It’s been two months and a half since the Los Angeles Rams encountered the Minnesota Vikings. In Week 8, the Rams won 30-20 on a Thursday Night Football game. On Monday, the stakes are much higher with a divisional round spot in play.

So, I talked to Tyler Forness, who covers the Vikings for A to Z Sports, to have a better understanding of what’s happening in Minnesota before the huge game with the Rams.

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Sam Darnold played poorly against the Lions. What did Detroit do to limit him?

The Lions did a lot of little things that centered around being extra physical in coverage and sending a ton of pressure. That, along with the adrenaline of playing in his first (quasi) playoff game, caused a lot of the inaccuracies from Sam Darnold, something I wrote extensively about.

The other element was how the Lions used their pressure packages. They moved the pocket backwards into Darnold, which was a major factor. Darnold has thrived in sliding into open space in the pocket to fire passes down the field for explosive plays. Those weren’t available on Sunday night because they pushed the pocket backward.

In the previous game against the Rams, Vikings left tackle Christian Darrisaw got hurt. How has the offensive line done without him?

It’s been a mixed bag. Over the course of the entire season, the Vikings were second in ESPN’s pass block win rate and 15th in run block win rate. They haven’t been able to completely replace Darrisaw with Cam Robinson, but the latter has been more than capable.

The one element that’s been a huge factor is Blake Brandel. When Darrisaw played the entire game, Brandel had six pressures allowed in six games. In the game Darrisaw got hurt, he allowed four pressures. In the last 10 games without Darrisaw, that number spiked to 31 pressures. He thrived with Darrisaw but Robinson’s issues in allowing pass rushers to take the inside path is a concern with Brandel’s struggles, as the two players combined for 17 pressures allowed on Sunday against the Lions.

Kevin O’Connell has a strong connection with Sean McVay. Do you think they have similar coaching styles?

I do think they have similar coaching styles. O’Connell’s playbook is rooted in McVay’s and they are both great culture builders and creative play callers/designers. There will be a lot of people who say that O’Connell is just a McVay cosplay, but how he runs the offense is different, as O’Connell continues to take shot plays more than McVay does.

Do the Vikings have the horses to stop the Rams’ pass catching weapons?

So, that’s an interesting one. The Vikings cornerbacks have performed way above expectations this year, especially Byron Murphy Jr., who will be a starter in the Pro Bowl Games. What’s interesting here is that they have played really well across the board no matter who is across from them.

I do think it will take more than coverage for the Vikings to win the game against the Rams. They will have to get pressure on Stafford, something they couldn’t accomplish in week eight. If they can get pressure on Stafford without blitzing a lot, that could be the recipe for the Vikings to get the win.

Sean McVay won’t get complacent after first win over Vikings, but Rams have reasons for confidence

It’ll be a huge schematic matchup on Monday