Rams Tie Broncos For Forgettable Record Ahead of Christmas Day Matchup
The inevitable became reality for the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night, as they were officially eliminated from postseason contention after a 24-12 loss to the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.
The Rams gave themselves a chance to win -- and ultimately keep the faintest of postseason hopes alive -- but were plagued by much of the consistent inconsistency that has been a theme all season.
Goals of winning back-to-back Super Bowls are now gone. And as the Rams get set for a Christmas Day meeting with the Denver Broncos on Sunday at SoFi Stadium, they do so looking to avoid breaking a tie of a not-so-impressive record with the Mile High Horses that was set on Monday.
LA (4-10) now matches the 1999 Broncos (6-10) for the most losses in the following season by a defending Super Bowl champion. After legendary Denver quarterback John Elway rode off into the sunset with titles in 1997 and '98, he retired ahead of the '99 season and watched as the Broncos crumbled without him.
Interestingly enough, the Rams are also the first Super Bowl-winning team to miss the postseason the following year since -- you guessed it! -- the Broncos did it in 2016.
The Rams' fall from glory has arguably been more catastrophic considering they retained much of the same talent from last year and added some big names as well. A trip to the postseason was thought to be a guarantee.
But now, the Rams are at a huge disadvantage when it comes to standing alone with this forgettable record since there's been an extra game added to the regular season.
It's quite fitting that the equally-disappointing Broncos (4-10) will have a chance to hand LA its record-breaking 11th loss in a Christmas Day meeting that, at one point before the season, was fixing to be a late-season battle between two potential Super Bowl contenders.
So much for expectations for a pair of teams that are now a part of the first five clubs to be eliminated from postseason contention this year.
The Rams and Broncos kickoff at 1:30 p.m. PT on Sunday.
You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7
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