The Minnesota Vikings lost to the Los Angeles Rams on a weird Thursday Night Football game. Christian Darrisaw went down right before half. The Rams went on two 70 yard TD drives and the Vikings could only muster up a pair of field goals in the 2nd half. A last minute drive to tie the game was ended with a face mask in the end zone that was missed by the refs. Hoping to change the results this time around.
The 30 points given up is well above the season average of 19.5 and the most given up outside of the two Lions games. Kyren Williams, Puka Nacua and Demarcus Robinson did most of the damage the first time around. Let’s take a look at who might keep Brian Flores up at night this weekend.
Note: Matthew Stafford isn’t an option because the QB is always the most important.
Puka Nacua
Nacua surprised the Vikings by playing last game. He lit up the defense with 7 catches for 106 yards and added 5 more on the ground. Despite only playing 11 games, Puke lead the team with 990 receiving yards this season.
Kyren Williams
The run game helped shorten the game last time. The Rams held the ball 7 more minutes than the Vikings did in the first matchup. Williams was a big part of that with 97 yards on the ground and 19 with 1 TD via the air. He leads the team with 1,481 scrimmage yards and 16 TDs (1,299 rushing, 182 receiving).
Cooper Kupp
Kupp doesn’t have it in him to put up the big season numbers, but I believe he still has it in him for a playoff run. The vet knows how to get open and is a security blanket for Matthew Stafford. 710 yards and 6 TDs isn’t going to be a season to remember for Kupp, but he can make it a playoff to remember.
Supporting Cast
Demarcus Robinson is a red zone threat with 7 TDs (2 against the Vikings). Tutu Atwell is talented, but doesn’t product consistently. University of Minnesota product Tyler Johnson hasn’t seen much playing time, but did get his 1st TD of the season in Week 18.
Kyren Williams is the motor that keeps the Rams offense going. Nacua has to have the greatest chance to “embarrass” the Vikings. However, I think Kupp is the most likely to make the plays at the end to win. He’s scary and there are some talented supporting cast players that can step up as well. The Vikings will have their hands full on Monday.
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