Los Angeles Rams: Fan analysis from win over Minnesota Vikings in Week 4

With the Los Angeles Ram at 4-0 after their Thursday night win over the Minnesota Vikings, here is one fans analytic commentary on the game.

In what ended up being a tough battle to close out the month of September, the Los Angeles Rams held on for the 38-31 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday. In honor of the big win to improve to 4-0 on the season, here is some fan analysis from the big win.

1. The offense is dealing

This is the headline from the game. Jared Goff put up career high numbers and tied a franchise record for passing touchdowns with five. Cooper Kupp had his best game as a pro, and consistently does the little things that make a difference on the field.

Two other receivers, Brandin Cooks and Robert Woods, each had 100 yards receiving and a score each.  Week to week, you never know who is going to have the big game in this crew.

And don’t forget about Todd Gurley. The reigning Offensive Player of the Year had a pedestrian game for him, but still had 83 rushing yards, including an 11-yard run to get a first down on the last drive to seal the game when the Vikings knew the rush was coming, in addition to 73 yards receiving and a touchdown. If this offense can stay healthy and stay in sync, we are going to continue to see crazy stats.

My one question about the offense is how much will the depth receivers like Josh Reynolds and Mike Thomas be utilized as we go forward? It seems like there could be some production there for them if given more of an opportunity, so keep an eye on that.

2. The pass rush eventually got going

Minnesota came out with the intention of getting the ball out of Kirk Cousins‘ hands quickly.  Despite good penetration, the defense was unable to “get home” until the fourth quarter. The unit ended with four sacks, including the strip sack by John Franklin-Myers that ended the Vikings’ offensive hopes.

It took three quarters to get there, but as the game went on and Minnesota needed to throw to try and get chunks of yards in the passing game, it was inevitable that Aaron Donald and Ndomukong Suh would get to Cousins.

Rams fans should get used to seeing this strategy that seeks to limit the affect of this defensive line. Forcing the ball out quickly will lead the offense to make mistakes, which is why the secondary needs to be on their game as well.

3. The secondary was inches away all game

How many times did we see Sam Shields‘ fingertips on a ball that would be caught by a Vikings receiver?  This happened again and again, and not just to Shields, but to John Johnson and Marcus Peters as well.

I was convinced that as the game went on the secondary was going to pick one of those. The closest they came was in their own red-zone when Cousins turned to his left to fire an out route to Stefon Diggs.

Shields had jumped the route and could have possibly returned it for a touchdown, if it hadn’t gotten batted down at the line. That was the kind of night the secondary had, in which they were just a little off.  The luck all seemed to bounce Minnesota’s way, but in the end, this group did enough.

After a long weekend, Los Angeles travels to Seattle next with the hope of improving to 5-0 on the 2018 season.