Vikings

Nordo's Numbers: Wild Card Game vs. Rams

Photo credit: Joseph Rondone/The Republic-USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Rams routed the Minnesota Vikings 27-9 on Wild Card weekend.

Minnesota played in a unique road playoff game in Arizona after the NFL moved the game to Glendale because of the wildfires in Los Angeles, meaning the NFC West winners played the 14-win Vikings at a neutral stadium.

The first half looked a lot like Minnesota’s game in Detroit. The offense appeared inept, mustering a paltry three points and giving the Rams a two sacks-to-points-allowed ratio. While the offense seemed to get its act together in the third quarter, it was too little too late.

Here are five numbers to break down this dreadful loss.

60%

The Rams have one of the worst first-quarter offenses in the NFL, but 60% of all their first-quarter points this season have come off the Vikings.

In the regular season, the Rams’ offense mustered just 30 first-quarter points, with only the Carolina Panthers offense scoring fewer, and 14 of those came in the first matchup between these two teams. However, on Monday the Rams’ offense still seemed to defy the trend of their season.

It started with them getting the ball and immediately hitting a play-action pass to put them in Vikings territory, scoring just a few plays later after drawing Minnesota offsides on a fourth-and-one.

After a quick three-and-out, the Rams offense marched the ball down the field again. It was a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty that stalled L.A. and forced them to settle for three, giving the Vikings their first deficit of 10 or more in the first quarter of all season.

8

In the second quarter, the Vikings had two turnovers in L.A. territory in the span of eight plays. The offense seemed to play the exact same way they had in Detroit – failing spectacularly after gaining momentum. After a roughing-the-kicker penalty gifted the offense another set of downs, Darnold threw an interception while targeting Jordan Addison on third-and-eight.

A few plays later, after a Josh Oliver fumble was overturned, Darnold held on to the ball for too long (again), and Ahkello Witherspoon obliterated him on a dropback. He let go of the ball, allowing Jared Verse to take it 57 yards to make it a 17-10 game.

The Vikings’ offense let the air out of the building whenever they got any momentum.

6

The Rams’ six first-half sacks were the most by any team in the playoffs in the past 30 years. L.A.’s front four dominated the Vikings from the start, sacking Darnold on his first dropback of the game.

However, it wasn’t all the offensive line’s fault. Darnold played as poorly as last week, holding on to the ball for far too long and looking extremely skittish under pressure. He took game-changing sacks on back-to-back drives, lost a fumble-six, and then took a sack on fourth down. The Rams scored seven more to make it 24-3 at half.

Darnold finished the half with a 75% pressure-to-sack ratio. The season might have ended this week, but for the offensive line, it might as well have ended during the Green Bay game.

21

The Vikings’ offense went 21 possessions without scoring a touchdown, the longest streak under Kevin O’Connell. Last week, the offense struggled in the red zone, not punching the ball in when they were closest to scoring. This week, they regressed even further, with their progress stalling as soon as they entered the opponent’s territory.

Whenever the offense seemed to have something going, L.A.’s defense would turn it up a notch and get to Darnold or force him into a bad read, rushed throw, or a sack.

3.2

None of Darnold’s sacks came with less than 3.2 seconds to throw the ball. While the offensive line played poorly — and they certainly did — Darnold is responsible for many of the pressures himself. He looked unsettled in the pocket again this week. With every hit he took, he seemed to regress into the player he was before joining the Vikings.

While Darnold deserves a lot of the blame, O’Connell failed to adapt his play calling again and schemed up too many long-developing plays. The Vikings seemed too content to use what worked in the past and not adapt to the defense.

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