Revisiting the last time the Chargers faced the Los Angeles Rams
By Travis Wakeman
The Battle for Los Angeles is nearly upon us.
The Los Angeles Chargers will take on the Los Angeles Rams this Sunday in a “road” game. It will be one of the most interesting games of the NFL season and easily the most interesting since the Chargers made the move from San Diego.
The Rams lead the all-time series 6-5 and though they’ve met 11 times, five of those came with the Rams being based out of St. Louis. So when was the last time the Chargers clashed with the Rams based out of L.A.?
November 27, 1994
You remember the 1994 season, right? Of course you do. That was the magical year the Chargers went all the way to the Super Bowl. Interestingly, this would be the Rams’ last year in Los Angeles before moving to St. Louis. Chargers fans can certainly relate to that.
The Chargers were coming off a tough loss to the New England Patriots and Foxboro Stadium and were facing back-to-back games against teams from the City of Angels, starting with the Rams.
This game took place at old Jack Murphy Stadium and it wasn’t a game that will be remembered for the great plays or dynamic performances that took place on the field. In fact, the Rams had more total yardage than the Chargers, but the reason the Chargers won the game was due to the defense forcing five turnovers.
The Chargers had four interceptions of Rams quarterback Chris Miller and one of those was returned 50 yards for a score by defensive back Sean Vanhorse.
Notable Stat lines from the game:
Stan Humphries: 17-of-27, 147 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception
Natrone Means: 23 carries, 95 yards
Ronnie Harmon: 5 receptions, 41 yards, 1 touchdown
Junior Seau: 4 tackles
Leslie O’Neal: 2 sacks
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The 31-17 victory took the Chargers to 9-3 on that season.
But even that wasn’t a battle for Los Angeles:, and the game wasn’t even played in Los Angeles. The last time two teams from L.A. played each other in a regular season game happened during that same year, just two weeks prior.
The Los Angeles Raiders took on the Rams at Anaheum Stadium, now known as Angel Stadium. The Raiders would win the game though fans had no idea it would be the last time two teams from Los Angeles would meet in an NFL game.
Nearly 24 years later, here we are.
Who does the sports world belong to in Los Angeles? Will the result of this game tilt things in favor of one team or the other? Or are teams like the Dodgers and Lakers always going to be kings of the city?
Though these are two of the better teams in the league, it’s a fair question to ask how many fans have turned their backs on each of these teams due to all of the moving around. Perhaps the “battle of Los Angeles” is one that doesn’t have the amount of interest in it that some would like to believe.