In the NFL, a rivalry game is some of the best football to watch. The Kansas City Chiefs have two main rivals; the Las Vegas Raiders and the Denver Broncos. Obviously, your inter-divisional opponents will come to be your toughest competition. However, another rival with an unorthodox history also opposes the Chiefs.
One such rivalry was actually created instead of inherited. The Los Angeles Rams started out as the Cleveland Rams in 1936. The team competed in the AFL before relocating to LA in 1946. The LA Rams enjoyed great players and many successful seasons, but another relocation was on the horizon.
The St. Louis Rams came to be in 1995 and featured “The Greatest Show on Turf,” a prolific offense that had a young Kurt Warner at the quarterback position. Now enter in the Kansas City Chiefs, the other team residing in Missouri. For them, it was like welcoming in a friend who instantly became your enemy after you showed them some hospitality.
The Chiefs were 6-0 against the Rams while they were in St. Louis. While you may ask how a rivalry can feature such a one-sided dominant team, it wasn’t always like this. The LA Rams before the St. Louis move were 4-1 against the Chiefs franchise. With the last St. Louis-Kansas City game being played in 2014, it felt as though the Chiefs had lost the Rams as a rival.
Monday Night Football on November 19, 2018 quickly changed this notion.
The Greatest Regular Season Game Ever: 2018 KC Chiefs @ LA Rams
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62363897/1063594990.jpg.0.jpg "Rivalry Renewed: Kansas City Chiefs versus LA Rams Part Two 1")
No, this header is not clickbait. This game was #33 on the “100 Greatest Games” list, an NFL Network production. The Monday Night Football matchup also won the 2019 ESPY Award for “Best Game”. Take it from them, this game really was that good.
No. 33: 2018 Week 11 – Chiefs vs. Rams (Nov. 19, 2018) #NFL100 @RamsNFL
📺: NFL 100 Greatest Games on @NFLNetwork pic.twitter.com/CRDrBWnyqX
— NFL (@NFL) September 28, 2019
Keep in mind this matchup came four years after the last meeting between the two franchises. It felt as though a different level of competition was in the air in LA that night. Both teams were 9-1 heading into the matchup, and both seemed to be unstoppable offensively. Both defenses probably said a prayer before the game and hoped that their offense would be the better one.
The game finished 54-51 with the Rams coming away victorious. This was the third-highest scoring game in NFL history, the first game that two teams had over 50 points each, and the highest points in a loss ever at 51 for the Chiefs. History had been made between two teams who are fated to meet again this season.
Should we Expect the Same Thing in 2022 From this Rivalry?
If you weren’t aware, the Chiefs and Rams are going to play this season. The Rams have a new QB in Matthew Stafford who finally found real success with Los Angeles in their Super Bowl run. They also have Cooper Kupp on the roster, arguably a better wideout than any that the Rams had in 2018. The Chiefs will be without Tyreek Hill who had a staggering 215 yards receiving in the 2018 matchup. The personnel are tweaked here and there, but both sides still share fairly similar identities.
Offense will be on display once again but maybe in a reverse way. Kupp will most likely go berserk against a Tyrann-less Chiefs secondary. Kelce will see heavy attention that was previously drawn away from him by Hill.
Old rivals and a renewed rivalry. We will see what the 2022 edition of the Rams vs. Chiefs matchup has to offer football fans. And one more thing, let’s make these matchups sooner than every four years please Mr. Goodell.
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