Vikings' defense torched again as they fall to Rams in primetime

The Vikings have lost twice in five days to fall to 5-2 on the season.

Oct 24, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams running back Kyren Williams (23) celebrates his touchdown scored against the Minnesota Vikings with wide receiver Cooper Kupp (10) and wide receiver Puka Nacua (17) during the first half at SoFi Stadium. / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Oh, how a season can change in five days.

Less than a week ago, the Vikings were riding high at 5-0 heading into a massive game against the Lions. Now, after losing to the Rams on Thursday night for their second defeat in short succession, they're 5-2 and facing all kinds of questions about their legitimacy as contenders.

Those questions start on defense, as Brian Flores' group was torched for four touchdowns for a second consecutive outing. Matthew Stafford threw all four of those for the Rams, who racked up nearly 400 yards of offense in a 30-20 win over the Vikings at SoFi Stadium that moves Los Angeles to 3-4 on the season.

The Vikings got the ball back down 28-20 at their own five yard-line with less than two minutes to play, and the game ended when the refs missed a blatant call on Rams defensive lineman Byron Young, who grabbed Sam Darnold's facemask as he brought him down for a game-sealing safety.

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Brutal missed call on this facemask. pic.twitter.com/ya8N5FIpu0

— Will Ragatz (@WillRagatz) October 25, 2024

The bigger story is that for the second time in five days, the Vikings' defense just didn't look anything like it did over the first five weeks of the season. Much like the Lions on Sunday in Minneapolis, the Rams were able to run the ball effectively and pick up easy chunks of yardage through the air, often in the intermediate areas over the middle of the field. The Vikings' defensive line was unable to generate any pressure on Stafford, who carved them up all night long. He finished 25 of 34 for 279 yards, 4 TDs, and one pick, as Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp combined for 157 receiving yards in their return to action. Kyren Williams ran for 97 yards for LA.

They've faced two excellent play-callers and quarterbacks, but something has to change for the Vikings moving forward. Whether Flores' scheme has been figured out to some extent or the players just aren't executing well enough is up in the air. It might be a mix of both. Missing top linebacker Blake Cashman is clearly significant, but one absence should not cause the defense to completely fall apart.

The Vikings' offense wasn't great either; they went very cold after two easy touchdown drives to open the game, finishing with only six points after the first quarter and just 276 total yards. The Vikings didn't turn the ball over, but they were inefficient in the running game and Darnold took some critical sacks late in the contest.

Looming large in this game — and the Vikings' season moving forward — was a knee injury to star left tackle Christian Darrisaw, which appears potentially serious. Darrisaw was rolled up on while blocking late in the second quarter, limped to the locker room with trainers, and was ruled out for the game shortly after halftime. David Quessenberry replaced him. That's a massive loss for the Vikings, as Darrisaw is one of their best players and one of the best offensive linemen in the league.

The first 20 minutes of the game were an absolute shootout. The two teams went back and forth with 70-yard touchdown drives on the first four possessions of the night, and the defensive resistance was minimal on each one. Darnold completed his first eight passes for the Vikings, hitting Jefferson for big chunks and finding Josh Oliver and Trent Sherfield for touchdowns. Stafford was equally sharp for the Rams, connecting with Williams and Kupp in the end zone.

From there, the offenses went quiet for a while. The next points didn't come until a Will Reichard field goal midway through the third quarter, which was set up by a Byron Murphy Jr. interception. The Rams answered with Stafford's third touchdown pass of the game, this one to Demarcus Robinson. The Vikings drove the field again on their ensuing possession, but settled for a short field goal in the red zone for the second straight series after a drop from Jalen Nailor.

That's when the Rams ripped off their fourth touchdown drive of the night to take a commanding eight-point lead, then snuffed out the Vikings' final two drives — the second one via a blatant missed call.

After a mini-bye, the Vikings will be back in action against the Colts on Sunday Night Football two Sundays from now.