Vikings-Rams on Wild Card Weekend Monday: What We Learned from Los Angeles’ 27-9 win

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1. Rams defense dominates Vikings’ high-powered offense. Minnesota entered Monday night’s game with the NFL’s sixth-ranked passing offense, ninth-ranked scoring offense and an elite receiving duo in Justin Jefferson” data-link=”/players/justin-jefferson/” data-slug=”justin-jefferson”>Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison” data-link=”/players/jordan-addison/” data-slug=”jordan-addison”>Jordan Addison. They finished with 163 passing yards, 6 for 17 on third down and just nine points. Los Angeles devised a masterful defensive game plan for their rematch with the Vikings, restricting Sam Darnold” data-link=”/players/sam-darnold/” data-slug=”sam-darnold”>Sam Darnold with man coverage (he finished 4 for 12 for 64 yards, one touchdown and one interception against man coverage) and confounding him with a variety of pressures generated by their excellent defensive front and defensive backs. Eight Rams registered at least half a sack on Monday night, and two of those were recorded by defensive backs. With the secondary complicating the picture for Darnold, Rams rushers were free to chase down the uncertain quarterback, forcing two turnovers in the process. The second — a fumble forced by Ahkello Witherspoon” data-link=”/players/ahkello-witherspoon/” data-slug=”ahkello-witherspoon”>Ahkello Witherspoon and recovered by rookie Pro Bowler Jared Verse” data-link=”/players/jared-verse/” data-slug=”jared-verse”>Jared Verse, who returned it for a touchdown — felt like a decisive blow, even if it occurred in the first half. As we eventually learned, Minnesota lacked the capability to overcome defensive coordinator Chris Shula’s plans, which worked to near perfection and produced a statement win for the Rams, who added two more turnovers to their plus-eight margin since their bye week and recorded their 10th win in 13 games.
2. Minnesota’s magical season ends with a thud. The Vikings won 14 games in 2024 with a beautiful blend of explosive offense and a hyper-aggressive, opportunistic defense that combined to produce one of the NFL’s top contenders in the regular season. They looked nothing like that club Monday night. Save for a touchdown drive in the third quarter, the Vikings’ offense never found much of a rhythm in this game, scoring just nine points for a second straight game and falling short of expectations in the playoffs for a second time under coach Kevin O’Connell. Their defense — which ranked in the top five in takeaways and sacks — failed to limit the Rams’ offense in the first half, allowing Los Angeles to carve them up on an emphatic opening scoring drive and move quickly on a short field to produce another touchdown just before halftime, taking a 24-3 lead into the break. Minnesota’s defense was able to prevent the Rams from extending their lead significantly in the second half, but even after forcing three straight punts between the third and fourth quarters, the Minnesota offense continued to flounder. In total, it was an incredibly disappointing showing from a team many considered to be one of the NFC’s heavyweights entering the postseason, and will produce a fair share of criticism as the Vikings now trudge into the offseason with little to show for their efforts outside of a wild-card berth.