Recent Forum Topics › Forums › The Rams Huddle › setting up the Wild Card Game
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January 5, 2025 at 9:24 pm #154464ZooeyModerator
I don’t love the Monday slot.
January 5, 2025 at 10:44 pm #154471nittany ramModeratorWhile watching the Vikings/Lions game, it has become evident that the demise of the Lions’ defense has been wildly exaggerated.
January 5, 2025 at 10:57 pm #154472ZooeyModeratorWhile watching the Vikings/Lions game, it has become evident that the demise of the Lions’ defense has been wildly exaggerated.
I don’t know. Looks to me like Darnold has the Yips. Neither team looks dominating to me. I would rather see the Rams play either one of these teams than the Eagles.
January 5, 2025 at 11:06 pm #154473ZooeyModeratorWell, please welcome the Minne#@$ Vik@**&@ to Los Angeles!
January 5, 2025 at 11:43 pm #154474znModeratorSarah Barshop@sarahbarshop
The Vikings are 14-1 against teams that are not the Lions. Their first playoff game will be against the only other team they lost to this season.January 6, 2025 at 1:25 am #154476znModeratorFourth-seeded Rams show their hand, intended ethos before leap into postseason
Jourdan Rodrigue
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6040066/2025/01/05/rams-playoffs-fourth-seed-matchup-sean-mcvay/
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — By the time you read this column, filed in the first half of the “Sunday Night Football” game between the Detroit Lions and the Minnesota Vikings, you will know who the No. 4 seeded Los Angeles Rams will host in the wild-card round next week at 5 p.m. PT on Monday night.
Here’s where we’ll put that information, when it’s available: (Minnesota Vikings).
For Rams head coach Sean McVay, it didn’t seem to matter.
He made as much evident through his decisions leading up to the Rams’ Week 18 game, a 30-25 loss to Seattle which by kickoff held meaning only toward playoff seed (and in turn, opponent). At the very least, McVay made his real priority clear: to rest older players (Cooper Kupp and Matthew Stafford), or banged-up players (Kupp, Stafford, left and right tackles Alaric Jackson and Rob Havenstein), or players such as Kevin Dotson, Kyren Williams and Puka Nacua who will take on a significant workload into the postseason. None of them played Sunday, and a bevy of defensive players rotated frequently or didn’t get active snaps in order to keep starters on a pitch count.
If that wasn’t enough of a clue, McVay doubled down postgame. A veteran columnist noted, “from your words and your actions — you really don’t care who you play in the first round, do you?”
“No. I don’t,” McVay said. “You know what is at stake, and you have tremendous respect, but I’m excited about seeing who that is. Then we’re gonna dive into it, and we’re gonna go for it with no fear.”
If McVay believes what he says, the players do too.
“I think the vibe and the feel around this team is we all didn’t care who it was,” said tight end Tyler Higbee, who had a 6-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter. “It didn’t matter. We got in the dance — no matter if we were playing the No. 1 seed, the No. 2 seed, No. 3 seed, seventh seed. I don’t think it mattered. I think we’re ready to go. We’re in the dance and it doesn’t matter who we got. We’ll figure it out (and) we’re ready to go.”
The Commanders, though less formidable on paper than the NFC North heavyweights that duked it out Sunday night, feature a lightning strike of a rookie quarterback in Jayden Daniels, who is as dangerous a passer as he is a runner. The Rams’ young defense, while improved over the weeks and months of the season, has not been able to stop a mobile quarterback all season. That could be another week’s problem, though it’s hard to think too far into the future right as the postseason begins. Los Angeles is 1-1 against the Lions and the Vikings this year, after a 26-20 overtime loss in Detroit in Week 1 and a 30-20 “Thursday Night Football” win while hosting Minnesota in Week 8. The team the Rams draw will have 14 regular-season wins.
Both are more familiar opponents than Washington (who the Rams would have played if they won Sunday), but McVay declined to say that the data already logged for either the Lions or the Vikings mattered.
“We still played them so early,” McVay said. “… There’s just a little bit of familiarity. But they have the same thing with us. So much changes as the season goes. You still try to stay abreast of what is going on relative to what (they are) doing in the different phases (and) having your eyes on those possible matchups that could occur.
“Our guys have really gotten ahead for the different possibilities that could occur, and that preparation will start as soon as that game ends when we have clarity on which direction we’re going in terms of who is gonna come in here.”
No, nobody would say outright who they wanted to play, but both matchups are emotionally loaded.
Minnesota is led by former offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell, a Coach of the Year candidate, and former tight ends coach Wes Phillips is his offensive coordinator. Cam Akers, now a Vikings running back, used to be the lead back in Los Angeles before the emergence of Williams led to his casting off by the team. Don’t forget about former Rams tight end Johnny Mundt, now a role player in Minnesota, nor former sports science head Tyler Williams who was poached by O’Connell and whose absence was certainly felt by the Rams during the 2022 season. The Vikings are on a franchise-unprecedented joyride behind reawakened quarterback Sam Darnold and a tenacious top defense under coordinator Brian Flores.
