The Rams received two key starters, big receivers Cooper Kupp (ankle) and Puka Nacua (knee), back to trauma and scored a season-high 30 points against a Vikings team that entered the game ranked Refuse . 1 in defensive DVOA.
Los Angeles only got a glimpse of its two catchers in the outfield together in its season opener before Nacua injured his knee in the loss. Kupp sprained his ankle the following year and the offense struggled to find consistency without the pair in the outfield.
The return of Kupp and Nacua opened up the outfield for the Rams and quarterback Matthew Stafford, who completed passes to nine other players in the victory. Nacua led the way with nine goals, the year Kupp scored 8 and running back Kyren Williams scored seven.
The victory pushed the Rams’ record to 3-4, with two of those three wins coming four days apart. And despite the Rams’ 1-4 start, Los Angeles enters the weekend tied with the San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals at 3-4. The Rams are once again just one tournament behind the division-leading Seattle Seahawks.
Los Angeles performs in Seattle on Time 9.
Sudden maximum efficiency: The Rams salvaged Nacua’s recovery, reviving him from the injury pile even though he was unable to watch due to the declining year.
But Stafford visited Nacua early and often Thursday night, and the second-year receiver led the Rams with seven catches for 106 yards on nine targets.
Nacua ran 35 of 65 offensive plays for Los Angeles.
Quarterback Breakdown: Stafford entered the game with just three touchdown passes this season.
He more than doubled that number Thursday night, throwing two in the first phase and two in the second phase to big receiver Demarcus Robinson.
Stafford had one of his best games of the season, completing 24 of 33 passes for 270 yards and one interception.
Biggest gap in the tournament plan: Preventing Justin Jefferson.
Jefferson receiver and Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula, known as “the best in the world” during this tournament, had eight catches for 115 yards Thursday night.
The Rams’ crossover defense entered the game ranked 30th in DVOA, and the team struggled to shut down the Vikings’ best player.
Later tournament: at Seahawks (4:25 p.m. ET, Sunday, Nov. 3)
Who are the Minnesota Vikings? The team that dominated its first five games of the season with the largest point differential in the NFL? Or the man who has now lost two games in five days?
That’s what will likely excite Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell and his team when they return to Minnesota for next Thursday’s loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
It’s something to have lost a two-point tournament last Sunday to the Detroit Lions, who might be the best team in football. But the Rams were 2-4 Thursday night and have reportedly considered trading catcher Cooper Kupp, one of the cornerstones of the franchise, in a possible concession to the season.
The solution is usually somewhere in the center. ESPN’s Soccer Power Index projected the Vikings would win 6.8 games on the season, and there’s a good chance they’ll eclipse that mark. And there will be a buildup of debate over the mask penalty not called when the Rams sacked quarterback Sam Darnold for what turned out to be the game-sealing defense.
But after watching the Vikings defense deliver four touchdown passes to Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford and huge amounts of yards up the middle, and realizing what a difficult task they have to play in the NFC North, it’s clear we still don’t know how it works. this crew can be too.
Describe the sport in two sentences.: Jefferson escape.
Jefferson entered the game with 531 receiving yards in six games, fifth-most in the NFL, but had only one 100-yard performance before Thursday night.
In fact, he mentioned last year, “I’m definitely sick of having these 80-, 90-yard games. I definitely have to get over that 100-yard hurdle. It’s going to be one of those games we’re going to play in.” “We’re going to show the world what we’re really capable of and hopefully it will be Thursday night.”
Jefferson eclipsed the 100-yard mark with a 27-yard reception in the third quarter and finished with 115 yards in 8 catches.
Worrying development: Christian Darrisaw’s left shot was ruled out after suffering trauma to his left knee in the second quarter.
He used to swear an incorrect oath due to the severity of the trauma, however, he needed the support of a scientific group of workers to leave the garden and enter the warehouse.
The Vikings have a reliable veteran backup in David Quessenberry, and will have a few days left to prepare for their Time 9 tournament against the Colts. No matter how many mistakes he makes, Darrisaw is one of the NFL’s leading left tackles, someone who is earning every penny of the five-year, $140 million guarantee extension he signed last year, and it would be a big loss if he misses it. . prolonged presence.
Biggest gap in the tournament plan: The Vikings couldn’t get a chance to get to Stafford for much of the tournament.
He was mistaken for only 3 of 34 dropbacks. Or even later, he completed a snap against all three pressures, including a 7-yard landing pass to Kupp in the second quarter in which he eluded the defensive grab of Harrison Phillips and linebacker Jonathan Greenard.
Movement speed was key to the Vikings’ strong start to the season, and before Thursday they had commanded at least a 24.6% drive rate in each and every tournament.
Later tournament: vs. Colts (8:20 p.m. ET, Sunday, Nov. 3)
