 E.J. Gaines CB (IR) 25 T.J. McDonald SS (IR) 52 Alec Ogletree OLB (IR-DFR) 24 Eric Patterson CB (IR) 94 Robert Quinn DE (IR) 76 Rodger Saffold G (IR) 42 Trey Watts RB (Susp.) 63 Darrell Williams T (IR) 92 Doug Worthington DT (IR) Practice squad 66 David Arkin G 48 Justice Cunningham TE 57 Zack Hodges OLB 45 Zach Laskey FB 87 Deon Long WR 51 Matthew Wells OLB 35 Melvin White CB 16 J.J. Worton WR Rookies in italics 53 Active, 13 Inactive, 8 Practice squad

Schedule

Preseason

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Game site	NFL.com recap
1	August 14	at Oakland Raiders	L 3–18	0–1	O.co Coliseum	Recap
2	August 23	at Tennessee Titans	L 14–27	0–2	Nissan Stadium	Recap
3	August 29	Indianapolis Colts	L 14–24	0–3	Edward Jones Dome	Recap
4	September 3	Kansas City Chiefs	L 17–24	0–4	Edward Jones Dome	Recap

Regular season

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Game site	NFL.com recap
1	September 13	Seattle Seahawks	W 34–31 (OT)	1–0	Edward Jones Dome	Recap
2	September 20	at Washington Redskins	L 10–24	1–1	FedEx Field	Recap
3	September 27	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 6–12	1–2	Edward Jones Dome	Recap
4	October 4	at Arizona Cardinals	W 24–22	2–2	University of Phoenix Stadium	Recap
5	October 11	at Green Bay Packers	L 10–24	2–3	Lambeau Field	Recap
6	Bye
7	October 25	Cleveland Browns	W 24–6	3–3	Edward Jones Dome	Recap
8	November 1	San Francisco 49ers	W 27–6	4–3	Edward Jones Dome	Recap
9	November 8	at Minnesota Vikings	L 18–21 (OT)	4–4	TCF Bank Stadium	Recap
10	November 15	Chicago Bears	L 13–37	4–5	Edward Jones Dome	Recap
11	November 22	at Baltimore Ravens	L 13–16	4–6	M&T Bank Stadium	Recap
12	November 29	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 7–31	4–7	Paul Brown Stadium	Recap
13	December 6	Arizona Cardinals	L 3–27	4–8	Edward Jones Dome	Recap
14	December 13	Detroit Lions	W 21–14	5–8	Edward Jones Dome	Recap
15	December 17	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 31–23	6–8	Edward Jones Dome	Recap
16	December 27	at Seattle Seahawks	W 23–17	7–8	CenturyLink Field	Recap
17	January 3	at San Francisco 49ers	L 16–19 (OT)	7–9	Levi's Stadium	Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Seattle Seahawks

The Rams opened their 2015 season at home against Seattle. In Nick Foles' Rams debut, he threw for 297 yards and a touchdown.

The defense, for the most part, sacked Russell Wilson several times and limited Marshawn Lynch to just 73 rushing yards.

The game was hard fought and the Rams would win in overtime, 34-31.

Week 2: at Washington Redskins

The Rams traveled to Maryland to take on the Redskins. They struggled offensively and defensively all game. The defense, for the most part, struggled to contain Matt Jones on the ground as Jones had a big day with 123 yards rushing along with two touchdowns.

Week 3: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

Prior to kickoff, the game was delayed due to the turf being caught on fire, coming from the fireworks.

The Rams struggled offensively and defensively all game long. This was perhaps due to the distraction of Steelers fans. The defense, for the most part, sacked Ben Roethlisberger until he left the game with an apparent knee injury. Michael Vick took over for the rest of the game.

Late in the fourth quarter Kenny Britt's catch was overturned. The Steelers would go on to stun the Rams, 12-6.

Week 4: at Arizona Cardinals

The Rams traveled to Phoenix to meet the red-hot Cardinals, the 2nd highest-scoring team in the league. Todd Gurley earned his first start as Rams' running back and he finished the game with 146 rushing yards. After the game, Bruce Arians commented that Gurley, "played like a rookie". The Rams defense, for the most part, held the Cardinals to field goals, and sacked Carson Palmer four times. With the close win, the Rams improved to 2-2.

Week 5: at Green Bay Packers

Traveling to Lambeau, the Rams looked to end the Packers' hot streak at 4-1. However, they failed to do this, as Nick Foles was intercepted four times. On defense, James Laurinitis intercepted a pass from Aaron Rodgers, Rodger's first interception thrown in Lambeau in 20 games. However, the defense, for the most part, struggled to contain the Packers explosive receiving corps all day long. With the loss, the Rams dropped to 2-3.

