Sean McVay was confident his team would be able to overcome the difficult circumstances of the last week due to the wildfires in Los Angeles and he sure was right. The Los Angeles Rams were in complete control of Monday night’s game from start to finish, cruising to a 27-9 win over the Minnesota Vikings in the wild-card round.
They jumped out to a 10-0 lead, which quickly ballooned to a 24-3 margin before halftime thanks to some dominant play from the defense. They never looked back, either, making it look easy against a 14-win team on a neutral field.
Up next for the Rams are the Philadelphia Eagles, who await them in the divisional round. That’ll be a true road game on Sunday afternoon as the Rams look to get back to the NFC title game.
Final score: Rams 27, Vikings 9
Game notes
- The Rams couldn’t have asked for a better start. They took the opening kickoff, drove 70 yards in seven plays and scored an opening touchdown on a pass from Matthew Stafford to Kyren Williams. One of the most important plays was a hard count by Stafford to get the Vikings to jump offsides on fourth-and-1. One play later, Williams was in the touchdown.
- On the Vikings’ first drive, Byron Young recorded a tackle for a loss on the first play and a sack on the second, quickly making it third-and-21. That led to a punt and a perfect defensive series to start the game.
- The Rams were humming on offense on their second drive, too. That was until Beaux Limmer was called for unnecessary roughness after a 9-yard gain, costing the Rams 15 yards and making it second-and-16 instead of second-and-1. That caused the drive to stall out and force the Rams to settle for a 34-yard field goal.
- The Rams defense was absolutely dominant in the first half, not only holding the Vikings in check, but taking the ball away. Cobie Durant picked off Sam Darnold on the Vikings’ third drive, which the Rams unfortunately couldn’t capitalize on. But on the Vikings’ fourth possession, Jared Verse recovered a fumble forced by Ahkello Witherspoon and returned it 57 yards for a touchdown to put the Rams up 17-3.
- The Vikings’ fifth drive resulted in a turnover on downs after Kobie Turner sacked Darnold on fourth down, setting the Rams up with great field position from the 39-yard line with 1:27 left in the first half. Five plays later, Davis Allen was in the end zone for a touchdown, giving the Rams a 24-3 lead just before halftime.
- Cooper Kupp didn’t catch his first pass until 10 minutes left in the third quarter, and it was a big one. It went for 29 yards on third-and-9, putting the Rams at the Vikings’ 24-yard line. That led to a field goal, putting the Rams up 27-3.
- The Vikings finally scored their first touchdown with 5:05 left in the third quarter, a 26-yard reception by T.J. Hockenson with Christian Rozeboom in coverage. That cut the Rams’ lead to 27-9, so Los Angeles still had a comfortable cushion on the scoreboard.
- The Rams didn’t need to do much offensively in the second half after building a huge lead at halftime, scoring just three points in the third and fourth quarters.
- Fortunately for the Rams, penalties didn’t come back to bite them – but they were certainly a problem. Los Angeles committed 10 penalties for 95 yards, including a stretch in the fourth quarter where there were two holding penalties and a false start on three straight plays that cost them 47 yards of field position.
- The offense played fairly well in this one but it was the defense that really carried the torch. Chris Shula’s group had nine total sacks against the Vikings, forced two turnovers and stopped Minnesota three times on fourth down.
It was over when…
… Davis Allen strolled into the end zone for a touchdown with 15 seconds left in the first half. That touchdown drive came after Turner sacked Darnold on fourth down, setting up the offense with great field position before halftime.
That gave them a 24-3 lead before the break and they never came close to blowing it.
Stafford to Davis Allen! Rams lead 24-3!
: #MINvsLAR on ESPN/ABC
: Stream on @NFLPlus and ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/o4U1o08Jxu— NFL (@NFL) January 14, 2025
3 stars of the game
It’s impossible to order the three best players in this one and there were more than just three stars, but the following defenders all stood out and had a huge impact.
Star: Quentin Lake – 9 tackles, 1 TFL
Star: Kobie Turner – 4 tackles, 2 QB hits, 2 TFL
Star: Byron Young – 4 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 2 TFL
Play of the game
The turning point of the night came on Witherspoon’s strip-sack of Darnold and Verse’s fumble return. Verse took it 57 yards for the touchdown to put the Rams up 17-3, taking all the momentum away from the Vikings after they had gotten to Los Angeles’ 38-yard line.
JARED VERSE SCOOP AND SCORE!
: #MINvsLAR on ESPN/ABC
: Stream on @NFLPlus and ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/bXLHmOUaQW— NFL (@NFL) January 14, 2025
What’s next?
The Rams will head home to Los Angeles after this big win but they’ll hit the road for the second straight week – this time actually as the away team. They’ll pay the Eagles a visit next Sunday in the divisional round, a game that kicks off at 3 p.m. ET on NBC. The winner will advance to the NFC title game where a spot in the Super Bowl will be up for grabs.