After finishing the regular season with a 10-7 record and clinching the NFC West, the Los Angeles Rams host the Minnesota Vikings in the Wild Card round of the playoffs.
Due to the devastating wildfires that have impacted the greater Los Angeles region, Monday night’s game between the Rams and Vikings was moved to State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.
In what has been a difficult situation for everyone involved, the Rams have attempted to keep their focus on the game itself while also being sensitive to those affected by the tragedy.
The Rams are preparing to take on a Vikings team that won 14 games during the regular season but fell to the No. 5 seed in the NFC playoffs after a Week 18 loss to the Detroit Lions.
L.A. and Minnesota last faced each other in Week 8, which saw L.A. come away with a 30-20 win on Thursday Night Football at SoFi Stadium.
Matthew Stafford enjoyed one of his best performances of the season as he completed 25 of 34 passes for 279 yards and four touchdowns against one interception.
Kyren Williams also had a big game as he rushed for 97 yards and scored a touchdown through the air. Puka Nacua caught seven of his nine targets for a team-leading 106 receiving yards.
Aside from Justin Jefferson totaling 115 receiving yards, the Rams defense did a good job containing the Vikings offense as they held Aaron Jones to 58 rushing yards and sacked Sam Darnold three times.
Rams’ keys to victory
Keep pressure on Sam Darnold
Darnold had the best season of his career for the Vikings this year, but he is prone to making mistakes against an effective pass rush. That was evident in Minnesota’s Week 18 loss to Detroit, which saw the former USC Trojans star complete just 43.9% of his passes.
The Rams will attempt to follow the same blueprint when they face the Vikings for the second time this season.
Matthew Stafford against the blitz
The Vikings blitz opposing quarterbacks at the highest percentage in the league and the Rams offensive line must be ready for that on Monday night.
Fortunately for the team, Stafford has been one of the best quarterbacks against the blitz this season. He ranked ninth with a 103.2 passer rating with eight touchdowns against two interceptions when blitzed this year.
Stafford went 10-for-13 for 128 passing yards and no interceptions against the Vikings’ blitz in Week 8, with one of those incompletions being a drop.