Week 7: vs. Cleveland Browns

For the first time since Week 8 of 2007, the Rams hosted the Cleveland Browns in St. Louis. In the first quarter, Rodney McCleod intercepted a Luke McCown pass to the give the Rams the game's first points. Todd Gurley was limited to just 9 yards in the first half, but he managed to turn things around in the second half, rushing for 94 yards, including a 1-yard touchdown run. That score was Gurley's first NFL touchdown. With the win, the Rams went to 3-3.

Week 8: vs. San Francisco 49ers

The Rams wore their 1973-1999 throwbacks against the San Francisco 49ers for the first time in the season. Todd Gurley had another productive day, and he rushed for 133 yards, including a 71-yard run for a touchdown. The Rams used two Tavon Austin touchdowns for the final score. Although Chris Long did not play, the Rams executed defensively, putting pressure on Colin Kaepernick all game long.

With the win, the Rams improved to 4-3, making it the first time since 2012 the Rams were above .500 excluding a Week 1 victory.

Week 9: at Minnesota Vikings

Nine years after Week 17 of 2006, the Rams traveled to Minnesota to take on the Vikings. In that game, the Rams easily defeated the Vikings, 41-21, which stunned the Vikings fans. The game was played at the Metrodome.

In the duel of running backs, between Todd Gurley and Adrian Peterson, Gurley was held to just 89 yards. Peterson was the game's leading rusher with 125 yards.

Without several defensive starters including Robert Quinn, the Rams defense struggled to contain the Vikings offense, especially their explosive receiving corps, all game long.

In the second quarter, Greg Zuerlein nailed a 61-yard field goal to give the Rams a 12-10 lead. The field goal put Zuerlein 7th in NFL history for longest field goal made, and as the only kicker in NFL history besides Sebastian Janikowski to have more than one field goal of 60 yards or longer in his career.

In the second half, Lamarcus Joyner hit Teddy Bridgewater in the head, forcing Teddy to leave the game with a concussion. Thom Brennaman called the hit on Bridgewater "dirty". Shaun Hill, who played for the Rams last year and returned to Minnesota for his second stint in the off-season, took over for Teddy for the game's remainder.

With the Rams trailing 18-15 in the fourth quarter, Zuerlein booted another field goal, forcing the game into overtime. However, in that period, Minnesota's Blair Walsh nailed the game-winning field goal to give the Vikings the final score.

With the narrow loss, the Rams dropped to 4-4.

Week 10: vs. Chicago Bears

Two years after Week 12 of 2013, the Rams hosted the Chicago Bears.

Prior to Week 10, Stedman Bailey was suspended for 4 games for violating the league's substance abuse policy. Later, the Rams acquired free agent Wes Welker, who last played for the Denver Broncos last season. He helped the Broncos to the Super Bowl in 2013.

The Rams struggled all game especially on defense in which they could not contain the Bears offense, especially the running game despite an injury to Matt Forte. Nick Foles struggled all day and this time it would force Case Keenum to take over late in the fourth quarter. Much like last week at Minnesota, Todd Gurley was once again held to 89 yards. Newly acquired Welker was no help, either.

With the embarrassing loss, the Rams dropped to 4-5.

Week 11: at Baltimore Ravens

Case Keenum started in place of the incumbent Nick Foles.

Late in the fourth quarter, with the game tied at 13, Greg Zurlien missed a 52-yarder which would have sealed the Rams victory. With a second left, Justin Tucker nailed a 41-yarder to give the Ravens the final score.

The Rams defense could not contain the Ravens offense all game, especially the running game.

With the loss, the Rams fell to 4-6, extending their losing streak to 3 games.

Week 12: at Cincinnati Bengals

The Rams suffered a blowout loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

A rejuvenated Nick Foles got his starting job back after being benched in favor of Case Keenum, who suffered a concussion after last week's loss in Baltimore. However, Foles' return was marred as he struggled to find open receivers and was picked off three times by the Bengals ranked defense. He also took hits throughout the game and he was sacked a few times. The only Rams score was a 5-yard run by Tavon Austin on a reverse play in the second quarter.

St. Louis' defense was not a factor all game as they struggled to stop the high-powered Bengals offense led by quarterback Andy Dalton, and receivers A.J. Green, and Tyler Eifert, (the latter left the game with a stinger) who is leading the league in touchdown catches.

With the loss, the Rams extended their losing streak to 4 games, making their record 4-7.

Week 13: vs. Arizona Cardinals

This game was the second time in the season the Rams wore their 1999 throwbacks and the second time the Rams face the Cardinals.

Although they did put pressure on Carson Palmer, St Louis' defense overall failed to stop Arizona's much-hyped offense, especially the running game. As for the Rams offense, Todd Gurley was limited to just 41 rushing yards.

With the loss, the Rams dropped to 4-8. A day after, the Rams fired offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti.

Week 14: vs. Detroit Lions

The Rams finally snapped their 4 game losing streak by defeating the Detroit Lions.

