NOTE: Game will be played at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona
Despite a 14-win season Minnesota opens the NFL Playoffs on the road in the Wild Card Round against the Rams on Monday Night Football. Can the Vikings shake off that devastating loss to Detroit that dropped them into the No. 5 seed and now have to play back-to-back road games and their third game in four weeks away from home. The Rams closed the season with a loss the Seattle in a game where most of the starters took the week off
Minnesota Vikings (14-3)
While the offense dazzled this season the Vikings biggest strength was the defense which led the NFL with 24 interceptions and were tied for the most takeaways (33). Brian Flores’ defense was fifth in points allowed with free agent signees Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel both hitting double-digits for sacks. Additionally, when holding opponents to less than 30 points, the Vikings are a perfect 14-0. Offensively, Sam Darnold had a great season, 35 touchdowns and 4,153 passing yards. But can he handle the pressures in his first playoff game? He has several pieces with All-Pro receiver Justin Jefferson, second-year pro Jordan Addison, and RB Aaron Jones who has contributed with over 1,500 all-purpose yards and seven touchdowns.
Los Angeles Rams (10-7)
The Rams stumbled out of the gate with a 1-4 start before going 9-3 the rest of the way to secure the NFC West. Los Angeles relied heavily on their young stars as Kyren Williams had another solid season (1,299 yards, 14 TDs) while Puka Nacua was a catching machine, 79 receptions for 990 yards and 3 TDs in 11 games. The Rams have played in 13 one-score games, going 8-5 this season but they were 7-2 after that slow start. Meantime, the defense has found its stride late in the season. Minus the regular season finale, L.A. allowed 9 points or less in three straight games. And in those games, they failed to score 20 points showing they can grind out victories with the defense. Jared Verse and Braden Fiske have been big pieces to the defense in their rookie season but will the big stage be too much to handle? A big question mark will be the health of veteran Cooper Kupp. If he can contribute, even as a decoy, that would help Nacua avoid being double covered by the defense.
Best Prop Plays
Puka Nacua: OVER Receptions
He is Matthew Stafford’s main target and has hit the receptions over in his last 5 home games. Nacua has gone over 7 catches in seven of the last eight games. Back in October he had 7 receptions, on 9 targets for 106 yards vs this Vikings defense.
Justin Jefferson: OVER Receiving Yards
Justin Jefferson was locked down against the Lions with just 3 receptions for 54 yards despite being targeted 9 times. When the two teams met earlier this season, JJ had 8 receptions for 115 yards. He should have a bounce back game here and expect Darnold to seek out his favorite weapon down field. Props have yet to be released at time of writing, but check website for latest odds
Game Betting Odds
Vikings -2.5
Rams +2.5
Total: 47.5
Moneyline: Minnesota -140, Los Angeles +120
