Long Beach, Ca -The Resilient Rams. That is how this Rams team should be described and that is their motto. From starting the year 1-4 to finishing the season 9-3 to make the playoffs and win the NFC West, the Rams are looking to win Super Bowl 59. Led by their head coach Sean McVay, quarterback Matthew Stafford, running back Kyren Williams, and star receivers Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp, combined with a young defense led by Jared Verse, Braden Fiske, Kobie Turner, and Akhello Witherspoon and a defense that got way better throughout the season, the Rams certainly have a shot. However, it won’t be easy as the fourth seed in the NFC.
The Rams were scheduled to host the Minnesota Vikings at Sofi Stadium on Monday Night Football, a team they already beat in the regular season. However, the game was moved to State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona (Home of a Rams division rival, Arizona Cardinals) due to the devastating wildfires taking place in Los Angeles. The Rams had something bigger to play for in this game. After the tragic fires in LA, the Rams were playing with the whole city on their back, had to worry about the safety of their homes and loved ones, and had to still focus on winning a playoff game. However, there was a game to play and business to take care of.
NFC Wild Card: Vikings @ Rams
The Minnesota Vikings and the Los Angeles Rams faced off in the NFC Wild Card from Glendale, Arizona. The Cardinals did everything they could to make it a Rams home game, from the logo to the endzone to the scoreboard that the Rams have and much more. And right from the get-go, it was all Rams.
A key factor to victory for the Rams was getting off to a good start. The Rams averaged 2.2 points per game in the first quarter during the regular season. Only the New York Giants and the Chicago Bears had less.
During the game’s very first play, Matthew Stafford connected with Rams leading receiver Puka Nacua for 27 yards. Following a 1-yard run for Rams running back Kyren Williams, Stafford again connected, this time with his tight end Tyler Higbee for a gain of 23. Higbee returned to the Rams during Week 16 after being out since last year’s Wild Card loss to the Lions when he tore his ACL and MCL. (Due to a blatantly dirty hit by Lions safety Kirby Joseph). After driving down the field with ease, the Rams got the Vikings to commit a neutral zone infraction penalty on 4th and 1 at the ten-yard line, which led to Stafford throwing a touchdown pass to Kyren Williams. This was a spectacular start for the Rams. They had a similar opening drive against the Vikings earlier in the season and against the Bills, which turned out to be the Rams’ two best wins during the regular season. After a Rams sack by Rams linebacker Byron Young, the Rams forced the Vikings to punt shortly after. The Rams capitalized on this opportunity by relying on their rookie field goal kicker Joshua Karty, nailing a 34-yard field goal to put the Rams ahead 10-0, a score that would hold up for the remainder of the game.
After the Vikings drove down the field, they settled for a field goal by relying on Will Reichard interestingly enough also making a field goal to make it a 10-3 ball game to kick off the second quarter. After a fumble recovery by the Vikings was overturned because Stafford was barely able to get rid of the ball to avoid a sack, the Rams only took 19 seconds off the clock as they had to punt the ball back to the Vikings. After Vikings running back Aaron Jones ran for a first down and then ran for another seven yards, the Rams got to Sam Darnold, the Vikings quarterback, once again and was sacked by Rams cornerback Cobie Durant, as the Rams brought a corner blitz and it worked. On 3rd and 15, Darnold threw an incompletion which forced the Vikings to punt again. However, while the kick return was happening, Jake Hummel, a player on the special teams for the Rams, was pushed into the kicker and, unfortunately, was called for roughing the kicker, a 15-yard penalty. That gave the Vikings an automatic first down. Shortly after, on 3rd and 7, Darnold threw an interception to Cobie Durant, the hero of the drive for the Rams. With the interception, Durant became the only player this year to get a sack and an interception on the same possession. The Rams’ defense and pass rush became superb. After the Rams punted again, Rams corner Akhello Witherspoon sacked Sam Darnold, and the ball came out. Jared Verse recovered the fumble and returned it for a frontflip into the endzone for a Rams touchdown. After Darnold was sacked again on 4th and 2, which caused a turnover on downs, the Rams scored again thanks to Stafford throwing a touchdown pass to Davis Allen to lead 24-3 at halftime.
In the second half, there were only 9 points total by both teams. The Vikings scored six and the Rams scored three. Thanks to an incredible nine sacks, the Rams demolished the Vikings in dominant fashion 27-9 to advance to the NFC Divisional Round to take on the Philadelphia Eagles.
