Rams Must End Troubling Trend in Order to Beat Vikings

The Los Angeles Rams must put an end to this troubling trend in order to beat the Minnesota Vikings in the Wild Card Round of the NFL playoffs.

Dec 8, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua (17) celebrates with quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) and running back Kyren Williams (23) after scoring on a 4-yard touchdown run in the second quarter against the Buffalo Bills at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Rams are one of the hottest teams in the NFL heading into the playoffs, as they went 9-3 over their last 12 games to secure a Wild Card berth.

Awaiting the Rams is a Monday night date with the Minnesota Vikings, and while Los Angeles will be the host, it's certainly not an easy matchup.

The Vikings went 14-3 this season and have boasted one of the league's most explosive offenses throughout the year, an area in which the Rams have struggled.

Los Angeles ranked 15th in yardage and 20th in scoring this season, proving how pedestrian the offense really was this season in spite of being rather loaded with weapons.

What's more, the Rams have only scored three first-quarter touchdowns all year long. Ironically enough, one of those came during Los Angeles' win over Minnesota back on Oct. 24, but this is a troubling trend that must end in the playoffs.

The Rams averaged just 1.8 first-quarter points per game in 2024, which ranked 31st in the league. Meanwhile, the Vikings registered 6.4 first-quarter points per game, which was good enough for second.

Falling behind early against Minnesota's stingy defense—which allowed only 19.5 points per game during the regular season—is a recipe for disaster.

The last time Los Angeles scored a first-period touchdown was against the Buffalo Bills on Dec. 8. Following that win, the Rams went three straight games without even scoring in the opening frame at all, which is very problematic.

We've been over the Matthew Stafford thing. He definitely appears to be declining. However, this is an issue that runs much deeper than just Stafford.

Los Angeles has been unable to put sustained drives together early on in games, and while that may have been okay during the 17-game regular season, it is not going to cut it in the playoffs, especially when one of the Rams' main objectives against the Vikings will be getting the crowd involved.

The last thing Los Angeles wants is for Minnesota to silence the 12th man right off the bat and essentially remove home-field advantage for the Rams.

if Los Angeles wants to beat the Vikings next Monday, it must get off to a good start, which would be the exact opposite of what the Rams have done all season.

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