2005 St. Louis Rams season

The 2005 season was the St. Louis Rams' 68th in the National Football League (NFL) and their 11th in St. Louis. They tried to improve on their previous output in which they won eight games. Instead, they collapsed and finished the season with a 6–10 record and finished the season with double-digit losses for the first time since 1998. The Rams also missed the playoffs for the first time since 2002. From 2006 onwards the Rams continued to crumble: during the subsequent nine seasons in St. Louis, the team neither made it into the playoffs nor finished with a winning record (though they almost made it into the 2010 playoffs, but lost to the Seahawks in their last game to lose the division). Their 6–42 record between 2007 and 2009 was the worst for such a period by any team between the World War II Chicago Cardinals and the 2015 to 2017 Cleveland Browns.

2005 St. Louis Rams season
OwnerGeorgia Frontiere
Head coachMike Martz
Joe Vitt
Home fieldEdward Jones Dome
Results
Record6–10
Division place2nd NFC West
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersT Orlando Pace
WR Torry Holt

On October 10, news broke out that head coach Mike Martz announced he was leaving the team indefinitely after being diagnosed with a bacterial infection. A day before that, he coached his last game in a home loss against Seattle. Joe Vitt took over the sidelines for the rest of the season. Though Martz was medically cleared to return, management refused to let him do so and he was fired the day after the final regular season game. Several players said they enjoyed having Martz as their head coach.

As second-year running back Steven Jackson earned the starting position, this year was the final season for future Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk as he missed the following season because of reconstructive knee surgery, which ultimately led to his retirement in 2007.

Roster

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2005 St. Louis Rams roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Practice squad

Reserve

Rookies in italics
53 active, 11 reserve, 8 practice squad

Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 11 at San Francisco 49ers L 25–28 0–1 Monster Park 67,918
2 September 18 at Arizona Cardinals W 17–12 1–1 Sun Devil Stadium 45,160
3 September 25 Tennessee Titans W 31–27 2–1 Edward Jones Dome 65,835
4 October 2 at New York Giants L 24–44 2–2 Giants Stadium 78,453
5 October 9 Seattle Seahawks L 31–37 2–3 Edward Jones Dome 65,707
6 October 17 at Indianapolis Colts L 28–45 2–4 RCA Dome 57,307
7 October 23 New Orleans Saints W 28–17 3–4 Edward Jones Dome 64,586
8 October 30 Jacksonville Jaguars W 24–21 4–4 Edward Jones Dome 65,251
9 Bye
10 November 13 at Seattle Seahawks L 16–31 4–5 Qwest Field 67,192
11 November 20 Arizona Cardinals L 28–38 4–6 Edward Jones Dome 65,750
12 November 27 at Houston Texans W 33–27 5–6 Reliant Stadium 70,010
13 December 4 Washington Redskins L 9–24 5–7 Edward Jones Dome 65,701
14 December 11 at Minnesota Vikings L 13–27 5–8 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 64,005
15 December 18 Philadelphia Eagles L 16–17 5–9 Edward Jones Dome 65,382
16 December 24 San Francisco 49ers L 20–24 5–10 Edward Jones Dome 65,473
17 January 1, 2006 at Dallas Cowboys W 20–10 6–10 Texas Stadium 63,131

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Season summary

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Week 2: at Arizona Cardinals

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Week Two: St. Louis Rams (0–1) at Arizona Cardinals (0–1)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Rams 7 3 7017
Cardinals 3 3 3312

at Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona

Game information

Standings

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NFC West
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
(1) Seattle Seahawks 13 3 0 .813 6–0 10–2 454 271 L1
St. Louis Rams 6 10 0 .375 1–5 3–9 363 429 W1
Arizona Cardinals 5 11 0 .313 3–3 4–8 311 387 L1
San Francisco 49ers 4 12 0 .250 2–4 3–9 239 428 W2

References

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