Probably one of the most magical nights in LA history. Christmas was two days away. Schools were on holiday break. Many in the working class were probably also off. And both the Raiders and Rams were about to be in the playoffs. This was perhaps the greatest Christmas present the city of LA got in 1985.
For many in SoCal of 1985, the Christmas present came early, in late August when Richard "The Night Stalker" Ramirez was arrested in East Los Angeles. And Ramirez's early Christmas present was that the authorities got to him out of there before those citizens could beat him to a jelly.
Yes, it was tabbed The Battle Of L.A., but the Raiders needed the victory more than the Rams. The Rams already had the #2 seed locked up but the Raiders needed the win to lock up the 1st seed. I'm not going to make excuses. Both teams were aware of the hype surrounding the match, but it seemed like the Raiders put in all their effort & had nothing left over against the Patriots in the divisional game while the Rams, literally & figuratively, ran over the Cowboys their following playoff game. It was a close game, 9-6 Raiders, until a late touchdown secured it for the Silver & Black. !/3 of a century later, it still burns a hole in my head that my beloved Rams lost to their cross town rivals.
The 2021-2022 NFL regular season will end this Sunday night with a Chargers @ Raiders game, which COULD have been a battle between L.A. teams if the Raiders had stayed in Southern California
Since posting this, the Rams have won Super Bowl 56, while the Chargers almost made the 2021 playoffs. Still, it shouldn't be the kickoff game because the Rams should open with a home game as per tradition, ideally against the 49ers. The Chargers will be the home team for their 2022 meeting with the Rams. But still, 2022's Rams-Chargers game should be on SNF, perhaps in week 4, the last before flexible scheduling starts.
I would have liked to seen the Raiders or Dolphins against the Bears in 85. Instead we got the Pats getting hot..and then getting crushed...I don't think either would have beaten the Bears but I know it would have been a better game
@@SJM6791 I don’t think so. We had no running game. We were highly dependent on Marino plus we had the aging killer B’s that were no longer the same team.
@@bena.3955- We had already beaten them earlier that season. Miami’s offensive game plan in that MNF game is what other teams used to end the 46 Defense in the NFL.
@@SJM6791 I personally think that 85 Bears team was way overrated. They had 8 wins in a pathetic division. They played the AFC East in the regular season, that division was marginal at best. Yeah, it sent three teams to the playoffs. The team that finished third in the division went to the Super Bowl. The AFC was weak that year. The Browns won their div. at eight and eight. The Raiders are the best team outside the AFC east, they lose to the patriots at home. I think Miami would have been a better contender, but I still think they would have lost.
You can look it up department: Dieter Brock was the 3rd ranked passer in the NFC in ‘85, but his team was dead last in the NFL in passing yardage. Go figure.
Unless Brock called his own plays (which I'm assuming he did't), the problem wasn't entirely him. The offensive coordinator was also part of the problem, since he repeatedly called running plays on 3rd and long.
Both made the playoffs raiders won the afc west crown but lost too the patriots at home in the Los Angeles coliseum 27-20 and also Rams beat Cowboys in the playoffs Eric Dickerson would gain over 2000 yards rushing and he had 248 yards vs cowboys in an 20-0 victory but lost too Chicago Bears 24-0 at Soldier Field and New Orleans Superdome Chicago Bears Buddy Ryan Defense beat New England Patriots 46-10 victory super bowl shuffle .