A photo of rapper and Roc Nation founder Jay Z in the Rams locker room along with his client Todd Gurley, and several Rams players was released shortly after.

With the win, the Rams went up to 5-8.

Week 15: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Rams hosted the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, led by rookie quarterback Jameis Winston.

The "Color Rush" jerseys was used for this game. It was the first time the Rams wore the Color Rush Jersey.^[3]

In what ultimately turned out to be their final game played in St. Louis, before returning to Los Angeles for next season, Rams fans were seen holding signs saying, "Keep the Rams in St. Louis" and chants of "Keep the Rams" were heard after the game.

Despite offensive production from Tampa Bay, the Rams still managed a 31-23 victory and went to 6-8 with Case Keenum throwing for 234 yards and 2 touchdowns, Todd Gurley rushing 48 yards, Tavon Austin rushing 32 yards and a touchdown, Kenny Britt receiving for 71 yards and 1 touchdown, and Jared Cook receiving for 64 yards. The Rams offense dominated this game as well the defense also put pressure on the Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston.

With the win, the Rams improved their record to 6-8.

Week 16: at Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks win over Cleveland in Week 15 eliminated the Rams from playoff contention for the 11th consecutive season. The Rams were able to sweep their division rival, the Seattle Seahawks in their regular season series. The last time the Rams did this was 2004.

With that win, the Rams record improved to 7-8, riding a 3 game winning streak.

Week 17: at San Francisco 49ers

This Rams faced the 49ers in the season in what was their final game as the St. Louis Rams before moving to Los Angeles. Unlike in Week 8 at home, the Rams lost the game 16-19 in overtime. The Rams were without Todd Gurley, who suffered a foot injury in the third quarter of Week 16's win at Seattle.

With that loss, the Rams finished the 2015 NFL season at 7-9, making the season the ninth consecutive losing season for the Rams in St. Louis.

Standings

Division

NFC West
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
(2) Arizona Cardinals	13	3	0	.813	4–2	10–2	489	313	L1
(6) Seattle Seahawks	10	6	0	.625	3–3	7–5	423	277	W1
St. Louis Rams	7	9	0	.438	4–2	6–6	280	330	L1
San Francisco 49ers	5	11	0	.313	1–5	4–8	238	387	W1

Conference

NFC
#	Team	Division	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	SOS	SOV	STK
Division Leaders
1	Carolina Panthers	South	15	1	0	.938	5–1	11–1	.441	.438	W1
2	Arizona Cardinals	West	13	3	0	.813	4–2	10–2	.477	.457	L1
3	Minnesota Vikings	North	11	5	0	.688	5–1	8–4	.504	.449	W3
4	Washington Redskins	East	9	7	0	.563	4–2	8–4	.465	.403	W4
Wild Cards
5[lower-alpha 1]	Green Bay Packers	North	10	6	0	.625	3–3	7–5	.531	.450	L2
6[lower-alpha 1]	Seattle Seahawks	West	10	6	0	.625	3–3	7–5	.520	.431	W1
Did not qualify for the playoffs
7	Atlanta Falcons	South	8	8	0	.500	1–5	5–7	.480	.453	L1
8[lower-alpha 2]	St. Louis Rams	West	7	9	0	.438	4–2	6–6	.527	.482	L1
9[lower-alpha 2]	Detroit Lions	North	7	9	0	.438	3–3	6–6	.535	.429	W3
10[lower-alpha 2]	Philadelphia Eagles	East	7	9	0	.438	3–3	4–8	.508	.473	W1
11[lower-alpha 2]	New Orleans Saints	South	7	9	0	.438	3–3	5–7	.504	.402	W2
12[lower-alpha 3]	New York Giants	East	6	10	0	.375	2–4	4–8	.500	.396	L3
13[lower-alpha 3]	Chicago Bears	North	6	10	0	.375	1–5	3–9	.547	.469	L1
14[lower-alpha 3]	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	South	6	10	0	.375	3–3	5–7	.484	.406	L4
15	San Francisco 49ers	West	5	11	0	.313	1–5	4–8	.539	.463	W1
16	Dallas Cowboys	East	4	12	0	.250	3–3	3–9	.531	.438	L4
Tiebreakers[lower-alpha 4]
1 2 Green Bay finished ahead of Seattle based on head-to-head victory. 1 2 3 4 St. Louis and Detroit finished ahead of Philadelphia and New Orleans based on conference record. St. Louis finished ahead of Detroit based on head-to-head victory. Detroit finished ahead of Philadelphia and New Orleans based on head-to-head sweep, while Philadelphia finished ahead of New Orleans based on head-to-head victory. 1 2 3 The New York Giants and Chicago each finished ahead of Tampa Bay based on head-to-head victory, while the Giants finished ahead of Chicago based on conference record. ↑ When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest ranked remaining team from each division.

References

External links

• Official website