The Rams' 30-20 win over the Minnesota Vikings in Week 8 featured their second-most points in a game this season. Los Angeles achieved that with elite trench play on both sides of the ball, including their lowest pressure rate allowed this season and elite third down defense.

On Monday night, finding the balance between replicating their success from Week 8 against pressure and disguised coverages while also anticipating some of the Vikings' adjustments will be significant. Head coach Sean McVay knows the precedents set in their previous matchup will be a factor, but it's not the end-all-be-all for their preparation.

"You have to look at what's recent," McVay said. "What are the things that they might be trying to do and what have we put on tape? It's a balance of different things. That's always the give and take, understanding that there is a game of inventory against one another. Even though it was a little bit earlier in the season, you have to be cognizant of that. You also have to see... alright, how have they evolved and adapted as the season has gone on?"

Beating pressure and disguised coverages

The only three games the Vikings lost this season are the only three where their opponent had positive expected points added (EPA) per pass play, according to Next Gen Stats. EPA measures how many points a play is expected to add or lose based on historical context like field position, time and other factors. All three games saw the opposing team score 30 or more points against Minnesota's blitz-happy defensive coordinator, Brian Flores.

Flores brought his sixth-lowest blitz rate of the season (35.3%) in Week 8 – it was the Vikings' lowest since Week 1. Oftentimes, Flores used stunts, simulated pressures and disguised coverages. Defensive backs traveled with wide receivers only to drop into zone coverage rather than man. Linemen dropped into coverage. Deep zones were hidden pre-snap.

Those deceptive concepts are designed to cause hesitancy in quarterbacks, but the veteran Matthew Stafford was mostly unfazed. McVay's game plan utilized Stafford's quick processing against Minnesota's aggressiveness to access vulnerable areas in the defense. The key to beating Minnesota has been scheming against Flores' complicated, pressure-reliant defense. If the Vikings' front doesn't get home, the back end can be exposed.

In Week 8, Los Angeles' +0.51 EPA per pass play against Minnesota's 12 blitzes was the fourth-most it allowed all season, and their +0.49 EPA per pass play against non-blitzes was second-most. No matter what they threw at Stafford, and it was hardly ever a base defensive look that was consistent post-snap, he was ready for it. He also provided some youthful maneuvering to escape pressure on a touchdown pass to Cooper Kupp.

Many teams try to get the ball out quickly to beat effective pass rush units, and the Rams did that with screens and one-cut routes, but they also schemed up ways to negate pressures. They used motions to provide leverage along the front and brought in extra blockers to give Stafford time in the pocket to create explosives.

"I thought even being able to push the ball down the field because our offensive line was holding up, even if we didn't hit it, it ended up loosening things up," McVay said postgame.

The Rams generated nine explosive plays (15-plus yards) in that game, their second-most of the season. Good protection on those downfield shots opened up the quick game, where they attacked spaces that rushers came from or coverage players vacated post-snap. Because of Flores' complicated defense, almost every play featured some sort of adjustment post-snap.

The Rams are the only team this season to hold the Vikings to single-digit pressures (four) or zero sacks, and Stafford has been more efficient against the blitz than standard rushes. Another high-level pass blocking performance and a confident Stafford (the gun-slinging, finger-gun wielding version) will be required for the Rams to generate similar success on offense.

Getting Minnesota to obvious passing situations

Throughout this season, Rams players and coaches have discussed the importance of earning the right to rush the passer. That is achieved by putting opposing teams in obvious passing situations, which is what L.A. did last time around, especially on third downs in the second half.

The Vikings went 2-for-7 (28.6%) on third downs in the last showdown, and when they faced third downs of three yards or more, they went 1-for-6 (16.7%). Their season-long third-down conversion rate was 40%, so this game was an outlier for them. In their most recent loss to Detroit last week, they went 3-for-13 (23.1%) on third downs.

In the second half, L.A. forced Minnesota into obvious passing situations, and then generated pressure and/or disguised coverages. Darnold was pressured four times on six third-down passes, converting just one.

The Rams backed Minnesota into those unfavorable circumstances with negative plays on early downs and consistent run stuffs. Vikings running back Aaron Jones' 3.1 yards per carry against the Rams was his third-fewest of the season. Thus, Los Angeles' young front will need another strong performance on Monday to bring about similar results.

"I felt like they started to give some problems along the line of scrimmage... that kind of resets the whole day," said Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell postgame. "They were doing a lot of things coverage-wise to try to keep a roof on the coverage and not let the big plays happen."

Confusing Darnold or rushing him through progressions, especially on third down, is the key to a successful defensive effort on Monday night, as it was in Week 8. And they can only get there with efficiency on the early downs.

What's new for each team?

Over the last six weeks, Minnesota has brought pressure 48% of the time, nearly 8% higher than their season average. Last week, they brought pressure 54.3% of the time against a Lions offense that was even more successful than the Rams against the blitz this season. It didn't work in their favor.

Meanwhile, the Rams have showcased even better offensive line play with increased health and continuity among that unit. Week 8 was the first time all season L.A. didn't allow a sack. Since then, it's allowed zero sacks in six of their 10 games. The Rams got offensive lineman Steve Avila back from injury in Week 10, which helped spark that run. They also chose to stick with rookie center Beaux Limmer from Week 11 on instead of free agent signing Jonah Jackson to emphasize continuity in that unit, and it's paid off.

These two coaching staffs are well-acquainted, as O'Connell and many other Vikings staffers were with the Rams at some point. But, McVay said that will be less of a factor than people think. It's about getting the players to execute game plans tailored to each team's strengths and/or the others' weaknesses.

"I think that stuff gets a little bit over-emphasized," McVay said of the coaching matchup. "Kevin's a great coach and there's a familiarity with the rhythm and the routines in terms of how we all operate. There is an evolution and there are adaptations that occur from season to season and week to week. It's a fun narrative, but it's really about the Rams versus the Vikings."