Meanwhile, the Lions — led by another Rams castoff, quarterback Jared Goff, exchanged in a win-win trade for Stafford in 2021 (come on, you know this story) — have had the Rams’ number in the last two contests. Former L.A. executive Brad Holmes orchestrated that trade with former boss Les Snead. Last year’s wild-card loss at their hands, during which Higbee was lost for months after safety Kerby Joseph’s low hit tore his ACL and MCL, was brutal. So was the overtime loss, during which the Rams defense was slowly suffocated by coordinator Ben Johnson’s rushing attack in the extra period. Both losses, both in the last calendar year, were in Detroit — also led by a Coach of the Year candidate in Dan Campbell.
The Rams say they don’t care who comes to SoFi Stadium on Monday night.
But either way, the viewers may get a game so jam-packed with meaning, we won’t soon forget it.
“I believe in our team …” said McVay. “We respect all, but we fear none. These are excellent football teams. There’s a reason why they are sitting here and they are playing for the No. 1 seed tonight, and for a 15-2 record and a 14-3 record to whoever comes up short. It’s going to be a great challenge.
“But I do know this: We’ve been fortunate enough to get into this thing. You can’t worry about duckin’ people if you want to be able to try to advance. You really expect to try to be able to make some noise when you get in it. You’re going to have to play people eventually. So felt like (resting starters) was the smart move for our football team. And really, we had an opportunity to come away with the win. We know it’s going to be a great football team coming in here (and) we’re excited about the challenge. That’s what you love.”
January 6, 2025 at 12:07 pm #154481wvParticipantVikings favored on the road. Rams 1.5 point underdogs.
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vJanuary 6, 2025 at 1:50 pm #154485nittany ramModeratorApparently Dan Campbell issued some Bulletin board fodder. After the game against the Vikings he hugged head coach Kevin O’Connell and said that he’d “see him in two weeks”. Obviously this would only happen if the Vikings beat the Rams.
This blatant dismissal of the Rams and their chances against Minnesota shall not go unpunished.
January 6, 2025 at 1:57 pm #154486znModeratorApparently Dan Campbell issued some Bulletin board fodder. After the game against the Vikings he hugged head coach Kevin O’Connell and said that he’d “see him in two weeks”.
.
"I'll see you in two weeks."
Dan Campbell to Kevin O’Connell pic.twitter.com/Vr1ituDmKd
— VikingzFanPage (@vikingzfanpage) January 6, 2025
January 6, 2025 at 2:14 pm #154488Billy_TParticipantWas hoping it would be Washington, but this should be an excellent game, too. Glad it’s a home game, though.
January 6, 2025 at 2:15 pm #154489ZooeyModeratorThis blatant dismissal of the Rams and their chances against Minnesota shall not go unpunished.
This is the way.
January 6, 2025 at 8:31 pm #154494nittany ramModeratorNice discussion with Big Whit about the Rams, playoffs, etc. Some good insight here.
January 6, 2025 at 11:00 pm #154497znModeratorNice discussion with Big Whit about the Rams, playoffs, etc. Some good insight here.
NR–that’s a nice big and long, good vid. I suggest it deserves a thread in its own right. Would you do that? It can stay here too, no harm in that.
January 7, 2025 at 7:01 am #154510nittany ramModeratorNice discussion with Big Whit about the Rams, playoffs, etc. Some good insight here.
NR–that’s a nice big and long, good vid. I suggest it deserves a thread in its own right. Would you do that? It can stay here too, no harm in that.
No problem.
BTW, I appreciate it but you don’t have to ask. Going forward feel free to move it.
January 7, 2025 at 7:05 am #154511znModeratorBTW, I appreciate it but you don’t have to ask. Going forward feel free to move it.
This site subtracted the mod’s ability to move posts. My only recourse is asking, I’m afraid.
January 7, 2025 at 10:34 am #154513ZooeyModeratorFrom Jeff Howe and Austin Mock at The Athletic: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6034081/2025/01/05/nfl-playoff-chances-matchups-super-bowl/
No. 4 Los Angeles Rams (10-7) vs. No. 5 Minnesota Vikings (14-3)
Sean McVay welcomes his former offensive coordinator, Kevin O’Connell, back to Los Angeles in an intriguing Monday night matchup.The Rams had the biggest recovery of any team in the field, starting 1-4 before winning nine of 11 to lock up the NFC West. They sat their stars Sunday in a loss to the Seahawks, which may prove costly because they’re now opening the postseason against an NFC superpower — and one that is ticked off about getting sent on the road after conceding the NFC North on the final day of the season.
