Recalling what cost the Vikings against the Rams in late October

The Vikings are favored by 1.5 points going on the road against the Rams.

Oct 24, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp (10) during the second half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Monday night's wild-card battle between the Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Rams promises to be a very good matchup, and even though the Rams beat the Vikings 30-20 back on Oct. 24, Minnesota enters the playoff game as 1.5-point road favorites.

Obviously, it's going to be critical that Minnesota doesn't repeat the mistakes that cost them in Los Angeles three days before Halloween. The two things that most fans will remember about that game are left tackle Christian Darrisaw suffering a season-ending knee injury just before the half and the refs missing one of the most obvious facemask violations against Sam Darnold that you'll ever see.

Penalties

At the beginning of the second quarter, the Rams were stopped on third-and-7 at their own 49-yard line but Byron Murphy Jr. was called for holding. The Rams then moved the ball to the Minnesota 6-yard line after that and the Vikings got another third-down stop but Stephon Gilmore was called for pass interference. The Rams scored two plays later.

They called this a hold on Byron Murphy Jr? pic.twitter.com/6BBfa3XuQi

— Will Ragatz (@WillRagatz) October 25, 2024

In the fourth quarter the Rams had second-and-11 from the Minnesota 27-yard line and threw an incomplete pass but Murphy Jr. was hit with an interference penalty that set up a first down at the Vikings 16-yard line. Three plays later the Rams scored.

The Vikings and Rams both scored touchdowns on consecutive drives for a fiery 14-14 start, and on Minnesota's third offensive possession they went three and out after starting with a false start followed by an illegal formation penalty.

Rams picked on Stephon Gilmore

The Rams targeted Gilmore eight times, completed six passes for 98 yards (all six went for a first down or touchdown) including 31 yards after catch and a touchdown. The only game Gilmore has received a lower coverage grade from Pro Football Focus than his 45.4 score against the Rams was in Week 17 against the Packers when he was given a 41.9 coverage grade.

It's interesting that Jared Goff and the Lions also shredded Gilmore and the Vikings just four days before Stafford and the Rams gouged the pass defense. Maybe it had less to do with Gilmore and more to do with Blake Cashman not playing in either game because of a toe injury.

Goff averaged 11.2 yards per attempt against Minnesota in Week 6 and only 7.0 YPA in Week 18 with Cashman on the field. Stafford has averaged fewer than 6 YPA in three consecutive games, which is a sign of a struggling Rams offense that averaged 14.3 points per game in Stafford's last three starts.

Terrible run blocking

Aaron Jones averaged 3.1 yards per carry and it’s not hard to see why when you look at the O-line run blocking grades. Brian O’Neill was above average but nobody else scored above 70 for the Vikings. While Garrett Bradbury and Ed Ingram were better in pass protection, they only graded 52.7 and 50.3, respectively, as run blockers.

It's also noteworthy that MInneota's running back depth at the time was woeful. Ty Chandler was basically benched and Cam Akers had just been acquired from the Texans and was not active for the game, leaving Jones to carry the load by himself on barely four days rest.

Dalton Risner has since replaced Ingram at right guard, so Round 2 should go better.