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
Owner	Georgia Frontiere
Head coach	Mike Martz Joe Vitt
Home stadium	Edward Jones Dome
Results
Record	6–10
Division place	2nd NFC West
Playoffs	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	T Orlando Pace WR Torry Holt
← 2004 Rams seasons 2006 →

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

2005 St. Louis Rams roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 12 Ryan Fitzpatrick 11 Jamie Martin 15 Jeff Smoker Running backs (RB) 26 Aveion Cason KR 28 Marshall Faulk 33 Arlen Harris 44 Madison Hedgecock 39 Steven Jackson Wide receivers (WR) 80 Isaac Bruce 83 Kevin Curtis 81 Torry Holt 89 Dane Looker PR 84 Shaun McDonald PR Tight ends (TE) 48 Jerome Collins 86 Brandon Manumaleuna 87 Aaron Walker

Offensive linemen (OL) 70 Alex Barron T 67 Andy McCollum C 71 Matt Morgan T 63 Ben Noll G 76 Orlando Pace T 75 Claude Terrell G 62 Adam Timmerman G 66 Rex Tucker G/T 63 Larry Turner C Defensive linemen (DL) 90 Jeremy Calahan DT 93 Brandon Green DE 95 Anthony Hargrove DE 98 Brian Howard DT 73 Jimmy Kennedy DT 97 Tyoka Jackson DE/DT 92 Damione Lewis DT 91 Leonard Little DE 79 Ryan Pickett DT

Linebackers (LB) 54 Brandon Chillar OLB 99 Clifford Dukes OLB 57 Trev Faulk MLB 51 Mike Goolsby MLB 56 Jeremy Loyd OLB 50 Pisa Tinoisamoa OLB 58 Drew Wahlroos OLB Defensive backs (DB) 20 Dwight Anderson CB 31 Adam Archuleta SS 21 Oshiomogho Atogwe FS 32 Ron Bartell CB 27 Dwaine Carpenter FS 25 Mike Furrey FS/PR 24 DeJuan Groce CB 35 Corey Ivy CB 37 Chris Johnson CB/KR Special teams (ST)  4 Bryan Barker P 45 Chris Massey LS 14 Jeff Wilkins K

Practice squad 16 Jeremy Carter WR 65 Toby Cecil C 41 Terry Holley S 34 Derrick Knight RB 19 Brandon Middleton WR 77 Drew Strojny T 17 Dominique Thompson WR 82 Darius Williams TE Reserve 10 Marc Bulger QB (IR) 23 Jerametrius Butler CB (IR) 42 Jerome Carter S (IR) 55 Chris Claiborne LB (IR) 52 Dexter Coakley LB (IR) 30 Terry Fair CB/KR/PR (IR) 22 Travis Fisher CB (IR) 68 Richie Incognito G (NF-Inj.) 61 Tom Nütten G (IR) 60 Blaine Saipaia T (IR) 88 Roland Williams TE (IR) Rookies in italics 53 active, 11 reserve, 8 practice squad

Schedule

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

Week 2: at Arizona Cardinals

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Rams	7	3	7	0	17
Cardinals	3	3	3	3	12

Game information

First quarter STL – Torry Holt 19-yard pass from Marc Bulger (Jeff Wilkins kick), 11:42. Rams 7–0. Drive: 7 plays, 80 yards, 3:18. ARI — Neil Rackers 29-yard field goal, 5:38. Rams 7–3. Drive: 10 plays, 57 yards, 3:19. Second quarter ARI – Neil Rackers 26-yard field goal, 8:44. Rams 7–6. Drive: 8 plays, 37 yards, 3:59. STL – Jeff Wilkins 29-yard field goal, 3:42. Rams 10–6. Drive: 10 plays, 69 yards, 5:02. Third quarter ARI – Neil Rackers 48-yard field goal, 10:23. Rams 10–9. Drive: 9 plays, 45 yards, 4:37. STL – Steven Jackson 7-yard run (Jeff Wilkins kick), 5:45. Rams 17–9. Drive: 8 plays, 76 yards, 4:38. Fourth quarter ARI – Neil Rackers 35-yard field goal, 6:59. Rams 17–12. Drive: 9 plays, 56 yards, 5:48. Top passers STL – Marc Bulger – 18/29, 216 yards, TD, INT ARI – Kurt Warner – 29/42, 327 yards, INT Top rushers STL – Steven Jackson – 18 rushes, 93 yards, TD ARI – Marcel Shipp – 12 rushes, 54 yards Top receivers STL – Torry Holt – 4 receptions, 70 yards, TD ARI – Anquan Boldin – 8 receptions, 119 yards

Week Two: St. Louis Rams (0–1) at Arizona Cardinals (0–1)

at Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona

• Date: September 18
• Game time: 4:05 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 94 °F (34 °C)
• Game attendance: 45,160
• Referee: Jeff Triplette
• TV announcers (Fox): Ron Pitts & Tim Ryan
• Pro-Football-Reference.com

Standings

NFC West
view talk edit	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