The question: What version of the Rams will be on display? While they’ve improved tremendously on defense, quarterback Matthew Stafford has been up and down. He had some early-season issues with red-zone turnovers, then turned into the best version of himself for a couple months before he faded over his final three starts with the rest of the offense.
But the defense has been much better since allowing 27.8 points through five games. It has allowed 19.7 points from there on, not including an unbalanced finale against the Seahawks, which paved a way for those wins when the offense was slumping.
It’ll take everything against the Vikings, who are coming off their worst performance of the season in a crushing loss to the Lions. So how will they react? Well, the Vikings suffered their first loss of the season to the Lions, then dropped a 30-20 meeting with the Rams a week later. Minnesota has work to do to prevent a sequel that’d have far more significant consequences.
While there’s concern over Stafford’s recent stretch, the former Super Bowl champion has a history of being at his best in the postseason. Vikings QB Sam Darnold, on the other hand, has never played in the playoffs and was as erratic as he’s been all season Sunday in Detroit.
Darnold was scattershot with his accuracy, couldn’t handle the rush and was challenged by the environment. It won’t be as hostile in Los Angeles, but it’ll be the biggest stage of Darnold’s career with a potential nine-figure payday on the horizon.
Darnold doesn’t need to be great to beat the Rams, but he does need to hit the throws he’s expected to make. Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula will try to borrow some of the Lions’ looks to further confuse Darnold.
Minnesota’s Brian Flores, perhaps the best defensive coordinator in the league this season, will attempt to do the same to his counterparts. This could be a good defensive battle with the cleanest offense scraping by with a win.
• Rams’ chances to win Super Bowl: 2.8%
• Vikings’ chances to win Super Bowl: 5.2%January 7, 2025 at 10:37 am #154514znModeratorSean McVay shares his initial thoughts on the Vikings and what makes them an 'excellent team' https://t.co/FUplaaJV1M pic.twitter.com/gTKoA4reGB
— Rams Wire (@TheRamsWire) January 7, 2025
January 7, 2025 at 11:27 am #154515znModeratorRams begin preparing for wild-card matchup with familiar Vikings squad
Jourdan Rodrigue
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6042384/2025/01/06/rams-wild-card-matchup-vikings-comparison/
LOS ANGELES — Expect a week leading up to Monday night’s wild-card matchup of news conferences downplaying the familiarity between the Los Angeles Rams (10-7) and the Minnesota Vikings (14-3).
Of course the teams themselves will deploy adjusted game plans and strategies after the Rams’ Week 8, 30-20 win on “Thursday Night Football.” Of course, as Rams head coach Sean McVay reiterated Monday morning, while the two offenses share one play caller — Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell was the offensive coordinator for the Rams from 2020-21 including their Super Bowl victory — and some language, the systems have deviated over time to evolve with their personnel.
“He’s done an excellent job of morphing it to his players,” McVay said. “I think that sometimes (similarities between former colleagues’ systems) can get a little bit over-emphasized. There’s a foundational philosophy that I think people carry offensively, but he’s put his own spin on it that works for his team and there’s been a great evolution. You really look at it, I’ve been really impressed with what they’ve done and I enjoy watching their tape.”
After Sunday night’s loss to Seattle that concluded the regular season, McVay minimized the potential helpfulness to the Rams of having already played the Vikings once this season.
“We still played them so early. … There’s just a little bit of familiarity, but they have the same thing with us. So much changes as the season goes,” he said. “You still try to stay abreast of what’s going on relative to what are they doing in the different phases, having your eyes on those possible matchups that could occur.”
But familiarity quite obviously exists beyond the McVay/O’Connell connection. McVay was obsessive about Minnesota defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ defense when Flores coached in New England, Miami and now in Minnesota. Flores’ scheme (borrowing and successfully applying concepts from Vic Fangio’s own) beat McVay in Super Bowl LIII and was among the catalysts in an eventual trade for veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford in 2021. Wes Phillips is now Minnesota’s offensive coordinator after his tenure as the Rams’ tight ends coach from 2019-21, and former offensive assistant Chris O’Hara holds a similar role there too. Assistant inside linebackers coach Thad Bogardus’ contract was not renewed by McVay after the 2022 season, and O’Connell poached former Rams sports science head Tyler Williams from Los Angeles when he accepted the head coaching job early in 2022. Former Rams players Johnny Mundt and Cam Akers are now in Minnesota.
“I think that stuff gets a little bit over-emphasized,” McVay said Monday morning of game planning against his former OC. “Kevin’s a great coach and there’s a familiarity with the rhythm and the routines in terms of how we all operate. There is an evolution and there are adaptions that occur from season to season and week to week. It’s a fun narrative, but it’s really about the Rams versus the Vikings.”
