The ability of professional athletes on the highest level to focus on the task at hand, and block out whatever else is going on in their world, can be remarkable.
The Los Angeles Rams could not have been focused on football over the past week, not with deadly wildfires affecting a huge part of the Los Angeles area. They could see smoke from their practice facility. There was concern about their own homes and loved ones. Preparing to face a very good Minnesota Vikings team wasn’t the priority. It didn’t help the Rams that the game had to be moved from their home of SoFi Stadium in Inglewood to a neutral site in Arizona either.
And yet, when Monday night’s game kicked off, the Rams played their best game of the entire season in a 27-9 victory against the Vikings in the NFC wild-card round.
The Vikings, who were 14-3 during the regular season, never had a chance. The Rams dominated from the start, burying the Vikings in a win. The Rams advance to the divisional round, and will face the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.
The Rams' win featured a total meltdown by Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold, whose good season unraveled in Week 18 and on Monday night, but the Rams' defense had plenty to do with his mistakes.
If the Rams would have come out flat and lost, nobody would have blamed them. Instead, the Rams had one of the more impressive playoff performances we’ve seen in a while, given the circumstances.
Rams take control right away
If the Rams were distracted by what was happening back in Southern California, you’d have never known it by the way they started Monday night’s game.
On the first play, Matthew Stafford hit Puka Nacua for a 27-yard gain. That started a 70-yard drive that ended with Stafford hitting Kyren Williams for a 5-yard touchdown. Then the Rams forced a quick three-and-out, with the Vikings’ first two plays losing 11 yards. Then came another strong Rams drive, though an unnecessary roughness penalty was a reason it stalled and Los Angeles had to settle for a field goal and a 10-0 lead.
The momentum never really stopped. There was a potentially huge mistake when the Vikings seemed to recover a fumble and return it for a touchdown, but it was overturned on a replay review when officials said Stafford was flipping the ball forward for an incomplete pass. The Rams kept rolling. Darnold was strip-sacked and the fumble was returned by defensive end Jared Verse for 57 yards and a touchdown. In the final minute of the first half, Stafford hit tight end Davis Allen for a touchdown. The Rams led 24-3 at halftime. The Rams had six sacks before halftime, the first time since 1988 that a team had six sacks in the first half of a playoff game.
Everything was going well for the team that was displaced by the wildfires. The team that went 14-3 during the regular season looked like it didn’t belong in the playoffs at all.
Rams dominate the Vikings
When the Rams sat starters in Week 18, it seemed odd. That led to a loss, and instead of a chance at the No. 3 seed in the NFC playoffs, the Rams moved down to No. 4. They were guaranteed to get the loser of the Vikings-Detroit Lions finale, a battle of two teams that were 14-2 at that point.
It revealed that Rams head coach Sean McVay wasn’t worried at all about facing either team, and perhaps the Vikings in particular.
The Rams beat the Vikings once in the regular season and matched up well against them. The Vikings had a great defensive season under coordinator Brian Flores, but Stafford was excellent in identifying the many blitzes Minnesota threw at him and getting the ball out fast. The defense built off what the Lions started in Week 18, making Darnold look like a confused and unsure quarterback. Even when Darnold finally threw a touchdown, to T.J. Hockenson in the third quarter, it was an inaccurate pass that Hockenson made a great play on to pin it to his hip. Darnold was off all night, due in large part to the pressure the Rams consistently generated.
The Rams will move on for a tough matchup against an Eagles team that is 13-1 since the end of September, counting Philly's win over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. But it’s safe to assume the Rams will be mentally prepared for any adversity they face in that game.
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Ryan Young
Sam Darnold's disastrous playoff debut
With the lights turned bright, Sam Darnold did not meet the moment Monday night. What do the Vikings do now?
Click the photo to read more about Sam Darnold's brutal night against the Rams. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
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Up next: Rams vs. Eagles
With their win, the Rams will advance to the divisional round to take on the Philadelphia Eagles. That game is set for 3 p.m. ET on Sunday from Lincoln Financial Field.
The Rams complete the blowout win, and they're headed to the next round. They'll take on the Philadelphia Eagles next weekend.
The Rams had nine total sacks on the night, which tied an NFL playoff record.
