The St. Louis Rams are hanging tough in the NFC West, where they’re just a game behind of the Arizona Cardinals. And with a road game in Minnesota this coming Sunday, the Rams will look to extend their win streak to three games. The Minnesota Vikings are no easy targets, though, as Teddy Bridgewater and company is fast becoming a team to watch out.
[sc:NFL240banner ]The Rams have had a relatively easy schedule over the last two weeks, beating Cleveland in Week 7 before laying out San Francisco in Week 8. If the Rams are looking for a tougher challenge, then they’ll get one this coming Sunday, when they travel to Minnesota to face the scorching Vikings.
In the Rams’ 27-6 win over San Francisco, St. Louis relied on its backfield that produced 197 rushing yards. Nick Foles wasn’t much of a factor, as he passed for only 191 yards and a touchdown on 14 of 23 completions. He may take the backseat again this coming Sunday, considering that the Vikings have one of the toughest defenses against the pass, allowing just 229.3 passing yards per game.
In other words, rookie running back Todd Gurley is due for another heavy workload against Minnesota’s 15th-ranked rush defense. Gurley looks like he’s finally figured out the NFL, as he’s stitched four-straight games of at least 120 rushing yards. During that stretch, Gurley has racked up 566 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
As for the defense, the homework is finding a way to bottle up Adrian Peterson. Minnesota is sixth in the league in rushing yards (131.0 rushing yards per game). It’s going to be interesting how St. Louis’ stop unit that allows just 98.1 rushing yards per contest will hold up against Purple Jesus and company.
The under is 4-1 in St. Louis’ last five road games.
The rest of the NFL should not sleep on the Vikings. On the heels of a three-game win streak, the Vikings return home, where they are 7-1 SU and ATS in their last eight games.
Minnesota’s success this season is mostly driven by a strong running game and a solid defense, particularly against the pass. As mentioned earlier, Adrian Peterson has been the alpha dog in the Vikings deadly backfield that is fifth in the league in rushing attempts per game (29.4) and sixth (4.5) in yards per carries. So far this season, All Day has 633 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 140 carries, which is 115 more than any other Viking.
The backfield should play a big role again against the Rams to shift some of the defensive attention away from Minnesota’s passing game. St. Louis’ owns one of the best pass rushing units in the NFL, as the Rams is tied for first with 26.0 sacks, so Bridgewater can expect tons of pressure this coming Sunday.
Minnesota’s passing attack shouldn’t be overlooked despite averaging just 325.7 yards per game, 29th in the league. For one, Teddy Bridgewater appeared to have found a new toy in Stefon Diggs, who came out of nowhere to become Minnesota’s most targeted wide receiver in the last three games. Diggs paces the team with 419 receiving yards and two touchdowns on 25 catches.
Minnesota is third in the NFL in scoring defense, surrendering only 17.4 points per game.
