The Saints defeated the St. Louis Rams 31-28 in 2000 to notch their first-ever playoff win.

That first season started with a 94 yard opening kickoff return for a touchdown by John Gilliam ( No other team in NFL history has ever returned a kickoff for a touchdown on its first attempt as a new franchise ), but the Saints lost that game 27 – 13 to the Los Angeles Rams at Tulane Stadium.

In week 17, the Saints defeated division rivals Carolina ; however, the Saints needed other results to break their way and when the St. Louis Rams beat the New York Jets the Saints were eliminated despite having beaten the Rams, who finished with the same record.

The Rams received the # 1 wild-card due to having the best conference record out of the 3, followed by the Vikings due to the 38 – 31 loss handed to the Saints in Week 6.

The heavily favored Rams wilted in the stifling heat, and the Saints claimed their first-ever victory over their NFC West rivals, 24 – 20, on Manning's 1-yard quarterback sneak on the last play of the game.

In 2000, the Saints won their first playoff game as they hosted the St. Louis Rams and after having a better road record than home record, they wore their white jerseys, and won 31 – 28 over the defending champion Rams.

The Saints punted to the Rams ' Az-Zahir Hakim ( who would play one season for the Saints in 2005 ), who fumbled the punt deep in Rams ' territory.

* Most opponents ' fumbles recovered for touchdowns, season: 4 ; Detroit Lions, 1937 ; Chicago Bears, 1942 ; Boston ( AAFC ), 1948 ; Los Angeles Rams, 1952 ; San Francisco 49ers, 1965 ; Denver Broncos, 1984 ; St. Louis Cardinals, 1987 ; Minnesota Vikings, 1989 ; Atlanta Falcons, 1991 and 1998 ; Philadelphia Eagles, 1995 ; New Orleans Saints, 1998 ; Kansas City Chiefs, 1999.

* Bill Saul and his twin brothers Rich Saul and Ron Saul, professional football players during the 1960s and 1970s, were born and raised in Butler – Bill played 9 years ( 1962 – 1970 ) as a linebacker for the Colts, Steelers, Saints and Lions, Rich played 12 years ( 1970 – 1982 ) at center for the Los Angeles Rams and Ron played 13 years ( 1970 – 1983 ) for the Houston Oilers and Washington Redskins.

And the NFL's Torry Holt ( Rams & Jaguars ) and his brother Terrence Holt ( Lions, Cardinals, Bears, Panthers, Saints ) are both natives of Gibsonville.

They have appeared in the Louisiana Superdome for the New Orleans Saints, in the Trans World Dome for the St. Louis Rams, at Arrowhead Stadium for the Kansas City Chiefs, and at Mile High Stadium for the Denver Broncos.

* October 23 – in a game where the New Orleans Saints beat the Los Angeles Rams 37-34 Robert Bailey of the Rams sets the NFL record for longest punt return ( 103 yards ) and Tyrone Hughes of the Saints sets the NFL single game record for kickoff return yards ( 304 ) and most return yards ( 347 ) and ties the single game record for kickoff returns returned for touchdown ( 2 ).

There was no more playoff magic as the Rams finally defeated the Vikings, 34 – 10 in Los Angeles after having lost in their previous four playoff matchups ( in 1969, ' 74, ' 76 and ' 77 ).

The Vikings were 11 – 2 after 14 weeks, but slumped briefly, losing their last three to the Rams, Packers and Colts while starting quarterback Daunte Culpepper was hampered by injury.

In doing so, the Vikings became the second team in NFL history to have a. 500 record ( 8 – 8 ) in the regular season and win a playoff game ( The St. Louis Rams did the same thing only a day earlier ).

In his first year, he took the team to the 2001 playoffs but lost to the Minnesota Vikings a week after beating the St. Louis Rams for the team's first ever playoff win.

The Vikings were led by quarterback Fran Tarkenton and the Purple People Eaters defense ; they advanced to their second consecutive Super Bowl and third overall after finishing the regular season with a 10-4 record and defeating the St. Louis Cardinals and the Los Angeles Rams in the playoffs.

Meanwhile, Minnesota allowed only a combined 24 points in their playoff wins against the St. Louis Cardinals, 30-14, and their narrow defeat of the Los Angeles Rams, 14-10, after their defense stopped an attempted comeback touchdown drive from the Rams on the Vikings ' own 2-yard line.

The Cowboys, with their offense and " flex " defense, became the first NFC wild-card team to advance to the Super Bowl after posting a 10-4 regular season record and postseason victories over the Minnesota Vikings and the Los Angeles Rams.

The Vikings were making their fourth Super Bowl appearance, and seeking their first Super Bowl title, after posting an 11-2-1 regular season record and playoff victories over the Washington Redskins and the Los Angeles Rams.

