Minnesota Vikings 24, Los Angeles Rams 7: The defense does not rest

The Los Angeles Rams brought a 7-2 record into U.S. Bank Stadium in Week 11 to take on the 7-2 Minnesota Vikings. It was expected, by many, to be the game of the week in the National Football League, and it certainly lived up to expectations. But, in the end, the home team won the way they’ve been winning all year. . .with defense and the occasional huge play.

The Minnesota defense held the league’s highest-scoring offense to just one touchdown, and held them scoreless for the final fifty-five minutes of action, and the offense did what they needed to do to generate a huge victory by a final score of 24-7.

The Rams got on the board first, marching the ball straight down the field on their first possession. They went 75 yards in nine plays, and capped the drive with a six-yard touchdown run by Todd Gurley to give themselves an early 7-0 lead. That was all the scoring for the first quarter of play.

Minnesota evened things up early in the second quarter, as Latavius Murray went into the end zone from eight yards out to make it 7-7. The Rams appeared to be on the verge of adding another touchdown later in the second quarter, but Anthony Harris forced a fumble by Cooper Kupp at the 1-yard line and recovered the fumble for a huge turnover.

That was all of the scoring for the first half, as Kai Forbath missed just his second field goal as a Viking during the second quarter, and the two teams went into the locker room tied at 7-7.

Forbath missed another field goal in the third quarter, clanging a 39-yard attempt off of the left upright to leave the game tied. No points were scored in the third quarter, but the Vikings got on the board on the second play of the second quarter, as Latavius Murray collected his second score of the day, this one from two yards out to give the Vikings their first lead of the afternoon. Forbath added the extra point, and the Vikings took a 14-7 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Minnesota extended the lead midway through the fourth, as Keenum found Adam Thielen on a short pass in the left flat. Thielen made one man miss, and did the rest from there, taking it the distance for a 65-yard touchdown reception. Forbath added the extra point, and the Vikings extended their lead to 21-7.

Forbath got some redemption with a 39-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 24-7. That was how it ended, as the Vikings defense continued to hammer Jared Goff and the rest of the Los Angeles offense to keep them out of the end zone at the end of the game to preserve a 17-point win.

Keenum wound up having a pretty solid game against his former employer, as he completed 27-of-38 passes for 280 yards and the long touchdown to Thielen. Thielen had another huge game, catching six balls for 123 yards and a touchdown. Kyle Rudolph chipped in with 58 yards on five receptions, and Stefon Diggs had four catches for 32 yards. Jarius Wright had a 23-yard reception that converted a big first down, and Michael Floyd got involved with two catches for 16 yards. Jerick McKinnon had five receptions, but they gained only 12 yards as he had a couple of big losses on receptions. Laquon Treadwell had two grabs for ten yards, David Morgan had a five-yard catch, and Latavius Murray had one catch for one yards.

Speaking of Murray, he was the “hot hand” on the ground this afternoon, as he carried the ball 15 times for 95 yards and two touchdowns. McKinnon had fourteen carries for 48 yards, and Keenum gained 20 yards on a pair of scrambles and a kneel down. C.J. Ham got involved as well, carrying the ball three times for eight yards.

The Vikings move their record to 8-2 on the season, and have a quick turnaround to deal with as they will travel to Ford Field to take on the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day. The Rams fall to 7-3, and have another tall task ahead of them next week, as they will host the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.

The Minnesota Vikings win the battle of 7-2 teams in Week 11 NFL action, taking down the Los Angeles Rams by a score of 24-7. Thank you to everybody that got their coverage of today’s game right here at The Daily Norseman!