What We Saw: Vikings at Rams

The Rams win an enjoyable Thursday Night Football spectacle at SoFi Stadium

Benjamin Haller
What We Saw 5 Days Ago

Vikings @ Rams

Final Score: Rams 30, Vikings 20

Senior Writer: Benjamin Haller (@benjaminhaller1 on Twitter)

 

A fun-filled, exciting contest between two creative offenses saw fantasy points abound as the Minnesota Vikings and the Los Angeles Rams played out a thrilling Thursday Night Football encounter. Three times in the first half the Vikings committed defensive penalties to extend drives on third down with Matthew Stafford making no mistake in connecting with his primary offensive playmakers Kyren Williams and the returning Cooper Kupp for touchdowns. Those scores answered clinical drives from Sam Darnold that saw touchdown passes to two unlikely sources, depth receiver Trent Sherfield and backup tight end Josh Oliver. The game slowed down in the second quarter with a number of pre-snap penalties thwarting the Vikings in particular, and after four touchdown drives to start the game, the half ended in four punts and tied at 14-14.

The second half saw Stafford execute the offense perfectly to inspire his team to victory while on the other side Darnold struggled to move the sticks consistently and a brutal missed call on a facemask with the game on the line ended the Vikings’ opportunity to go the length of the field to try to tie the game. The Rams deserved this win and the returning Puka Nacua had a big impact in the passing game but a no-show from the Minnesota defense occured at the worst possible time for Brian Flores and Kevin O’Connell.

The most contentious moment of the game came with the Vikings trying to go 97-yards to tie the game. Dropping back into his own end zone, Darnold was about to pass when Byron Young egregiously grabbed his facemask and swung him to the floor. Not one official saw it and the rams were awarded a safety. Terrible!

 

 

Three Up

  • Puka Nacua – a casual seven catches for 106 yards on a “limited” return from injury was just what desperate fantasy managers shedding a tear looking on Puka on IR the last month needed. WR1 production the rest of the way incoming…
  • Cooper Kupp – a key first half touchdown and crucial second half catch on third down late in the game we just two of the contributions the productive wideout had in his return from injury. The Rams are a different team with both Kupp and Puka out there.
  • Demarcus Robinson – two touchdowns on three targets is the stuff that dreams are made of for a flex option receiver, however it is very much likely that it helped not one fantasy manager out there.

Three Down

  • Jordan Addison – there was no big play on offer for Addison in this contest and one of his three (just three!) targets was well underthrown and uncatchable
  • Sam Darnold – it’s becoming a thing that Darnold is disappearing in second half of games when the Vikings need him to find his receivers – the loss of left tackle Christian Darrisaw is also a worrying outcome for the the quarterback
  • Ty Chandler – the promising young running back was held without a carry for the first time this season as KOC had a rare off day in playcalling. Brutal.

 

Minnesota Vikings

 

Quarterback

 

Sam Darnold: 18/25, 240 Yards, 2 TD, 3 Sacks | 3 Carries, 6 Yards

 

The Vikings quarterback started the game on fire with two touchdown drives in which he featured Jefferson to the tune of six targets, six catches for 74 yards. Darnold spread the ball around nicely and made two perfect throws over the middle to Jefferson to make an impact of those scoring drives. He was also excellent in the red zone, twice finding the right option after his initial reads did not play out to convert for touchdowns. Darnold added another multi-touchdown game through the air but he deteriorated the longer this game went on, struggling to move away from pressure and missing too many throws on intermediate routes. The second half was just a series of misfires and poor decision-making, twice taking big sacks to put himself in third-and-forever to nullify drives. Similar to the final possession last week against Detroit, Darnold could not find a way to pick up and easy first down to get him settled.

 

Notes

  • Battled a number of pre-snap penalties from his offensive line in the second quarter that stymied his rhythm. To make matters worse, Darnold lost his star left tackle Christian Darrisaw to a nasty-looking lower leg injury just before halftime on a nothing play to run out the clock.
  • The Rams dominated time of possession and with the Vikings playing from behind in the fourth quarter Darnold struggled to get away from negative plays on early downs to give himself a chance. The playcalling wasn’t the best either from KOC.

 

Running Back

 

Aaron Jones: 19 Carries, 58 Yards | 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 37 Yards

 

A mediocre start to the game for Jones, who carried the ball nine times for 38 yards in the first half but didn’t have much opportunity to break away from the defensive line on the outside. The Rams did a good job on containing the edge and forcing the Vikings into passing plays. Jones struggled mightily in the second half as the Rams found more penetration on the interior of the Vikings defensive line. His only saving grace was a couple of targets in the passing game that resulted in a chuck play down the sideline, something that has worked really well for him this season. Still, this stat line is a disappointing considering the matchup. Jones handled all the carries out of the backfield and remains a top tier fantasy starter at the position.

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

Justin Jefferson: 9 Targets, 8 Receptions, 115 Yards

 

It was an outstanding masterclass from Jefferson in the first half on route-running and catching ability across the formation, and at every level. The Vikings star wideout was the cog in the offensive machine as Minnesota scored touchdowns on their first two possessions, with Jefferson making key grabs of 17 yards, 17 yards and 19 yards on those drives. Each catch was a teaching tape on burst from the line, change of direction and finishing the catch and run. Jefferson ignited the second half with two excellent grabs, a contested ball for 14 yards before a sensational one-hand grab for 27 yards that put the Vikings inside the Rams’ 5-yard line. However, that is where it ended as Minnesota’s offense hit a wall in the fourth quarter and Jefferson saw only one other target, an uncatchable red zone target that was way off line. Another frustrated outburst on the sideline didn’t help the look. He still went over 100 yards and showed his usual elite skill set.