Rams stats
Matthew Stafford: 19-of-27 for 209 yards with two touchdowns
Kyren Williams: 76 yards on 16 carries
Tyler Higbee: 58 yards on five receptions
Vikings stats
Sam Darnold: 25-of-40 for 245 yards, one touchdown, one interception
Aaron Jones: 48 yards on 13 carries
T.J. Hockenson: 64 yards, one touchdown on five catches
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Rams take over on downs
Now, we're really done here. Sam Darnold took a shot on fourth and long, and the Vikings turn it over on downs with 3:35 left. The Rams will now try to run out the clock and end this thing.
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Sam Darnold finally had the Vikings moving (kind of), and then he was just drilled in the backfield for a hard sack. We're done here.
Ryan Young
A series of penalties killed the Rams on that drive, which forced them to punt it back to Minnesota. The Vikings don’t have a lot of time left, and will need to put points on the board quickly. Otherwise, this thing is over.
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Sam Darnold dropped ... again
The Vikings were cruising, and then it all fell apart. The Rams sacked Sam Darnold deep in the backfield again to set up a long fourth down, and they'll have to punt.
Hoecht throws up the "LA" after the Rams latest sack
The Rams fail to respond after the Vikings' score, but they whipped out a 54-yard punt to pin Minnesota inside its own 5.
The Vikings will take over now with about two minutes left in the quarter. If they're going to make a comeback, a score here is critical.
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Finally, the Vikings find the end zone
T.J. Hockenson broke open a 26-yard score, and the Vikings' streak of 21-straight drives without a touchdown is finally over. It's his first touchdown of the year, and the longest pass play of the night for Minnesota.
Their two-point attempt failed, though, so it's 27-9.
Darnold to Hockenson for the @Vikings first TD of the night!
The Rams’ drive stalled out, but Joshua Karty extended their lead with a 44-yard field goal. The Rams are up 27-3 now with 7:19 left in the third quarter.
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Cooper Kupp with a wild grab
Well that's one way to make your first catch of the night. Cooper Kupp keeps the Rams' drive alive with this deep grab.
Sam Darnold got one 15-yard pass to Jordan Addison, but otherwise their opening drive of the second half was much of the same. He just threw behind a wide-open Nailor on third down, and out comes the Vikings’ punt team.
Jason Owens
Halftime: Rams pummeling Sam Darnold en route to 24-3 lead
Sam Darnold's dream season has taken a dark turn over the course of two games. After a poor start in last week's season-finale loss to the Lions, Darnold's career playoff debut is a disaster through two quarters.
Darnold's taken six sacks and committed two turnovers as the Rams have jumped out to a 24-3 lead over Darnold's Vikings
First-half stats:
Sam Darnold: 13 of 16 for 113 yards, 0 touchdowns, 1 interception; 6 sacks taken, 1 fumble lost/returned for TD Matthew Stafford: 14 of 20 for 154 yards, 2 touchdowns, 0 turnovers, 0 sacks taken
Aaron Jones: 7 carries for 30 yards; 1 catch for 6 yards Kyren Williams: 5 carries for 37 yards; 3 catches for 16 yards and 1 touchdown
Justin Jefferson: 5 catches for 58 yards Tyler Higbee: 5 catches for 58 yards
Vikings total offense: 120 yards on 3.6 yards per play Rams total offense: 191 yards on 7.6 yards per play
Vikings turnovers: 2 Rams turnovers: 0
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The Vikings lost that game to Washington 17-10, for what it's worth...
From ESPN Research: The last team with six sacks in a first half of a playoff game was Washington in the January 1988 NFC Championship Game against Minnesota.
The Rams are completely dominating this one. Davis Allen just ran in a 13-yard touchdown catch — his first of the year — after their fourth down stop, and the Rams are up 24-3 now just before halftime.
This has been a brutal first half for Sam Darnold and the Vikings. He just took a sack on a 4th and 2 near midfield, and the Rams will take over with solid field position and a chance to score before half.
The @RamsNFL brought their sack lunch to work today.
The Vikings had one fumble overturned, but then they committed another just a few plays later. This one was, well, much worse.
Sam Darnold was hit in the backfield and lost the ball, which resulted in a long 57-yard touchdown run from Jared Verse. The Rams are suddenly up 17-3.
The Rams' drive after their interception didn't result in much, and the Vikings just barely missed blocking their punt. They'll take over now at their own 10 yard line.
The Rams made up for their special teams mistake almost immediately. Sam Darnold just threw a bad interception to Cobie Durant, and the Rams will take over near midfield.
Well that helps the Vikings. After a Rams sack set up a long third down attempt, which failed, the Vikings catch a break after drawing a running into the kicker penalty.
They'll get a fresh set of downs now early in the second quarter.
