Rams D Dominates

The Los Angeles Rams were playing hundreds of miles from home but made a statement with a 27-9 rout of the Minnesota Vikings in the final game of the NFL wild card round of the playoffs.

Due to the ongoing wildfires in Los Angeles, Monday night’s game was held in State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, home of the Arizona Cardinals.

Minnesota entered the night as the first 14-win wild card team in NFL history but Los Angeles jumped out to an early lead powered by its defense.

The Rams went 70 yards in just seven plays to score a touchdown on the opening drive on a Matthew Stafford pass to running back Kyren Williams. From there, Los Angeles’ defense took over.

The Rams sacked Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold six times in the first half, including a strip sack that resulted in a 57-yard touchdown by rookie linebacker Jared Verse. That score made it 17-3 late in the first half before the Rams found the end zone again on a Stafford pass to Davis Allen.

Los Angeles held a 24-3 lead at halftime despite the Vikings leading time of possession 17:52 to 12:08.

Minnesota finally got in the end zone late in the third quarter as Darnold found tight end T.J. Hockenson for a 26-yard touchdown. That was Hockenson’s first score of the season and cut the deficit to 27-9 after a failed two-point conversion attempt.

But the Vikings couldn’t muster anything over the remaining 20 minutes of game time as the Rams’ defense kept control to earn the team’s their first playoff win since Super Bowl 56.

Darnold finished the night 25-of-40 passing for 245 yards, one touchdown and one interception. The Vikings finished the night with 269 total yards on offense, their third-lowest mark of the season.

Los Angeles’ offense didn’t fare much better but built a big enough lead to cruise in the second half. Stafford completed 19 of 27 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns, one each to Williams and tight end Davis Allen.

With the win, the Rams move on to the divisional round and will head on the road next weekend to face the NFC’s No. 2 seed Philadelphia Eagles.