How the Vikings can stop Jared Verse and Puka Nacua among pivotal questions for Wild Card vs. Rams
The Minnesota Vikings are set to take on the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night. Where that game is set to be played is still up in the air, as the wildfires in Los Angeles could end up moving the game to Glendale, Arizona due to the extreme nature of both the fire and the […]
The Minnesota Vikings are set to take on the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night. Where that game is set to be played is still up in the air, as the wildfires in Los Angeles could end up moving the game to Glendale, Arizona due to the extreme nature of both the fire and the resulting smoke.
If the game does get moved, it will provide an interesting element that could end up swinging the advantage toward the Vikings, as there are a lot of snowbirds in Arizona. From strictly an on-field perspective, how will the Vikings fare? We talked to Wendell Ferreira of A to Z Sports to get the lowdown on the Rams.
Jared Verse has been a huge addition to the Rams’ defense. Is there a way for the Vikings to slow him down?
It's pretty hard to find a weakness in Verse's game. He's been an impressive pass rusher, which is his calling card, but also a really effective run defender. What the Vikings might do to limit his production is to find ways to turn their protection towards him. Most of the time, the rookie plays outside of the left tackle's shoulder, and the Rams won't move him around that much. So, Kevin O'Connell can find ways to chip him or execute some double teams. One-on-one, it has been a challenge even for the top tackles in football.
Matthew Stafford has been excellent against the blitz throughout his career and that’s the Vikings’ bread and butter. How is he so good against the blitz?
He has the exact type of mentality a quarterback must have to be successful against a defense like Brian Flores’. Stafford is a gunslinger, and he’s willing to take risks and hunt big plays. Eventually, he will get burned because of this approach, but Stafford is so talented that he makes up for it with explosive plays. When he has solid protection, an elite playcaller, and excellent pass-catching weapons alongside him, it’s easy to see why the Rams' offense is so effective when everything is clicking.
Puka Nacua is the best player on this offense. How can the Vikings stop him down the field?
Puka leads the NFL in yards per route run, and McVay will find ways to put him in favorable positions. So it's hard to foresee a scenario where the Vikings stop him completely. An area where Nacua isn't so successful is at creating separation by himself, so a sticky man coverage is a viable tool to limit his production. The second-year receiver had 52.5% win rate versus zone, and 33.7% win rate versus man in the regular season. The target separation goes down from 1.82 per play to 1.63 versus man. That combination tells you what the Vikings can, and probably will do to affect his game.
If the Rams lose home-field advantage due to the wildfires, how much of an impact will it have being the other team often invades SoFi Stadium?
Home-field advantage hasn't been a big factor for the Rams since they moved back to Los Angeles in 2016. In this period, they've won 42 games and lost 32, including a 5-4 record this season (the road record was 5-3). Obviously, the familiarity with the stadium and with the field matters to a certain degree, but not being on the road in a tough environment or complicated weather conditions are enough for the Rams to be fine with wherever the game will be played.
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