Amidst massive wildfires, devastation and destruction, including playing a “home game” 400 miles away from their own stadium, the Los Angeles Rams stayed strong, and upset the Minnesota Vikings 27-9 in their NFC Wild Card game matchup at State Farm Stadium in Arizona on Monday night.
The Rams who started the season 1-4, and had the lowest-scoring offense out of all 14 playoff teams, didn’t just survive away from Southern California, they thrived.
Matthew Stafford threw two touchdowns, and the Rams defense scored a third, as they recorded a whopping nine sacks in the victory over the Vikings. The nine sacks tied and NFL playoff record.
"That’s a resilient group," said Stafford to ESPN after the game. "Great mix of young guys and old guys…we knew what we were playing for today. It was for the people of Los Angeles struggling right now. It’s been unbelievable to watch the whole community and the country get behind him. It’s a tough time to be back there and we’re just happy we came out and here, and played like this to give them something to be happy about."
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With the win, the fourth-seeded Rams move on to the NFC Divisional Round in Philadelphia next week against the second-seeded Eagles.
“All those scars were necessary to get us to the point where we are at today," said Rams' head coach Sean McVay about everything his team has been through this season, including over the past week. "There's a resilience, there’s a grit, and you learn from those challenging setbacks and that’s where real growth can occur. I’m really proud of them. We’re grateful for the win, but now we have a short week, and a great challenge against a team that humbled us at our place last time we played them.”
Despite winning 14 games this season, and losing to only two teams all year, the Vikings are done a lot earlier than anyone anticipated.
Stafford and the Rams starters got an extra week of rest after they clinched the NFC West in Week 17. That allowed McVay to prioritize rest over seeding in the team’s 30-25 loss to the Seahawks in Week 18.
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The decision paid off as the well-rested Rams marched down the field on their opening drive and scored a touchdown on Stafford’s five-yard pass to running back Kyren Williams.
Stafford to Kyren Williams! Rams lead early.
— NFL (@NFL) January 14, 2025
📺: #MINvsLAR on ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on @NFLPlus and ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/oTXzxgQKe7
The Rams defense intercepted Vikings’ quarterback Sam Darnold and scored on a fumble returned for a touchdown by rookie Jared Verse midway through the second quarter.
JARED VERSE SCOOP AND SCORE!
— NFL (@NFL) January 14, 2025
📺: #MINvsLAR on ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on @NFLPlus and ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/bXLHmOUaQW
The Rams put a punctuation mark on the first half when Stafford threw his second touchdown pass of the night, to backup tight-end Davis Allen with just 15 seconds remaining to go up 24-3 at halftime.
Stafford to Davis Allen! Rams lead 24-3!
— NFL (@NFL) January 14, 2025
📺: #MINvsLAR on ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on @NFLPlus and ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/o4U1o08Jxu
With a three-touchdown lead, the Rams never looked back, sacking Darnold three more times in the fourth quarter before forcing a turnover on downs inside their own territory with 3:30 left in the game to secure the victory.
The Rams improved to 8-1 at State Farm Stadium under McVay, with their only loss coming in a 41-10 blowout to the Cardinals in Week 2. It was their first playoff victory since they beat the Cincinnati Bengals at SoFi Stadium in Super Bowl LVI.
For the Vikings, there will be more questions than answers. They lost back-to-back games to the Lions and Rams in Week 7 and 8, and did so again over the last two weeks. In between they had win-streaks of five and nine games, respectively.
Darnold is a free agent after the season, and despite having an MVP-caliber season, is expected to go elsewhere after Minnesota drafted former Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy back in April.
Playing with heavy hearts and under difficult circumstances, the Rams, for one night at least, gave the city of Los Angeles something to celebrate. The organization, in conjunction with the NFL made the difficult decision to move the game to Arizona last Thursday, in order to free up much-needed resources like hotel rooms and police to the victims of the wildfires.
They bussed thousands of Rams fans to State Farm Stadium, and thanks to Cardinals’ owner Michael Bidwill, were able to fly their players, coaches, staff, families, and pets to Phoenix on two private planes provided by the Cardinals.
"We were living in it every day. It was a tough week for us. A bunch of moving parts," said Stafford about the chaotic week in Los Angeles, including a fire in West Hills that evacuated his home in Hidden Hills and was less than two miles from the team's practice facility. "Our organization did a heck of a job getting us over here to practice and bringing our families. To come out here and play like we did in all phases, I’m really proud of this group."
Now, the Rams will return to Los Angeles, where winds are expected to pick up on Tuesday, exasperating the already dire firefighting efforts. Amidst smoke, ash, and chaos, the city, and the Rams team will begin preparations for the future.
For the City of Angels, that’s a long and arduous rebuilding process. For the Rams, that’s Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, and the daunting Eagles offense that beat them 37-20 at SoFi Stadium back in November.
But for one night, the Rams, the city of Los Angeles, and their fans can exhale and celebrate a small victory in what will be a very long fight for the Southern California community.
“It’s honestly hard to wrap my head around the devastation," said an emotional Stafford to Scott Van Pelt after the game. "Along with a lot of people around the country, I was watching the news and seeing these homes reduced to rubble and firefighters doing everything they possibly can to fight it back. Living in those conditions myself, knowing what those winds felt like, it was unbelievable. I’m proud of the city, proud of their community for their response and hopefully they're proud of us for the way we played tonight.”