Steel the Mind.

Before we begin analysis, I’d be remiss if I did not take a moment to thank all the first responders working to combat the spread of the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles. My heart and prayers goes out to all those affected, those who have lost homes or their lives to these horrific wildfires. In response to safety concerns, the NFL has decided to change the venue to a neutral site in Arizona. The game will be played at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, which us home to the Cardinals. There will be a game to play, but the safety of California’s residents and the tragedy occurring will be on the forefront of everyone’s minds in this game.

Let’s turn our attention towards football now, as this game doesn’t have many clear indicators about how this matchup will turn out. We got two good teams here between the Vikings and the Rams, but only one can come out victorious. Who will it be? Starting with the Rams, outside of last week’s game versus the Seahawks, they’ve won five in a row. They took down the Bills in one of those games. This team has the pedigree and the talent to make a run. Matthew Stafford is a seasoned veteran who has won a Super Bowl with this Rams team. Cooper Kupp is a former offensive player of the year. Puca Nacua and Kyren Williams are just more versatile weapons that can catch you sleeping. The thing about the Rams, is they fall in the middle of the league for both total offense and defense, so they’re going to have to be proficient on both side of the ball. This game being moved to a neutral sight kind of helps the Rams, as they are slightly better on the road this year than at home, which is surprising. I think if you’re the Rams, after watching last week’s SNF game between the Vikings and Lions, you have been given a blueprint from the city of Detroit. Sam Darnold had a really bad game last week, probably his worst of the season, all because he was hurried by the pass rush and the Lions defense took away Justin Jefferson most of the game. Jefferson finished with just 3 catches for 54 yards. Use your pairing of rookie sensations from Florida State, Brandon Fiske and Jared Verse, and get after this QB. It may lead to a win.

Minnesota has a different problem on their hands. Their worst fears were kind of conjured up last game, which is that Sam Darnold is not invincible. The Vikings, when Darnold plays well, has been nothing short of Titan-like. Their three losses this year come to the Lions twice, and the Rams once. These two teams met earlier this year and while the Rams got the better of the Vikings in their short week, by the means 4 TDs from Stafford. All of these abstract points are being brought up to introduce one point, and that is when playing a good team, the Vikings better have their stuff aligned. Because if one screw comes loose, the whole wagon is falling apart. There is no room for error. There hasn’t been many games, if any, where they go down to a better team and come back and win. Between Jefferson, Jordan Addison, Aaron Jones, T.J Hockenson, and even Jaylen Nailor, this team has enough talent to battle with most teams, but someone needs to step up early and be a threat. It doesn’t even have to be Jefferson, he’ll get involved eventually, but someone that can get Minnesota and Darnold momentum early. Both teams are going to have to stop each other on defense, but I believe the key to this game will be which team gets off to a quicker start. Stafford and the Rams can come back from deficit, so if they go down, I wouldn’t count them out quite yet. But for Darnold and the Vikings, if they go down, it may be too insurmountable. I will give two scorelines again. If the Vikings get up early and look like the team of late, then I say they win 27-24. If the Vikings falter and Darnold struggles again, this might get out of hand quickly. This will all depend on the resilience of Darnold and the Vikings. Have a hearty meal and steel your mind.

POSTGAME:

I don’t mean to start off hot, but the Vikings will now probably go down as the worst 14-3 team in the history of the NFL. I can’t even wrap my mind around it. Sam Darnold played another bad game, which may have just ended any hopes of a big contract and essentially just played his way out of Minnesota, but it wasn’t all his fault. The Vikings defense let Stafford, and the Rams run and pass all over them. It unfortunate, because the Vikings had chances to make this a game too. They were only down 3-10 for a bit. But a forced fumble returned for a TD, followed by turnover on downs, which is then followed by another Rams TD; the game jumped to a 21-point lead before anyone could blink. I’m not sure where the Vikings will go next season. This one was a huge disappointment, considering their regular season record. But they may still have Darnold next year, as well as J.J McCarthy and Daniel Jones. There may be enough talent in that QB room to not panic just yet. But this one’s going to leave a sour taste.

For the Rams, they played well in a neutral site. Their experience showed, and they put together an absolute beatdown. They head to Philly next week, and I think a win could be in the cards. They need more offense like last game, as well as some more tight defense to prevent the Eagles from jumping all around. Stafford, Williams, Nacua, Kupp, Higbee, it doesn’t matter. The Rams know how to move the ball and demonstrated that ability versus the Vikings. Time for some tough competition.