Starting their season 0-2 didn’t deter Sean McVay’s Los Angeles Rams. If anything, it galvanized a locker room that needed a spark. They did get a win in Week 3 but lost the next two to head into their bye week at 1-4.
Amazingly, the Rams crawled out of their hole to win nine of their next 12 games, doing just enough to clinch a playoff spot by winning the NFC West. Now they have their first playoff matchup set when the Minnesota Vikings pay another visit to SoFi Stadium, their second of the season.
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Can Los Angeles Rams do what they haven’t accomplished in four years on Monday night?
The Los Angeles Rams may have already beaten the Minnesota Vikings once this season. But on Monday night, they’ll be tasked with doing something they haven’t pulled off since 2021, when they won Super Bowl LVI.
It’s hard to believe, but Week 14 of the 2021 season was the last time the Rams won a game played on Monday night. That occurrence came with a close 30-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals, and that was a team that finished 11-6 under Kliff Kingsbury, good enough to reach the postseason too. It should also be noted that Kevin O’Connell, the Vikings’ current head coach, was still on the Rams’ staff, serving as offensive coordinator.
The Rams are 0-4 in Monday night contests since that primetime victory over the Cardinals. That includes a Week 10 loss to the Miami Dolphins earlier this year.
But this time will be different. Not only will the atmosphere be unique, delivering a win-or-go-home scenario for both teams, the 14-3 Vikings are, on paper, the better team. Then again, if the Rams found a way to beat the Vikings by a score of 30-20 on Thursday night in October, who’s to say they can’t do so again on a Monday night in January with their season on the line?
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