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The Rams are having no issue getting to Sam Darnold so far tonight.
The Vikings just thought they had a strip sack of Matthew Stafford and a touchdown. But officials ruled it an incomplete pass after Stafford released the ball at the last second. He also avoided intentional grounding on the play. A big break for the Rams.
Vikings settle for field goal after another sack of Sam Darnold
Sam Darnold took his second sack in two possessions to push the Vikings into second-and-17 in Rams territory. The Vikings salvaged a 34-yard field goal by Will Reichard to cut their deficit to 10-3 early in the second quarter.
Jason Owens
Rams add a field goal for 10-0 lead
The Rams' second drive was short-circuited by a 15-yard late-hit penalty near the red zone that set them up with second-and-16. They came up short of the end zone, but scored on a 34-yard field goal by Joshua Karty to extend their lead to 10-0.
Jason Owens
Matthew Stafford just thew his first incompletion after a 10-for-10 start
Jason Owens
Rough start for Sam Darnold
Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold had his worst game with Minnesota in the biggest game of his career last week against the Lions. The first playoff drive of his career features a second-down sack and a 3-and-out punt.
The Rams get the ball back with a 7-0 lead after one possession for each team.
Byron Young e Kobie Turner JANTANDO o Sam Darnold!
Rams score TD after Vikings bite on fourth-down hard count
The Rams are on the board first with a touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford to Kyren Williams for a 7-0 lead.
The touchdown was set up by a Vikings penalty on fourth down on the previous play. Vikings defensive lineman Jonathan Bullard jumped into the neutral zone on a fourth-and-1 hard count, giving the Rams a first down.
The Rams had to burn a timeout in the red zone to get a play call correct. The home-field advantage they would have enjoyed in Los Angeles is no more. It's roughly a 50-50 crowd with a loud Vikings contingent in the stands.
A hot start for the Rams, who get a 27-yard pass from Matthew Stafford to Puka Nacua on the opening play from scrimmage.
Jason Owens
Rams will have the ball first
The Vikings won the coin toss and deferred. They'll kick off first.
Jason Owens
Kickoff's almost underway following a pregame tribute to Los Angeles from former Rams lineman Andrew Whitworth.
"We will rebuild LA. Hand in hand, together. For as long as it takes and whatever it takes. We will build it together. Los Angeles, I love you. We love you and we are with you.” pic.twitter.com/5EfllG4ESt
While technically a Rams home game, the move to Arizona has opened opportunities for Vikings fans to scoop up tickets and make the trek to Glendale. Early returns show a strong Vikings contingent in the stands.
Looks like Rams fans behind their bench and Vikings fans behind theirs. 50-50 at this point? pic.twitter.com/GFXE0x5JTn
While the seats remain Cardinal red, the Cardinals did their best to make the NFC West-rival Rams feel at home at State Farm Stadium for what was supposed to be a Rams home game.
The turf and the signage around the field Monday night would be at home in Inglewood.
Rams fans got the party started early on a bus ride from Los Angeles to Arizona. Originally scheduled as a home game in Los Angeles, Monday's wild-card game against the Vikings was moved to Arizona because of the wildfires devastating Los Angeles. Plenty of Rams fans were ready to make the trip.
Former Commanders first-round cornerback Emmanuel Forbes Jr. played two games including a Week 18 start after joining the Rams late in the season. But he won't play Monday night. He's among the Rams' inactives for Monday's wild-card game.
QB Stetson Bennett WR Tyler Johnson CB Emmanuel Forbes Jr. OLB Brennan Jackson OL Justin Dedich OL Joe Noteboom
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Daniel Jones not active for Vikings
Daniel Jones will not be available for his Vikings debut against the Rams in the event that Minnesota needs to go to a backup quarterback. Jones is inactive for Monday's wild-card game after being elevated to the 53-man roster last week.
Jason Fitz & Frank Schwab join forces on a rare Monday night edition of Inside Coverage to recap the final game of Wild Card Weekend, as the Los Angeles Rams put an end to the Minnesota Vikings' spectacular 2024 season. The duo discuss the ascension of the Rams defense, Sam Darnold's future and more before bringing on Senior NFL Reporter Jori Epstein to get her inside perspective on the news that Mike McCarthy will not be returning to the Dallas Cowboys.
Minnesota should scare every NFC Super Bowl contender. The Vikings have their “freaking” quarterback, and he’s showing no signs of stopping this season’s improbable run of answers anytime soon.
