A fourth-quarter surge propelled the Minnesota Vikings to a 24-7 win over Jared Goff and the Los Angeles Rams at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday.
Vikings quarterback Case Keenum’s storybook season continued, as he put together another efficient performance from under center with his 280 yards and one touchdown on 27-of-38 passing. Keenum’s go-to-guy Adam Thielen was responsible for Minnesota’s lone passing touchdown, as he turned a short hitch route into a 65-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Led by third-year safety Anthony Harris and his team-high seven tackles, the Vikings’ defense stifled the Rams’ rushing attack, limiting Todd Gurley to 37 yards on his 15 attempts (2.5 YPC).
Opposite to Gurley’s performance, Vikings running back Latavius Murray rushed for 95 yards and two touchdowns on his 15 carries to lead his team on the ground. Murray’s counterpart Jerick McKinnon also added 48 yards on 14 attempts. With that, we give you our PFF exclusive takeaways from the contest for each team.
Top 5 Grades:
S Harrison Smith, 88.1 overall grade
S Anthony Harris, 87.1 overall grade
RB Latavius Murray, 81.8 overall grade
RB Jerick McKinnon, 81.6 overall grade
TE Kyle Rudolph, 80.9 overall grade
Performances of Note:
RB Latavius Murray, 81.8 overall grade
Murray rattled off a couple big runs against the Rams defense and ended up just shy of the 100-yard mark on the day. He averaged 4.5 yards per carry after first contact despite forcing only one missed tackle.
TE Kyle Rudolph, 80.9 overall grade
Rudolph caught all five targets for a season-high 58 yards, including his longest reception of the year at 28 yards. Rudolph has now caught at least five passes in six consecutive games, the longest such streak in his career.
S Harrison Smith, 88.1 overall grade
When Smith is on the top of his game he is one of the elite safeties in the league. Against the Rams he might not have shown up on the stat sheet due to only two tackles, but he was a problem in the passing game for the Rams offense. Smith was able to knock down two passes and only give up one catch for 15 yards.
S Anthony Harris, 87.1 overall grade
The other Safety in the Vikings defense deserves a lot of praise as well. Harris, who has barely played on defense over the past three seasons, was able to record five tackles and blow up Cooper Kupp on a run play that forced the Rams to lose 3 yards. He also gave up very little in the pass game, targeted 4 times and giving up just 2 catches for 24 yards and knocking down a pass.
Top 5 Grades:
DI Aaron Donald, 90.3 overall grade
S Lamarcus Joyner, 86.2 overall grade
WR Robert Woods, 84.0 overall grade
LB Alec Ogletree, 82.3 overall grade
DI Ethan Westbrooks, 82.2 overall grade
Performances of Note:
QB Jared Goff, 75.6 overall grade
Against a tough defense Goff had moments where he was able to stand in the pocket and deliver some big throws. The problem was the defense needed big plays and Goff was unable to get the ball downfield with any success. On throws over 20 yards Goff was 1-6 for 23 yards as the Vikings where able to keep the ball in front of them all game long.
WR Robert Woods, 84.0 overall grade
The past two weeks Woods has become a favorite target of Goff as he has been targeted 20 times for 16 catches. Woods against the Vikings caught 8 of the 10 passes thrown his way for 81 yards, while he was unable to break any thing for a big play he was able to consistently help the Rams offense move the ball, especially in the first half. Woods caught a pass against six different defenders as they had trouble finding a player who could stop him.
DI Aaron Donald, 90.3 overall grade
Donald was held without a sack on the day, but that doesn't diminish his overall disruptiveness. He had two hits and four hurries on Case Keenum, but also three more hurries that were nullified by penalties, including one that was due to his own roughing the passer penalty. He didn't make as much of an impact in run defense, but did have three run stops.
LB Mark Barron, 44.0 overall grade
Barron allowed catches on all five times he was targeted in coverage for a total of 41 yards and missed a tackle. While he did make four stops in run defense, he was also caught out of position and walled off at the second level a few times, which helped lead to a couple big runs.
PFF Game Ball: S Harrison Smith, 88.1 overall grade
*Grades are subject to change upon review
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