When the Rams and Vikings first met in Week 8, quarterback Matthew Stafford had one of his best games of the season, throwing for 279 yards and four touchdowns in a 30-20 victory. That was made possible by Los Angeles' elite pass protection, as the 11.8% pressure rate on Stafford was the lowest of the season for both teams.
The Minnesota defense, which ranked first in blitz percentage in the regular season (40.6%), didn't generate a single pressure on 12 blitzes in that game. Rams head coach Sean McVay outdueled the Vikings' gung-ho defensive coordinator, Brian Flores, with everyone on offense seeing the field "with the same eyes," said offensive lineman Alaric Jackson after their Week 8 showdown on Thursday Night Football.
"They do a nice job of mixing it up and making the quarterback, the center, the whole team on offense really be on the same page," Stafford said.
On Monday, Los Angeles knows that Minnesota won't repeat their mistakes. It's going to be "a chess match," said Rams offensive lineman Kevin Dotson, where connected pre-snap reads and protections will be a critical factor in L.A.'s offensive success. With its home playoff game being moved to State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. due to the wildfires in Los Angeles, there is a lot of cause of distraction, so staying linked mentally will be that much more important.
The Rams are the only team this season to hold Minnesota to single-digit pressures (four) or zero pressures on blitzes. They achieved 0.49 expected points added (EPA) per dropback, which was Stafford's second-highest of the season and the Vikings' highest allowed. EPA measures how many points a play is expected to add or lose based on historical context like field position, time and other factors.
This season, all three Vikings losses have featured strong passing performances against them, which is why the offensive line's performance will be so important on Monday. And they won't see the same strategy as last time.
"Things that we haven't adjusted to in the past, they're going to try to take advantage of," Dotson said. "Things that they thought they did good last time, they're going to try to use this time."
"And they're going to add little wrinkles to it, knowing that we're doing the same thing looking at the defense. So it's just going to be like a chess match. Everybody is trying to make their move to be the next one to make good things happen."
In every other game, Minnesota generated at least a 29.2% pressure rate on blitzes, but the Rams managed to hold them to none by prioritizing united protections and new offensive looks. Dotson said the most important thing is "to pick up our guys," keeping Stafford clean long enough to make his read. Everyone must know their responsibility no matter how the look changes post-snap, and how long specific reads take on any given play.
When they needed to hold the ball longer in Week 8, Los Angeles brought in more blockers, using 12 personnel (two tight ends) outside the red zone at a much higher rate than they usually do. That meant more people had to be on the same page while manning different responsibilities, which is especially difficult on a short week.
"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.
That resulted in their second-most explosive plays in a game this season (nine), opening up the underneath areas.
L.A.'s Week 8 performance jump-started the offensive line, which allowed zero sacks in six of the last 10 games to end the regular season. It also had the same group start most of their games since Week 11, when Steve Avila returned from injury and rookie center Beaux Limmer was inserted back into the lineup. This unit enters the postseason with more continuity than ever.
"I think our guys are getting more and more confident through the continuity, the hard work, the practice, and all of that," said offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur a few weeks ago. "[They're] really starting to gel and play off each other and a brotherhood is being formed."
This week, most of the Rams' offensive starters will enter Monday's game with nearly two weeks of rest, during which they've been able to take inventory of the Vikings' more recent schemes and tendencies.
"It was just what they call a shock and awe," Dotson said. "They're trying to get you flustered. Once you're flustered, now they can send you.
"They want you to get behind sticks so they can send their stuff. And the farther you get back, the more they can send, the more confidence they have in sending that blitz. So if we can get three, four yards on the first one, we can keep our offense going."
The Vikings' defensive identity hasn't changed, so Dotson said communication and a connected mindset will be the key to repeating their success up front on Monday once again.
"Whatever happened in that game has nothing to do with how we're going to play on Monday," McVay said this week. "You use that as a learning opportunity, but you gotta be ready to go and be at your best in that three-hour window we're allotted."
