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Vikings at Rams Wild-Card Odds: LA will host Minnesota on Monday night in the NFL playoffs.
These teams have met seven times previously in the playoffs, including five times between 1974 and 1978, and the Vikings have won five of those meetings – although the Rams have won two of the last three, including their last meeting in the 1999 divisional round, which the Rams won, 49-37.
The Vikings haven’t played any other team in the playoffs more than the Rams.
The teams also met this year during the regular season, and the Rams rolled to a 30-20 win thanks to smash mouth defense and the return of both Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua to the receiving group.
The Vikings had few answers on defense, as their attempts to pressure L.A. quarterback Matthew Stafford failed to stop him from getting out quick passes to his All-Pro targets.
Minnesota will look to bounce back after taking a 31-9 shellacking in Detroit in Week 18, as their bid to win the NFC North and snag the top seed on this side of the bracket fell woefully short.
The Rams had reeled off a five-game winning streak in December before losing at home to Seattle in the season finale, having already clinched the division title the week before.
Let’s break down this wild-card matchup as you map out your online betting for the playoffs.
Vikings at Rams Wild-Card Odds, Analysis and Prediction – NFL 2024/25 Season
NFL Spreads and Totals: Minnesota -3 / O/U 48
Moneylines: LA +119 / Minnesota -146
When: Monday, January 13, 2025, 8:00 pm ET
Where: SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, CA
TV: ESPN/ABC
Radio: Westwood One
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Minnesota Vikings Wild-Card Analysis
Players to Keep an Eye
When the Vikings lost in L.A. earlier this season, neither tight end T.J. Hockenson nor linebacker Blake Cashman took the field, as both were out due to injuries. We’ve seen how important Hockenson is for Sam Darnold, particularly on third downs, and Cashman is a key rover for the Minnesota defense. Also, the Rams rank 23rd in EPA per play. Most teams that are that far down the list don’t get to the playoffs, let alone win their division. If you look at the other teams in the NFC West, there was more chaos and instability in each of their performances, which is why the Rams made it out of that scrum.
What happened to the others?
The 49ers didn’t have Christian McCaffrey for extended time during the season and lost Brandon Aiyuk for the season. The Cardinals had Kyler Murray for the whole season, but you just don’t know what he’s going to bring from one week to the next in terms of ball security. The Seahawks didn’t have a running game for much of the season, and Geno Smith still hasn’t shown he can play a whole regular season without hitting an interception meltdown at some point.
The Pass Rush
Minnesota plays a more consistent style of football. Yes, the Rams reached out and torched Buffalo. They also got demolished at Arizona earlier this season. They did drop 44 on the Bills, but then it took them three more games combined to score that many points again over the next three weeks. The Vikings have a pass rush that will get after Mattthew Stafford. Their O-line is 30th in pass protection according to Pro Football Focus. While they did keep the Vikings pass rush at bay in Week 8, the likelihood of that happening two weeks in a row, with an angry Minnesota team coming to town, is small.
Sam Darnold
They should get to Stafford, knock him down several times, and sack him at least a few times. They might even force him into some poor passing decisions and a few turnovers. Finally, Sam Darnold will bounce back. He learned how to play quarterback in the NFL under Kyle Shanahan last year while backing up Brock Purdy. The Lions’ pass rush had him looking more like the frightened rookie that struggled with the Jets, as he sailed ball after ball over the heads of his receivers. However, he’s bounced back from every challenge this season, and there’s no reason to think he won’t do it again.
Los Angeles Rams Wild-Card Analysis
It’s important to remember that Matthew Stafford still has a lot left in the tank. He threw for 3,762 yards this season, with 20 touchdown passes against just eight picks. In the Week 8 meeting with Minnesota, he went 25 of 34 for 279 yards and four touchdowns with an interception. The O-line stood tall in front of him and gave him time in the pocket. Tailback Kyren Williams rested in Week 18 and will be back for the playoffs; his season was terrific as he ran the ball 316 times for 1,299 yards and 14 touchdowns. Against the Vikings, he ran the ball 23 times for 97 yards. Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp combined for 12 catches for 157 yards and a touchdown.
The Rams’ defense also showed up for the Week 8 showdown. They got after Sam Darnold and forced him to make poor decisions. He did go 18 of 25 in the game, with two touchdowns, but he also took three sacks. They bottled up Aaron Jones in the running game, and the Vikings did themselves no favors with some untimely penalties that stalled drives. They held the Vikings to just 2 of 7 on third-down conversions and just 276 yards of offense.
Vikings at Rams Wild-Card Odds, Final Score and Prediction
The Spread
During the season, Minnesota went 11-5-1 against the spread, while the Rams were 9-8. On the road, Minnesota was 4-3-1 against the spread, while the Rams only covered four times in nine home games. Against NFC competition, the Vikings went 7-4-1 against the spread, and the Rams went 6-6. As far as talent on the field, the biggest difference from Week 8 is the return of Hockenson to the Vikings’ offense. He gives Darnold another target if Justin Jefferson isn’t open, and he’s been a reliable outlet on third downs in particular.
The Injuries
Both teams have relatively clear injury reports. For Minnesota, cornerback Fabian Mroeau and linebacker Pat Jones II are questionable. For the Rams, tailback Blake Corum has been placed on IR, and tight end Hunter Long and offensive tackle Rob Havenstein are both listed as questionable. Corum broke his arm in the Week 18 finale against Seattle, but Havenstein’s shoulder injury, which he sustained in practice before the Week 17 games, has improved, and he is expected to play on Monday.
Kevin McConnell
While Vikings head coach McConnell has a Super Bowl ring from his time as Rams offensive coordinator, his own playoff record is still to be written. In his first season as head coach in Minnesota, the Vikings went 13-4 and won the division but lost to the New York Giants at home in the wild-card round. The Vikings went 7-10 in the 2023 season and missed the playoffs. They’re back in this year, but we just don’t know if McConnell can make the big adjustments under this type of pressure.
It was surprising to see how poorly the Vikings played in the last part of the third quarter and the entire fourth quarter against the Lions, as Detroit made halftime adjustments that worked, while the Vikings didn’t seem to be able to do anything right on offense the whole night. I like the Rams here because they have more playoff experience at the head coach and quarterback level, and they’re not coming off an emphatic beating in a high-pressure showdown last week.
I predict a final score of Los Angeles 24, Minnesota 16
The #NFLPlayoffs are set! pic.twitter.com/M1ui4No2Qf
— NFL (@NFL) January 6, 2025
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