2 weeks Ago By Dane Mizutani / St. Paul Pioneer Press
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — This was a chance for the Vikings to show everybody what they were made of. After pushing the Detroit Lions to the absolute brink last weekend only to fall short in the final seconds, the Vikings had a chance to atone for their first loss against the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night at SoFi Stadium.
Instead, the Vikings showed more cracks in the foundation in a 30-20 loss to the Rams in primetime. On the final offensive play of the game for the Vikings, quarterback Sam Darnold got yanked down by his facemask in the end zone for a safety. There was no call despite the fact that the official was staring right at it.
As painful as the loss was for the Vikings, it was made worse by the fact they lost star left tackle Christian Darrisaw in the process. He got rolled up on shortly before halftime, collapsing to the ground and clutching his left knee in the immediate aftermath. He limped off the field and was quickly ruled out for the game.
It was an up and down homecoming Darnold as he completed 18 of 25 passes for 240 yards and 2 touchdowns. He looked dominant in the early stages only to cool off significantly as the game progressed. On the other end, veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford was a beast for the Rams.
He completed 25 of 34 passes for 279 yards and 4 touchdowns. He led a group that looked completely recharged following the return of receiver Cooper Kupp and receiver Puka Nacua. It was a fast start for the Vikings on offense, highlighted by a few completions from Darnold to star receiver Justin Jefferson, and capped by touchdown pass to tight end Josh Oliver that made it 7-0.
The intensity wasn’t matched by the Vikings on defense as the Rams marched down the field to tie the game at 7-7. The next time the Vikings got the ball on offense, they leaned heavily on Jefferson and running back Aaron Jones until Darnold found receiver Trent Sherfield for a touchdown to make it 14-7. On the other end, the Vikings had no answer on defense, as the Rams got anything they wanted with Stafford at the helm.
He finished the drive by somehow evading a sack twice on the same play before finding receiver Cooper Kupp for a touchdown to tie the game at 14-14. After looking unstoppable for a couple of drives to start the game, the Vikings continued the trend of shooting themselves in the foot. It was very similar to last week when penalties before the snap consistently put them behind the sticks.
It cost them this week as the Vikings completely stalled out on offense before halftime. In need of a spark after halftime, the Vikings got it when cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. intercepted a pass along the sideline.
That put the offense back in business and Jefferson snared a pass over the middle for a gain of 14 yards, then made an unfathomable catch along the sideline for a gain of 27 yards. On that particular play, Jefferson extended his left hand while being grabbed from behind, then when he bobbled the ball into the air, he somehow used his right hand to pin it to his helmet. Unfortunately for the the Vikings, they couldn’t cap the drive with a touchdown, getting a short field goal from Will Reichard to make it 17-14.
On the next drive, the Rams punched back, with Stafford slicing and dicing the secondary, then dropping a dime to receiver Demarcus Robinson for a touchdown that pushed the Rams in front 21-17. A very costly drop by receiver Jalen Nailor kept the Vikings from potentially finding the end zone on their next drive and Reichard chipped in a short field goal to cut the deficit to 21-20. Fittingly, Stafford put the game away from there as he got back in his bag, then found Robinson once again for a touchdown that stretched the lead to 28-20.
The score was finalized at 30-20 on a safety that likely had the Vikings fuming as they trotted off the field..
