As reporters milled about the Rams’ locker room after their 20-15 win over the Las Vegas Raiders, lounge cushions had been pulled out. Players laid back, looking at their cell phones as recovery sleeves provided some relief to their weary legs. In the auxiliary room, massage tables were occupied as therapists rubbed the knots out of backs and legs.
Usually, such treatment can wait until Monday so players can spend their Sunday evenings with family. But with a Thursday night game against the Minnesota Vikings (5-1) looming, Sunday evening became Monday for the Rams (2-4).
Condensed weeks are never easy in the NFL. Beyond the recovery, teams lose three days to prepare for an opponent. And in the case of the Vikings, well, they don’t make it easy for teams to prepare for them in full weeks.
Defensive coordinator Brian Flores has developed one of the NFL’s most complicated defenses in his second year in Minnesota. The Vikings were first in defense-adjusted value over average (DVOA) against the pass and the run through the first six weeks of the season. His unit is second in the NFL in blitz rate, sending extra men after the quarterback on over 50% of snaps in five of six games this season.
But just when opposing teams start to get a sense of what the Vikings are presenting on film, Flores finds a way to pull the rug out from under them.
“He does a great job from a self-scout perspective of being able to change those things up so you have to be really sound with your rules,” Rams head coach Sean McVay said. “He’s got some movable pieces that have some versatile skill sets that can create that conflict that they’re looking to do and it’s been incredibly successful, really for him wherever he’s been as a defensive coach. It’s especially on display this year.”
There’s no good time to face a defense like this, but the Rams are in the midst of an offensive slump. While the run game has started to find some steam, the aerial attack has faded. The Rams averaged 194.3 passing yards the last three weeks, a down note punctuated by 144 passing yards against the Raiders. In that span, the Rams offense has scored five touchdowns.
Injuries have played a part; the Rams started their fourth offensive line combination of the season on Sunday, though moving Justin Dedich to left guard was a matter of looking for the right combination with Steve Avila and Jonah Jackson still healing rather than another injury to Logan Bruss.
And the Rams were without receiver Cooper Kupp for a fourth straight game against the Raiders. But even with him coming back against the Vikings, the Rams can’t rely on him to solve all their woes.
“I got a ton of confidence in our guys,” quarterback Matthew Stafford said. “We have some moving parts as all teams do in the NFL right now, but I got a lot of trust in the coaching staff and a lot of trust in the guys out there to go out and execute.”
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Injury report
Rams defensive tackle Braden Fiske had a sore back after Sunday’s win over the Raiders. While the Rams aren’t conducting full practices with the short turnaround, instead opting for walk throughs, McVay said the team will be monitoring Fiske’s progress and status ahead of Thursday.
Offensive lineman Joe Noteboom (ankle) could be a candidate to come off of injured reserve against the Vikings, McVay said, after practicing in a limited capacity last week.