When the Los Angeles Rams decided to take their foot off the gas in Week 18 to rest their starters before the playoffs, it left fans with one major takeaway: Los Angeles had to be OK to play the Vikings of Minnesota or the Detroit Lions in the Wildcard round.
On paper, the idea of facing either team is much more difficult than the Washington Commanders, who finished the regular season with 12 wins instead of 15, but apparently Los Angeles felt a different feeling, apparently preferring the enemy they already knew and almost defeated. or already defeated in dominant fashion against an NFC East opponent, they have not played under this new regime.
Discussing the Vikings heading into Week 19 and what he thinks of the team ahead of their upcoming showdown at SoFi Stadium, McVay pointed out that Kevin O’Connell has built a very good program in Minnesota and that ‘he will. certainly presents an interesting challenge in a single elimination format.
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“Excellent team. Look at it, 14-3. Obviously, we know their coaching staff very well. Respect, admiration and what a great job [Vikings Head Coach] Kevin [O’Connell], [Offensive Coordinator] Wes [Phillips], [Senior Offensive Assistant] Chris O’Hara, and [Assistant Inside Linebackers Coach] Thad Bogardus did it when they were here. Defensively, they were excellent. They pose a lot of different problems,” McVay told Rams reporters.
“Offensively, Kevin does a great job accentuating guys’ skills. Obviously, [Vikings Quarterback] Sat [Darnold] had a great year. It’s cool to see [Vikings Running Back] Cam Akers is doing his thing and making some plays for them over the last few weeks. [Vikings Running Back] Aaron Jones is dangerous. Their receptors are obviously well documented. [Vikings Wide Receiver] Justin Jefferson is as unique as it gets. They move it around and do a great job placing it in various locations. I think [Vikings Wide Receiver] Jordan Addison is a great football player who… you see, he’s the number one receiver on other teams. You saw [Vikings Wide Receiver Jalen] Nailor makes a bunch of plays and gets [Vikings Tight End T.J.] Hockenson’s guard has been important for them with the different things he can provide, not exclusively in the passing game. It’s a big challenge. They are really good [special] teams. Obviously, [Vikings Special Teams Coordinator] Matt Daniels is their coordinator who is here with us. It’s going to be a big challenge, but it’s NFL playoff football, so we’re excited about that and we’re diving into that preparation as we speak.
With one game and several former coaches in common on their teams, the Rams and Vikings really know each other as well as two teams that play in different divisions can at this point in the season. Considering McVay ripped a dozen of the team’s players and coaches from memory in an on-the-fly question-and-answer session, let’s hope his team is similarly prepared once the game begins Monday night .
