Eric Dickerson was apparently so great that he made the list twice
On a list of the 30 best players to never win the Super Bowl, former Rams running back checked in at number 13 on Bryan DeArdo’s rankings. Perhaps this article went up without an editor though because Dickerson is also ranked 26th.
Dickerson is not only one of the best players of all-time, period, he’s also one of the NFL’s greatest legends. It’s not just that he was great on the field, but almost every football fan knows the name of Eric Dickerson.
Unfortunately, Dickerson never got the opportunity to win the Super Bowl.
Best chance: Dickerson led the Rams to the cusp of the Super Bowl after he rushed for a playoff record 248 yards in Los Angeles’ divisional round playoff win over the Cowboys. But Dickerson and the Rams were no match for the ‘85 Bears, who clobbered Los Angeles en route to winning Super Bowl XX.
Best chance: Dickerson and Marino were the NFL’s top-two players in 1985. Both players, though, saw their seasons end one game shy of the Super Bowl. For Dickerson, his Rams squad was no match for eventual Super Bowl champion Bears, whose defense scored more points in that year’s NFC title game than Los Angeles’ offense.
Lucky for most of the Rams great players after Dickerson’s run, they did get to win a Super Bowl. First there were all the greats on the ‘99 team like Kurt Warner, Tory Holt, Isaac Bruce, Orlando Pace, and Marshall Faulk.
Second came another set of greats with Matthew Stafford, Aaron Donald, Cooper Kupp, and Andrew Whitworth.
But unfortunately many of the franchise’s best players before 1999 never had that chance.
For example, Jack Youngblood was 25th on the list:
Best chance: Youngblood came painfully close to winning a Super Bowl, both literally and physically. The Rams’ standout defensive end played in Super Bowl XIV despite having a broken leg. His presence helped the Rams take a 19-17 lead over the defending champion Steelers going into the fourth quarter.
It took two huge completions from Terry Bradshaw to John Stallworth in the fourth quarter for the Steelers to avoid a huge upset against Youngblood and Los Angeles, whose gritty performance that day won’t soon be forgotten.
But strangely, the list didn’t just remember Dickerson twice; DeArco also seemed to forget about players like Deacon Jones and Merlin Olsen, nevermind that the writer may have never heard the name Tom Mack.
The Rams have had quite a few greats who didn’t win the Super Bowl. Puka Nacua hopes he’s not the next.