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Going back to the years when they were located in Los Angeles, the Minnesota Vikings and the (now) St. Louis Rams have had a pretty solid rivalry. In the late 70s, they matched up in the playoffs on numerous occasions. The rivalry certainly hasn't been as fierce as it used to be, but with the two teams set to kick off the first week of the 2014 NFL season, it would appear that we're in line for a good one here.
As we did last season, we're going to take a quick look at the history between the Vikings and their opponents, courtesy of the folks from Pro Football Reference.
Total Games Between the Vikings and the Rams: 42 (35 regular season, 7 post-season)
All-time Regular Season Record: Vikings, 24-16-2 (Vikings hold 5-2 edge in post-season play)
Total Vikings points scored, head-to-head: 939 (22.4 points/game)
Total Rams points scored, head-to-head: 939 (22.4 points/game)
Longest Vikings' winning streak vs. Rams: 6 games (20 September 1987 - 13 September 1998)
Longest Rams' winning streak vs. Vikings: 4 games (15 October 1978 - 6 October 1985)
Most recent Vikings' victory in St. Louis: 16 December 2012 (Final score 36-22)
Most recent Rams' victory in St. Louis: 30 November 2003 (Final score 48-17)
Biggest Vikings' victory at St. Louis: 28 points, 11 October 2009 (Final score 38-10)
Biggest Rams' victory at St. Louis home: 36 points, 22 September 1967 (Final score 39-3, game took place in Los Angeles)
A couple of other things about the match-up.
-The Vikings are actually riding a two-game winning streak at the Edward Jones Dome. Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor combined for three touchdown runs in a 38-10 victory in October of 2009, and Peterson's 212 yards rushing and Everson Griffen's 29-yard pick-six led the way in a 36-22 Minnesota win in December of 2012.
-Those two games are also the only two times in his career that Peterson has faced the Rams, and he's done fairly well for himself. He's rushed for 275 yards on 38 carries (a 7.2 yard/carry average) and three touchdowns.
-Matt Cassel has not done as well, at least where stats are concerned. In two career games against the Rams, he has completed 36-of-62 passes (58%) for 451 yards, along with two touchdown passes and three interceptions. His team did win both games, however. . .a 23-16 victory when he was with the New England Patriots, and a 27-13 victory when he was with the Kansas City Chiefs.
-The Rams will be starting Shaun Hill at quarterback, who got his start in Minnesota and had spent the previous four years with the Detroit Lions. He hasn't performed too badly, either, despite a 1-3 record against our favorite football team. He came in to relieve Trent Dilfer as a member of the 49ers in December of 2007, and performed incredibly well in a 27-7 Minnesota victory. He completed 22-of-27 passes for 181 yards and a touchdown that day. He was also the Niners' quarterback in the Vikings' 27-24 win at the Metrodome in 2009 (i.e. the "IT'S GREG LEWIS! OH MY HEAVENS! WELCOME TO MINNESOTA!" game). He saw the Vikings twice in 2010 as the quarterback of the Lions. The first game was a 24-10 Minnesota victory, and the second game saw Hill's one win over Minnesota, as he defeated Joe Webb (LOL) and the Vikings 20-13 to mercifully end the 2010 season.
-Yes, even though the Vikings do hold an 8-game advantage in head-to-head record, these two teams have scored the same number of points against each other. The Rams haven't had as many victories over the Vikings, but the ones they have had have tended to be a little bit larger.
And that's a bit of a look at the history between the Minnesota Vikings and the St. Louis Rams. The Vikings have had the better of it over the years, and hopefully that will continue on Sunday at the Edward Jones Dome.
Editor's Note: SB Nation's partner FanDuel is hosting a $1,000,000 Fantasy Football Contest for Week 1's NFL games. It's only $25 to join and first place wins $100,000. Starts Sunday, September 7th at 1pm ET. Here's the link.