 

 

Josh Oliver: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 30 Yards, TD

 

With the continued absence of T.J. Hockenson, slated to return in Week 9, Darnold has spread a couple of targets around the tight end room with both Johnny Mundt and Josh Oliver seeing multiple targets per game. Breaking off from his assignment to run untracked across the formation in the red zone, Darnold lobbed a ball to a wide open Oliver for the Vikings’ first score of the game.

 

Jordan Addison: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 22 Yards

 

After excelling as a rookie and enduring a turbulent offseason, Addison has struggled to become an integral part of the passing offense with Darnold at quarterback. The second-year wideout saw just three targets today and has now been held to three or less catches in his five appearances this campaign. He is far from fantasy relevant and 22.9 of his 49.6 fantasy points came in a single, two-touchdown effort in Week 4 at Green Bay. Yikes!

 

Jalen Nailor: 4 Targets, 2 Receptions, 16 Yards

 

After scoring touchdowns in the first three contests of the season, the promising young receiver has been blanked now for four straight games and has seen his usage plummet since Addison returned to the team. He didn’t help his case for more work today by letting a bullet from Darnold on third down slip through his hands in the red zone in the second half. The Vikings had to settle for a field goal, which proved to be far short of what they needed.

 

Trent Sherfield: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 10 Yards, TD

 

On the second Vikings drive of the game, Trent Sherfield worked into space in the back of the end zone to haul in a short pass from Darnold for a touchdown. It was his only target and catch of the game. The journeyman receiver is primarily used as a blocker or decoy route runner but he managed to score his first touchdown of the season on just his fourth catch of the year.

 

 

Johnny Mundt: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 10 Yards

 

Los Angeles Rams

 

Quarterback

 

Matthew Stafford: 25/34, 279 Yards, 4 TD, INT | 3 Carries, -4 Yards

 

A roll-back-the-years performance from the veteran quarterback, who seemed to enjoy the luxury of time behind his offensive line to spray the ball over the field and dominate the much-heralded Vikings defense. Stafford threw for touchdowns on both the Rams’ first two offensive drives before bouncing back from an early second half interception to throw two touchdown passes to Demarcus Robinson to seal an unlikely Rams win. The key was Stafford’s ability to pepper Nacua over the middle for yards after the catch, thus opening up the playbook and finding plenty of holes in the Vikings blitz-heavy approach. The Super Bowl champion also grew in confidence with his deep ball after seeing a couple of contentious defensive pass interference calls go his way. A deep ball into a contest situation for Kupp resulted in a big 27-yard gain that allowed the Rams to run the clock down and put the Vikings in their place for an improbable comeback.

 

 

Notes

  • Stafford’s four touchdown passes were a minor fantasy miracle considering he had only thrown for three in his previous six games combined. It was a perfect storm of bad defense and rejuvenated offense.
  • For the first time this season, Stafford benefitted from some inspired offensive line play and he was rewarded by Sean McVay by being allowed to drop back and pass the ball more than he has over the last month.

 

Running Back

 

Kyren Williams: 23 Carries, 97 Yards | 7 Targets, 5 Receptions, 19 Yards, TD

 

Enjoying yet another bell-cow opportunity, Williams was superb on the ground and out of the backfield to ensure the Rams could ride him with a fourth quarter lead to try and close out the game. Williams did a great job against a tough Vikings defensive front and saw his reward for doing the hard yards by taking a short pass from his quarterback to the house on the Rams’ opening drive of the game. Despite Stafford enjoying throwing the ball, Williams still saw 23 carries as the Rams dominated both time of possession and the first down count. Ironically, this was the first time in seven games that the running back didn’t score a rushing touchdown, however he more than made up for it with his second receiving score of the year.

 

Blake Corum: 4 Carries, 9 Yards | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 9 Yards

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

Puka Nacua: 9 Targets, 7 Receptions, 106 Yards

 

Fantasy managers rejoice! Nacua returned to the Rams lineup for the first time since Week 1 and immediately became the safety blanket that Stafford had missed so badly. Puka was a monster with the ball in his hands, working underneath routes before breaking tackles and fighting for extra yards downfield. Three catches on the opening touchdown drive set the tone for the chemistry between Stafford and he, the former ensuring his favorite target led the team in targets, receptions, and receiving yards. All that was missing was a score. The Vikings had no answer for his ability to create separation and drive his legs forward after contact.

 

Cooper Kupp: 8 Targets, 5 Receptions, 51 Yards, TD

 

After missing the last four Rams games due to an injury he sustained in the Week 2 loss to the Cardinals, Kupp returned to the lineup and hauled in his first catch for a 7-yard touchdown after breaking free in the back of the end zone on a broken play that saw Stafford scramble to his left and throw off-balance to the receiver for six. He drew two pass interference calls that extended drives that resulted in points before making a deep catch for 27 yards on 3rd-&-9 with less than four minutes left in the game to effectively seal the deal for his team. An instant impact from a fantasy darling we love. Rumors of a trade have not gone away, however, and it is something that could still happen, although less likely now the Rams are competitive in the division once again.

 

 

Demarcus Robinson: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 35 Yards, 2 TD

 

Who started Robinson in their fantasy lineup? Yep, way less than the 9% of fantasy managers that have him rostered in Yahoo! leagues that’s for sure. Those who weren’t aware of the double return of Kupp and Nacua are probably those who will realize somewhat surprisingly that they actually started him. If you did, you are a braver person that the rest of us. Saying that Robinson has been a steady part of this offense across the year but this certainly feels like a lucky night for the well travelled wideout.

 

Tutu Atwell: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 18 Yards

Hunter Long: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 18 Yards

Colby Parkinson: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 17 Yards

Tyler Johnson: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 6 Yards

 

Photo by Jeffrey Brown/Icon Sportswire) | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter/X)

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