The Vikings went on to dominate the Washington Redskins, 35 – 20, and defeat the Los Angeles Rams, 24 – 13, in the playoffs.

Playing in his first ever NFL playoff game, Warner threw for 395 yards and 5 touchdowns, with 1 interception, as the Rams defeated the Minnesota Vikings, 49 – 37, by scoring 35 unanswered points in the second half.

Although Vikings quarterback Jeff George threw for 423 yards and 4 touchdowns, 3 of his scores occurred late in the fourth quarter after the Rams had already put the game away.

The " Gridbirds " made only three playoff appearances during that stretch, losing at the Minnesota Vikings in 1974, Los Angeles Rams in 1975 and Green Bay Packers in 1982.

Anthony Ronald " Ron " Yary ( born July 16, 1946 ) is a former professional American football offensive tackle, playing primarily for the Minnesota Vikings and also for the Los Angeles Rams.

He played from 1968 to 1981 with the Minnesota Vikings, and 1982 with the Los Angeles Rams.

The other thirteen NFL teams ( Atlanta Falcons, Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Los Angeles Rams, Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers and Washington Redskins ) became part of the National Football Conference ( NFC ).

In a 1969 playoff game, the Vikings hosted the Los Angeles Rams.

A first-round pick in the 2000 NFL Draft, he played professionally for the Baltimore Ravens, Minnesota Vikings, Oakland Raiders, St. Louis Rams, Carolina Panthers and Detroit Lions of the NFL.

In 2004, after a 4-8 start, Brooks led the Saints on a four game winning streak to finish the season, reaching the brink of the playoffs, but tiebreakers involving the St. Louis Rams and the Minnesota Vikings did the Saints in.

While Mike, Mark, Zonker, BD, and Boopsie were all now graduates, BD and Boopsie were living in Malibu, where BD was a third-string quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams, and Boopsie was making a living from walk-on and cameo roles.

In contrast, the Rams were able to reach inside the Tennessee 20-yard line on all 4 of their remaining drives before halftime, but on each one, the Titans defense forced St. Louis to settle for field goal attempts from kicker Jeff Wilkins, who was successful in making 3 of them, but missed one attempt from 34 yards.

However on the Rams ' first play of their ensuing drive, Warner threw a long pass that was caught by Bruce at the Titans ' 38-yard line, who then ran it all the way into the end zone for a 73-yard touchdown completion to give St. Louis a 23 – 16 lead.

The Rams nickname is used by the university's football team only ; all other teams at the school are named Regina Cougars.

After the Rams moved to St. Louis after the 1994 NFL season, the stadium was extensively renovated a second time from 1996 – 1998, with the most significant change being the removal of almost all of the seats added for football.

Late in the 1974 NFC Championship game against the Los Angeles Rams, Page, Marshall, and Bob Lurtsema all got to the Rams quarterback and were all credited with 1 / 3 of a sack.

He became a part of the Fearsome Foursome defensive line of the Rams ( along with Lamar Lundy, Rosey Grier, and Olsen ), which is now considered one of the best lines of all time.

Unless aired in primetime, KTVI broadcasts all road games of the Rams, and also all sold-out home games against NFC teams

Bulger did not see action in any contests during his first season with the Rams ; he was inactive as the third quarterback for 16 regular season games and all three postseason contests.

Led all defensive backs with 10 tackles at St. Louis Rams in addition to adding 1 interception and 1 pass defensed.

In the week prior to the Rams game, the fire-brand Lombardi inspired his team all week with a rendition of St. Paul's Run to Win letter to the Corinthians and, in what Bart Starr would later say was Lombardi's most rousing pre-game speech, incited his team to a 28 – 7 victory over the Rams at Milwaukee County Stadium.

He ended the season with 10 sacks, 3 forced fumbles and recovered 3 fumbles ( all three were second on the top-ranked Rams defense ).

Perhaps Allen's most satifying 1971 victory was a December Monday-night win in Los Angeles that all but ended the Rams ' playoff hopes.

His second stint as the Rams ' head coach was an unfortunate experience for all concerned.

He was one of the two rookie free agents to make Rams ’ opening day roster, playing in all 16 regular season games.

He and fellow linebackers Mike Curtis and Ray May anchored a unit that was one of the NFL's best in defending against the run ; which was 102. 8 yards per game-6th in the NFL, and allowing only 2 rushing touchdowns all season ( tied with the Los Angeles Rams for first in the NFL ).

The West Chester University Golden Rams Marching Band, which has over 300 members, performs pre-game, halftime, or post-game at all home and select away WCU football games in Pennsylvania and in Delaware.

In 1997, he joined the Rams, where he played the remainder of his career and became the team's all time leading scorer.