A few notes and bits of analysis ahead of the matchup:
Who is back (Rams): Rob Havenstein.
McVay said Monday morning that the veteran right tackle, who has missed two games with a shoulder injury, will be back for Monday night’s game.
Who is back (Vikings): Blake Cashman, Fabian Moreau.
O’Connell told Minnesota reporters that the veteran cornerback Moreau, who held a rotational and special teams role, would return from a hip injury this week.
The Vikings will also have star linebacker Cashman against the Rams this time (he didn’t play in the regular-season matchup with turf toe) and his presence could affect how they target the middle of the field.
Who is out (Rams): No. 2 running back Blake Corum fractured his right forearm against the Seahawks on Sunday and will miss the postseason.
Corum showed positive flashes in limited reps behind starter Kyren Williams. Ronnie Rivers will be the No. 2 back and if Sunday’s game plan gave any indication, the Rams will probably get emerging rookie receiver Jordan Whittington involved in the run game on sweeps and reverses (plus as a blocker).
To watch (Rams): Playoff teams receive two additional injured reserve return designations if they make the postseason.
Two previous starters, safety John Johnson III and inside linebacker Troy Reeder, are currently on IR and by the end of the regular season the Rams were limited in their allotment of return designations. McVay said the team has not yet made a decision on either player. Returning either would mean cutting one or two players and shifting the game-day activation count where the Rams have seen successful snaps by a number of former reserves, including safeties Jaylen McCollough and Kamren Kinchens, and inside linebackers Omar Speights and Jake Hummel.
To watch (Vikings): Quarterback Sam Darnold (technically another connection between the teams although a collegiate one; he played at USC) hobbled around in the later minutes of Sunday night’s game after a player landed on his foot.
While he’s not known for pure mobility, he can run and work out of structure. O’Connell said that the team came out “clean.”
Darnold had by far the worst game of his otherwise remarkable season against the Lions, who blitzed him at over a 50 percent rate (and pressured Darnold on nearly 60 percent of his dropbacks, per Next Gen Stats) plus played a ton of man coverage despite being limited in their own personnel. He was 18 of 41 for 166 yards and had the second-worst red zone passer rating of the year by any quarterback with 10-plus attempts there, according to Next Gen Stats.
Enemy bonding: Red zone.
The Rams have an offensive success rate in the red zone of just 41.5 percent. The Vikings don’t fare much better at 41.9 percent. Both offenses are well under the league average success rate of 47.6 percent and both rank in the bottom quartile in the NFL in this metric.
The Rams and the Vikings rank No. 5 and No. 6, respectively, in red zone defensive success rate.
Vikings offense: 25.41 points per game (No. 9), No. 15 in EPA/play.
Vikings defense: 19.5 points per game (No. 5), No. 3 in EPA/play, turnover margin is 12.
Rams offense: 21.59 points per game (No. 20), No. 13 in EPA/play.
Rams defense: 22.7 points per game (No. 17), No. 27 in EPA/play, turnover margin is 6.
Matchup point: The Rams’ slow starts against the Vikings’ aggressive, shapeshifting defense.
Not counting Week 18, during which most starters sat out, the Rams have failed to score a touchdown in 13 first quarters this season and have been shut out completely in 11 first quarters. They are the second-worst first quarter offense in the NFL this season, edging the Chicago Bears with 1.8 points per first quarter to Chicago’s 1.6. The Vikings average 6.41 points per first quarter (tied for No. 2) and allow just 2.8 (tied for No. 3).
But in Week 8, the Rams got their offense moving relatively quickly. They scored seven first-quarter points and added another seven before halftime (and held the Vikings scoreless in the second quarter).
“The last time we played these guys, they are an unbelievable defense (that deserves a) ton of respect,” McVay said. “We started fast and we executed well. It really comes down to putting the guys in the right spots and all 11 (players) doing what they’re supposed to do.”
The Rams’ offensive line also allowed no sacks against the Vikings and just eight total pressures according to TruMedia, inclusive to skill players picking up pressure, although players noted postgame that Flores’ overall pressure designs for that game were not what they expected to see (players frequently dropped into coverage despite showing a blitz look pre-snap).
January 7, 2025 at 10:57 pm #154525InvaderRamModeratori didn’t know where to post this and not sure how accurate it is, but the rams supposedly faced the strongest combination of offensive and defensive units of any team in the playoffs.
Is this chart accurate? Saw it on X, in a non-Rams post.
byu/CaptainOblivionKnows inLosAngelesRamsJanuary 7, 2025 at 11:02 pm #154526InvaderRamModeratorhere’s the tweet.
always fun to look at: strength of schedule with playoff teams highlighted pic.twitter.com/EZrnAdAI2K
— Timo Riske (@PFF_Moo) January 6, 2025
- This reply was modified 10 hours, 36 minutes ago by InvaderRam.
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