Sep 8, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Minnesota Vikings cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. (7) warms up before the game against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
The Minnesota Vikings have a quick turnaround to get over their first loss of the season. On Thursday night football, the Vikings will play the Rams, and Minnesota will head to the West Coast for its first primetime outing of the season.
The Vikings must bounce back, and they have what appears to be an ideal chance to do so with the next four games against perceived weaker opposition. This matchup has one central area of intrigue, and that’s where we will start looking at crucial personnel battles.
Where else is there to start? The master vs. the apprentice. As head coach and offensive coordinator, Sean McVay and Kevin O’Connell won the Super Bowl together in 2021. After that, O’Connell left LA to become the Vikings’ head coach. The Rams struggled following their Super Bowl win, managing only five wins in 2022, while O’Connell led the Vikings to 13 wins and a division title. 2023 saw the Rams back in the playoffs while the Vikings endured a difficult season. The two teams are enjoying contrasting fortunes again this season.
Both coaches come from the wider Mike Shanahan coaching tree and employ their versions of that scheme. It will undoubtedly be interesting to see how they match up against each other and whether O’Connell can enjoy the success he has had against Kyle Shanahan against McVay. The Rams have had a brutal list of injuries on offense but managed to get just their second win of the season on Sunday. There’s a lot of football left in the season, but this one is already in almost “must-win” territory for the Rams.
One of the many injuries that has hit the Rams is Cooper Kupp, who missed the last four games. Kupp appeared close to playing against the Raiders on Sunday with the thought he was being kept back for the short week and would return against the Vikings. Kupp’s return would be a boost for the Rams, but there will be no return for Puka Nacua, Tyler Higbee, and a host of injured linemen.
Should Kupp play, he poses a matchup problem for the Vikings, who work primarily out of the slot. Intermediate middle-of-the-field throws are the Vikings’ Achilles heel and where Kupp does most of his work. Without any other major receiving threat to deal with, the Vikings may want to make sure Byron Murphy is always in the slot with Kupp. The Lions game highlighted the need for Brian Flores to be flexible with his defense.
Christian Darrisaw continues to prove he is one of the best offensive tackles in the league. This week he comes up against the Rams’ first-round rookie edge defender Jared Verse. It has been a solid start to his NFL career for Verse, who was the third of four edge defenders drafted in the middle of the first round this year, including Minnesota’s Dallas Turner. While Turner has had to bide his time behind the excellent Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel, Verse has become the Rams’ lead edge defender in a weaker group.
Verse has played well, receiving a 79.6 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, which is 15th best across the league. He will meet a stern task in the shape of Darrisaw, who comes off the back of a performance that saw his highest pass-blocking grade (85.8) of the season via PFF and possibly the greatest pass-blocking rep of all time, which was all over social media on Monday.
The Rams have leaned heavily on running back Kyren Williams amongst all the offensive injuries. Williams has delivered rushing for 436 and eight touchdowns in the first six games. He has also caught 14 of 15 targets for 71 yards and a touchdown. The Rams relied heavily on Williams in their two wins this season, scoring five touchdowns against the 49ers and Raiders. Having Kupp will take some of the burden away, but the offense will still run through Williams.
The Vikings’ run defense has been much improved this season, and they did a good job with David Montgomery last Sunday. It was the switch to Jahmyr Gibbs that caused problems, and the absence of Blake Cashman at linebacker was noticeable. Still, only the Baltimore Ravens are allowing fewer rushing yards per game than the Vikings, who are allowing just 80 yards per game. Cashman isn’t likely to be back for this game, so the run defense will be led by Harrison Phillips, with Ivan Pace the man guy at linebacker.