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Fansided

The Greatest Villain In the History of All 32 NFL Teams

By Erik Lambert

of the New York Jets of the Dallas Cowboys at Texas Stadium on November 22, 2007 in Irving, Texas
of the New York Jets of the Dallas Cowboys at Texas Stadium on November 22, 2007 in Irving, Texas /
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MINNEAPOLIS, MN – DECEMBER 29: Former head coach Bud Grant speaks to the crowd during the ceremony celebrating the last game at the Metrodome on December 29, 2013 at Mall of America Field at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – DECEMBER 29: Former head coach Bud Grant speaks to the crowd during the ceremony celebrating the last game at the Metrodome on December 29, 2013 at Mall of America Field at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images) /

Los Angeles Rams

. HC. Minnesota Vikings. Bud Grant . 18. player. 51

The Rams have a long history so there’s no shortage of candidates when it comes to villains. Anybody would agree though that’s it’s always the silent ones who are the killers. There was no man who made life miserable for Los Angeles fans than Bud Grant. This may come as a slight shock to younger fans. That’s only because they haven’t brushed up on their history.

Between the late 1960s through the 1970s, the Rams were one of the premier franchises in the NFL. From 1969 to 1979, they made the playoffs a total of eight times. Not too shabby. The problem is they just couldn’t seem to get past the same team. That was Grant’s Minnesota Vikings. Of their eight playoff exits during that span, Grant had a hand in four of them.

Minnesota beat them in 1974, 1976, and 1977. The most painful one had to be 1969. Many felt that should’ve been the Rams’ year. They had league MVP Roman Gabriel at QB and the Fearsome Foursome led by Deacon Jones on defense. They even held a 20-14 lead going into the 4th quarter of that game but gave it up in the final minutes to lose 23-20.

The next game would’ve been against the Cleveland Browns, a team the Rams had crushed the year before 24-6. Their road to the Super Bowl was wide open and Grant slammed it shut on them.

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