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Here is my review of the final NFC Wildcard game played on Monday:
Monday Night:
LA Rams 27, Minnesota Vikings 9
The final game of this Wildcard weekend was played last night. It was originally supposed to take place in Los Angeles (well, Glendale, technically) where the Rams play, but was moved to Phoenix, Arizona, due to the wildfires still raging in and around Los Angeles. That was one of the uncertainties that I had about this one, feeling that it took away a powerful home field advantage that the Rams otherwise would have had.
Another major question, for me, was how the Vikings would come out and play, following a devastating loss to the Lions the week before. That game had been for everything: the division title and the number one overall seed in the NFC, as well as a playoff bye that would give the winner off for Wildcard weekend.
As it turns out, the Vikings looked pretty much flat, as they did in the second half against the Lions in the regular season finale. Minnesota had started the season off 14-2 before that regular season finale loss in Detroit. The level of success and winning records in the NFC North this season actually reminded me of the AFC Central (as it was known at the time) in 1999, when the 14-2 Jacksonville Jaguars won the division over the 13-3 Tennessee Titans. That forced the Titans to become the first Wildcard team in history with a record of 13-3 or better. Yet, they got the last laugh in the end, as the Jaguars, despite their better record, lost all three meetings to the Titans that season, including the AFC Championship Game meeting. Indeed, the Jaguars went a perfect 14-0 in the regular season (and 15-0 including the 62-7 playoff win over Miami) that year, but were 0-3 against the Tennessee Titans.
Well somewhat similarly, the Vikings were a perfect 14-0 against all NFL teams except for the Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams. But yesterday's convincing loss meant that they finished 0-4 against those two teams. Even more bizarrely, they lost in back-to-back games against the two teams twice this season. They raced out to an impressive 5-0 start before suffering their first loss to the Lions, and then losing at the Rams the next weekend, albeit under controversial circumstances. Then they lost to the Lions in the regular season finale last weekend, before losing to the Rams again this weekend.
This time, the Rams had no controversy in getting past Minnesota. They dominated this one from beginning to end.
Los Angeles enjoyed a particularly dominant first half, jumping all over the Vikings, who suffered a disastrous half in which everything went wrong. The Rams took a commanding 24-3 lead into the locker rooms by halftime.
Minnesota tried to recover in the second half, but it was just too late. The Rams defense stepped up in a big way and clamped down on the Sam Darnell and the Minnesota offense, which never really did get going last night. The Vikings were particularly vulnerable to sacks, as the Los Angeles defense earned nine sacks of Darnell.
Matt Stafford completed 19 of 27 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns. Kyren Williams added 76 yards on 16 carries on the ground. And while Minnesota technically had a bit of an advantage in time of possession, the Rams made far more of their opportunities than did the Vikings in this one.
So the Rams now advance to the NFC Divisional Round, where they will travel across the country to face the Eagles in Philadelphia. Should be a good one.
As for the Vikings, what had once seemed like one of the most successful regular seasons in franchise history ends with two crushing, disappointing losses that mar the entire season for them. This was a hard way for them to go out, and leaves more questions for them for an offseason that came entirely too soon for their tastes.
My pick: Inaccurate
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