GLENDALE, Ariz. — Once the moment of silence was over, the message of resilience from Andrew Whitworth shared, the “L.A. Together” flag waved at midfield by Michael Hoecht, it was time for kickoff of the Rams’ wild-card playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings. Three hours of respite, for the Rams and their city, in the wake of the wildfires that burned through Los Angeles in the last week.
But the Rams weren’t satisfied with three hours. With a mere playoff appearance. They wanted more, and they took it, with a dominant 27-9 victory over the Vikings (14-4).
With the win, the fourth-seeded Rams (11-7) advance to face the second-seeded Philadelphia Eagles in a divisional round game on Sunday.
The biggest question surrounding the Rams was how much emotional energy they would have left after this chaotic week. From evacuating their homes Thursday after the outbreak of the Kenneth fire to the relocation of the game to Arizona to their early departure Friday to the neighboring state, was their anything left in the tank?
But that query was answered definitively in the first six minutes of the game. Quarterback Matthew Stafford hit Puka Nacua for a 27-yard gain, then Tyler Higbee for 23. He drew the Vikings offsides on 4th-and-1, then found Kyren Williams open in the end zone after a play-action fake for a quick 7-0 lead.
As he celebrated his score, Williams recreated the Dodgers’ interlocking L.A. logo with his hands before using them to make a heart.
The Rams’ defense answered the bell with a quick three-and-out as Byron Young and Kobie Turner delivered a tone-setting second-down sack, and the Rams added a field goal for a quick two-possession lead.
It was the defense that kept the momentum going as Stafford stalled as a 10-for-10 start turned into a 1-for-6 slump.
First, it was cornerback Cobie Durant, who had lost his starting job a few weeks ago, coming in unblocked for a drive-killing sack of Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold. When a roughing the punter penalty put the defense back on the field, Durant simply jumped a third-down route for an interception.
The Rams couldn’t capitalize on offense, but another corner blitz bore even more fruit. Ahkello Witherspoon came in off the right side for his career sack, stripping the ball from Darnold. Jared Verse, the Rams’ lone Pro Bowler, picked it up and ran 57 yards, flipping into the end zone for his first career touchdown.
Meanwhile, the barrage of Darnold orchestrated by Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula continued, unrelentingly. The Rams totaled six in the first half, the most by a team in the first half of a playoff game in 25 years.
Turner swallowed Darnold up on fourth down under the two-minute warning, and the Rams took advantage of the short field for tight end Davis Allen’s first touchdown of the season.
Despite the unusual scenery, the Rams did everything they could to make it feel like a home game, from the paint on the field to the Mariachi Rams to Nita Strauss’ guitar filling the stadium to the blue banners thanking fire fighters and first responders. But it almost felt like a college bowl game, too. Rams fans filled the seats behind their teams’ sidelines, and the Vikings sat on the opposite side of the stadium.
But the sense of a neutral site faded as the Rams built their 24-3 halftime lead, the largest lead after two quarters in franchise playoff history, per ESPN. Each “Rams house” cheer grew louder as the Vikings’ “Skol” chant faded into the background.
The Rams never let the Vikings threaten that lead. Michael Hoecht tied the team’s season high with a seventh sack of Darnold, forcing a white-flag, fourth-quarter punt by Minnesota, then threw up the interlocking L.A. Neville Gallimore added No. 8 later in the quarter, making the Rams the first team since the 1970 merger to record eight sacks and a defensive TD in a playoff game, per ESPN. Then Desjuan Johnson’s made it nine to tie the playoff record.
They overcame injuries to Higbee (chest) and Witherspoon (thigh), because that’s what this team has done all year. Overcome and carry on, whether it be from injury or loss. Or, this week, a fire that displaced the entire team. Even that could not stop these Rams as their season continues, two wins away from a return to the Super Bowl.
More to come on this story.