NFL Football
2025-01-13 - Minnesota Vikings at Los Angeles Rams
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States : NFL Playoff Wild Card Game
Monday 13th January 2025 - Scheduled 8pm
1am (British Time)
Preview
The wildfires in Los Angeles have had, and continue to have, a big impact on the community and the NFL had no real choice but to move this Playoff game to Arizona.
The Los Angeles Rams (10-7) would have loved to have been able to give the community something positive, but the fires continue to rage and the NFC West Champions have to give up home advantage for this big game.
After losing in Week 18, the Los Angeles Rams slipped from the Number 3 Seed into the Number 4 Seed in the NFC and they knew they would be hosting a fourteen win team out of the NFC North. Whether that was going to be the Detroit Lions or the Minnesota Vikings (14-3) did not matter and the Rams will have been expecting a tough challenge even if this game was hosted in their own Stadium.
The test is that much bigger on a neutral field, but this is an experienced Los Angeles team and they did manage to rest the majority of the key players in Week 18, which suggests Sean McVay was unconcerned about playing a team from the NFC North.
Matthew Stafford is a former Super Bowl Champion and the Quarter Back is surrounded with a lot of talent so there will be no fear for the Los Angeles Rams as far as moving the ball. Since the big win over the Buffalo Bills, the Rams have struggled Offensively, but McVay and Stafford are a solid team and you just know the Head Coach will have a plan in place to get this team going.
A big boost is having Rob Havenstein available for selection on the Offensive Line and that should help the Rams establish the run against the Minnesota Defensive Line which struggled last week. Being able to put the ball in Kyren Williams' hands and have him push the Rams into third and manageable field position would be huge for the entire Offensive game plan and really open the playbook up for Sean McVay.
With a Quarter Back like Matthew Stafford, the Head Coach will be confident that the veteran can see what is coming from the Brian Flores led Minnesota Defensive unit. Matthew Stafford will not mind being blitzed and he has some top playmakers in the Receiving positions who will find the right spaces in this Vikings Secondary to put the Rams in a situation where the upset could be on.
The Vikings have lost at the Los Angeles Rams in the regular season, but a neutral field gives them an opportunity to earn revenge and they will also be keen to bounce back from a really poor performance against the Detroit Lions. It was a poor time to produce his worst game of the season as Sam Darnold struggled at Quarter Back with the chance to earn the Number 1 Seed in the NFC and there will be plenty of eyes on the player behind Center in this primetime spot.
It has not helped that the Minnesota Vikings have struggled to produce an efficient running game in recent games, which has shifted more pressure onto Sam Darnold, but they might feel this is a chance for better from Aaron Jones. Some of the Offensive calls were a little strange in the Week 18 loss to Detroit, but that may have the Vikings thinking to lean on the run a bit more and they are facing a Los Angeles Defensive Line that had struggled to clamp down on the run down the stretch in the regular season.
Sam Darnold will want to operate in front of the chains to avoid the Rams ramping up the pass rush, but you have to expect better from the Quarter Back after the disappointing performance in Week 18. He has two top Receivers, as long as Darnold is willing to throw to both Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, and the Rams Secondary has been one that is willing to bend.
Avoiding turnovers has been key for Darnold and he will need to get back to that kind of level in the Minnesota bid to win this one and earn the spot in the Divisional Round.
However, this is going to be a tough test for Minnesota after losing in the manner they did in Week 18 and Sean McVay will know plenty about what to expect from the Vikings Offensive unit.
Matthew Stafford and the Rams have played well in the underdog spot all season and they will have plenty of motivation to give the home fans something to cheer about after the tragic natural disaster affecting those in Los Angeles.
Once again it cannot be ignored how well hosts have performed when playing a team with more wins than them in the Wild Card Round of the Playoff, and the strong run of the home underdog in this Playoff Round.
Sam Darnold is also playing in the Playoff for the first time, which is historically a tough spot and even more so when you think of the experience on the other sideline.
That experience is of a Super Bowl Winning Quarter Back and those players have led teams to a 14-4 record against the spread when set as an underdog in the Playoffs.
Prediction
Take the points with the home underdog.
The Pick :
Los Angeles Rams 24-23 Minnesota Vikings
FIXED ODDS BETTING TIP :
I'll back Los Angeles Rams + 2.5 Points at -101 with BetOnline
