VikingsTerritory asked a handful of Vikings fans for a prediction of Monday’s game between the Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota Vikings at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
Vikings at Rams: Consensus Prediction for Playoffs
The fans have spoken.
The Vikings won nine consecutive games after losing to the Rams in October but fell flat last weekend at Ford Field, sacrificing the NFC’s No. 1 seed to the Detroit Lions. The penalty? A road playoff game for a 14-win team.
Minnesota will face a 10-7 Rams team on Monday, led by quarterback Matthew Stafford and his hotshot receivers, Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp. Los Angeles started the season 1-4 and wound up winning the NFC West, quite the achievement.
Vikings fans predict the Vikings will advance to the Divisional Round of the playoffs.
Fans were nearly unanimous in choosing the Vikings, evidently content with the state of play in Minnesota. The lousy performance in Detroit did not wholly dampen the masses’ overall enthusiasm.
Here’s how the fan panel sees the score for Wildcard Weekend:
Bruce Johnson: Vikings Win, 30-24
Chris: Vikings Win, 24-22
Christina: Vikings Win, 26-23
Eric Horstman: Rams Win, 31-21
Ivan, Czar of Bohunks: Vikings Win, 30-14
Legend of Corra: Vikings Win, 34-27
PurpleVikodin: Vikings Win, 31-29
RedNPurple: Vikings Win, 42-14
SkolSister: Vikings Win, 24-17
Skol Tom: Vikings Win, 23-21
Steve Berglund: Vikings Win, 27-21
Tadd: Vikings Win, 31-21
Thee…Mr. Legend: Vikings Win, 37-13
Mathematically en masse, fans predict the Vikings will top the Rams by a score of 28-21.
And the season standings for fans’ predictions:
Christina: 14-3
Ivan, Czar of Bohunks: 14-3
Skol Tom: 13-4
Steve Berglund: 13-4
RedNPurple: 13-4
Chris: 13-4
PurpleVikodin: 13-4
SkolSister: 13-4
Eric Horstman: 12-5
Legend of Corra: 12-5
Thee…Mr. Legend: 12-5
Tadd: 11-6
Bruce Johnson: 10-7
Sporting News’ Vinnie Iyer picked the Vikings to defeat Los Angeles, 20-17, and explained: “The Vikings lost to only two teams this season, the Lions (twice) and Rams. Before falling in Week 18 in Detroit, they lost back-to-back to Detroit and Los Angeles in Weeks 7 and 8. The Vikings just struggled playing all-out with Sam Darnold, while the Rams still looked good resting Matthew Stafford and other starters. That said, the Rams’ offense is a bigger issue than their defense in the second matchup, and this surprise low-scoring game will go to the savvier group in the rematch.”
.Minnesota is favored to prevail by three against the Rams. The purple team has the league’s second-best defense per EPA/Play in 2024.
Minnesota has won one road playoff game in the last 20 seasons, an upset over the New Orleans Saints in 2019.
Kevin O’Connell’s team has a 3.6% chance of reaching the Super Bowl, according to DVOA.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His MIN obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.