10 takeaways from the Rams win against Vikings in primetime

Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp show off in Rams win against Vikings on Thursday Night Football

The Los Angeles Rams surprised with a win on Thursday Night Football against the Minnesota Vikings. With the season on the line, the Rams got a much-needed win against one of the NFC’s best teams. This is a team that is only getting healthier and will look to go on a run in the second-half of the season. Here are my 10 takeaways from the win.

1. The Rams missed Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp

It becomes pretty clear that the expectations for the Rams offense is high when they can be down their top two wide receivers and still be expected to not miss a beat. While the offense continued to move the ball effectively without Nacua and Kupp, other aspects of the offense took a hit. The Rams struggled in the red zone all season, but went 3-for-3 on Thursday Night. Things opened up for players like Kyren Williams in the passing game and Demarcus Robinson.

The operation on offense looked a lot more smooth and Stafford seemed much more comfortable in the pocket. Against a high-rate blitzing team, it was always going to be important for Stafford to have trust in where his receivers were going to be. The comfort that he has in Nacua and Kupp was evident.

2. McVay did well with a ‘smoke and mirrors’ approach

Coming into the game, I noted that the Rams would need to mix things up in the passing game. They wouldn’t be able to take a pure dropback approach against the Vikings defense. McVay did exactly that. On the opening drive alone, the Rams had a play-action backside screen to Nacua that went for a first down. The Rams also ran the ball to the backside away from the tight ends in 12 personnel with Kyren Williams that also went for a big gain.

Stafford threw the ball 34 times against the Vikings defense. Eight of those attempts were out of play-action and 16 were considered “quick passes” that came in under 2.5 seconds. There was a lot of smoke and mirrors and deception in the Rams offense against the Vikings. It was the approach that the Rams needed to take against that type of aggressive defense.

3. Defense started slow, but settled in after first quarter

After the first two possessions for the Vikings offense, it looked like it might be a long day. The Rams defense was allowing an EPA per play of 0.612 and a 77.8 percent success rate. That dropped to a -0.185 EPA per play and 25.8 percent success rate in quarters two through four.

It is worth noting that the Vikings were without Christian Darrisaw for much of the game, but Chris Shula made adjustments and the Vikings offense started getting into more second-and-long situations. That allowed the Rams pass rush to get going which then started to effect Sam Darnold. Darnold had an EPA per play of -0.067 after starting the game a perfect eight-for-eight with two touchdowns.

4. Omar Speights played well, but let’s not overreact

The Rams made the decision to put linebacker Troy Reeder on injured reserve on Thursday, meaning that he’ll miss the next four games. That will give the Rams plenty of time to look at Omar Speights. In the overall context of Thursday’s game against the Vikings, it was an admirable debut for Speights. He finished with a PFF grade of 67.7 in his first career start. That’s the second-highest grade for a Rams linebacker this season. His 74.8 run defense grade was the highest for a Rams linebacker.

It wasn’t perfect, but it was something to build on moving forward. Speights still needs to get more comfortable in coverage which is something that goes back to the preseason. The Rams tried to mitigate this by rotating in Jake Hummel in certain situations. How Speights performs over the next few games is exciting, but there is still a lot of room for growth.

5. Matthew Stafford showed up when needed most

Matthew Stafford was dialed in against the Vikings and that was obvious in his performance. The Rams needed their quarterback to step up in a big moment on Thursday night and he put on a masterclass. Coming into the game, the Rams quarterback had thrown three touchdowns all season. He threw four touchdown just on Thursday night, including one in which he escaped a sack and found Kupp in the end zone.

It’s the same for many quarterbacks, but when the Rams are able to protect Stafford and he has his weapons available, he’s shown why he’s one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. Stafford was pressured just four times against the Vikings and with Nacua and Kupp back in the lineup, the Rams quarterback had that look in his eye all night.

6. The offensive line deserves a lot of credit for win

Of course, the win can’t be talked about without mentioning the offensive line. There were some issues with pre-snap penalties, but they help up against one of the better defenses in the NFL. Coming into the game, the Vikings averaged 18.2 pressures per game and 35.3 percent pressure rate. Stafford was pressured a total of four times for an 11.8 percent pressure rate.

That group also got push in the run game to open things up for Kyren Williams. Heading into the game, this was the one area that gave the most concern against a Brian Flores coached defense. They stepped up to the challenge and rose to the occasion.

7. Jared Verse had a big impact on this game

Jared Verse has gotten a lot of criticism this season because much of his production has come from pressures rather than sacks. Verse was credited with four pressures against the Vikings, but dominated the game in the second half. He finished with 1.5 sacks. His first sack contribution put the Vikings behind the sticks after being in good field position before the half.

Verse’s second sack contribution forced a third-and-long and the Vikings once again had to punt. The Rams needed Verse to step up, especially with Darrisaw out of the game in the second half. His power was on display most of the night and it’s only a matter of time before he’s discussed as one of the better young pass rushers in the NFL.

8. The Rams didn’t win because of a missed facemask call

There are a few things that can all be true when it comes to the facemask call at the end of the game. Yes, the officiating crew missed a pretty obvious call on Byron Young that would have extended the Vikings final drive. The officiating crew was all over the place all night and that didn’t stop at the end of the game.

At the same time, the call is also being talked about as if the Vikings chance to win the game was taken from them. Darnold would have had to lead the Minnesota offense 82 yards in 1:30 with no timeouts just to score a touchdown. They would have also needed a two-point conversion just to tie the game. After the first quarter, the Vikings scored six points over the next 45:07 of the game. The game wasn’t won or lost on the final drive.

9. This was a coaching masterpiece from Sean McVay

With the win, McVay became the winningest coach in Rams history, passing John Robinson. While McVay had issues with timeouts early in the game, it was the game plan and fact that the Rams head coach had his guys dialed in for a must-win game.

McVay out-coached his nemesis in Brian Flores and was ready for whatever the Vikings defensive coordinator threw at him. While McVay can have some frustrating moments, Thursday’s game was a reminder of why he’s considered one of the best and will go down as the best in franchise history.

10. Could sense this game was different. Season is back on!

Even going back to last week, it was pretty clear that the Rams focus was on this Thursday night contest with the Vikings. From the jump, the reaction on the sideline seemed different. Several times, McVay and Stafford looked at each other after a big play as if to telepathically say, ‘we’re back’. Thursday wasn’t a must-win, but after the trade rumors with Kupp and the game being in primetime, it was a chance to make a statement on the national stage.

With the win, the Rams sit at 3-4 with a matchup against the Seattle Seahawks next week. Depending on other results, a win on the road against the Seahawks and the Rams could sit atop the NFC West and be in control of the division. There is a chance here for the Rams to go on a run in the second-half of the season, but they’ll need to take things one week at a time.