Rams tried to give the Vikings a gift but still walked away winners

Matthew Stafford threw three interceptions and beat the Vikings anyway

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By Matthew Coller

MINNEAPOLIS — Matthew Stafford left plenty of gifts underneath the Minnesota Vikings’ tree on Sunday afternoon. The Vikings, however, refused to open them and have a Merry Christmas.

It’s not often that you can get a read on the game from the very first passing play but that was the case in judging Stafford. His opening throw fluttered in the direction of Cam Dantzler, who dropped a would-be interception. It was basically synopsis of what was to come, in one play.

The Rams did get their act together on the opening drive, converted a fourth down and marched the field for a touchdown but it was clear something was off. The Rams’ alleged upgrade over Jared Goff looked shaky and it would only get much worse from there.

But not before a costly Viking miscue. The offense initially got rolling on its second drive. Alexander Mattison, in the lineup for COVID-listed Dalvin Cook, picked up a 19-yard run and Kirk Cousins found Tyler Conklin to convert a third-and-8. Cousins then rolled out and hit Adam Thielen for a 25-yard gain to get into the red zone.

In typical fashion, the Vikings handed off on the first two plays, setting up third-and-goal from the 8-yard line. Then a pass in the direction of KJ Osborn bounced up in the air and was intercepted. It wouldn’t be the first red zone fail of the day for the Vikings.

After the two teams exchanged punts, the Rams started grinding the Vikings’ defense down, as we’ve seen a number of teams do this year. Sony Michel picked up a 10-yard run to kick off the drive and rumbled for 19 more yards on a third-and-1. Stafford then continued to show signs that something wasn’t right. On third-and-3, he winged an inaccurate fade pass to the end zone and the Rams kicked a field goal to take a 10-point lead.

The Vikings responded by going three-and-out, opening up the door for Vikings fans to spend the rest of the afternoon playing with their new toys. But Santa Stafford showed up with his first of many holiday offerings.

Under pressure, Stafford flung a pass into the flat and right into the arms of linebacker Anthony Barr.

The Vikings took over at the Los Angeles 11-yard line but Cousins got sacked on first down, killing the drive. Receiver Adam Thielen, who has been battling a high-ankle sprain, re-injured the ankle on a third down catch. He would attempt to come back but ended up having to sit out the rest of the game.

At 10-3, the Rams again had a shot to put the Vikings away and deliver as serious blow to their playoff chances in one drive. They dinked and dunked completions to Odell Beckham and Cooper Kupp to set up first-and-10 at the Vikings’ 13-yard line with under one minute remaining in the half. But Stafford again bafflingly threw three inaccurate fade passes, including one that was nearly intercepted by cornerback Kris Boyd.

The Rams kicked a field goal and the Vikings had yet another gift offer that they didn’t cash in on.

At halftime, the Corgi races were less scatterbrained than the start of the second half. Stafford Claus launched a senseless bomb into double coverage that the Vikings picked off but the offense did nothing with second Stafford turnover, throwing incompletions on back-to-back passes on second and third down.

Throughout, the Vikings’ offense sputtered because they did not have answers for the Rams’ stars Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey. Not that it’s surprising but the Vikings’ offensive line had no answers, allowing the former defensive MVP to knife into the backfield for TFLs and pressures.

Not that the Vikings would need much from their offense to produce a touchdown on their next drive.

Stafford delivered his third interception of the day on a tipped pass that came down in the arms of Barr. Alexander Mattison slammed it into the end zone to bring the Vikings within three points.

With a chance to get things back together, Stafford threw inaccurately to a wide open Beckham on third down and the Rams were forced to punt back to the Vikings.

This was the Vikings’ big chance to take advantage of Stafford and his elves’ generosity. Instead, the Vikings committed a false start on third-and-4 and then Cousins scrambled short of the sticks.

The Rams returned a punt for a touchdown to regain the two-score game. Another golden opportunity given away.

That wasn’t the only chance the Vikings had to get back in the game. When they got the ball back after the Rams’ return TD, Los Angeles went into prevent defense mode, playing zone coverage for the first time all day and moving Ramsey away from Justin Jefferson. Add that to the long, long list of confusing coaching decisions by Sean McVay.

The Vikings’ offense marched the field on the back of a 34-yard Jefferson reception to reach the red zone. Again, they came up short and settled for a field goal. This probably wasn’t the week to kick two short field goals in scoring position.

Finally L.A. decided to stick to the running game. They ran on four of five plays to start the fourth quarter, ripping off gains of 10, 11 and 17 in the process. This time, Stafford would drop a lump of coal in the Vikings’ stocking rather than a present. He completed and third-and-7 pass to tight end Tyler Higbee and then found Beckham in the back of the end zone for a touchdown to take a 27-13 lead. This isn’t a rookie like last week, after all.

But the Rams still made things interesting. They clearly didn’t do their scouting on the Vikings’ offense because this team often turns to the screen pass when the opposition is playing for the deep ball and screens succeeded with big gains from Tyler Conklin and Mattison. The Vikings struck back with an on-target throw from Cousins to Osborn in the end zone to cut L.A.’s lead to seven.

Have we mentioned that the Vikings haven’t had a clutch defense this year? On the next drive, with a shot at stopping the Rams on third-and-6 with 7:00, Stafford found Kupp wide open across the middle for a 34-yard gain, putting the Rams in Viking territory. Michel converted a third-and-1 at the Vikings’ 25-yard line as the clock drained to under five minutes.

A screen pass to Kupp first down on third-and-3 gained the Rams the dagger. The Rams kicked a field goal to take a 10-point lead with 2:30 remaining.

The Vikings kicked a field goal to bring the score to 30-23 and Stafford kneeled down to end the game after L.A. recovered the onside kick.

While it isn’t particularly shocking that the Rams came into US Bank Stadium and walked away with a win, it tells you everything you need to know about the Vikings that L.A. was still able to beat Minnesota on short rest and with their quarterback throwing three interceptions. Stafford, by the way, finished the game with a 46.8 rating and a W. I guess that’s the difference between his time in Detroit and his new home.

All year the Vikings have been inconsistent on offense, struggled to stop opponents’ run games and haven’t shown up in big situations where they were needed most. Allowing only the league’s second punt return for touchdown was a cherry on top for a team that always seems to get in its own way. Those are the signs of a club that now sits out of the playoffs and desperately needs an upset at Lambeau Field next week to hang around.

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