Minnesota Vikings @ Los Angeles Rams
State Farm Stadium, Glendale, AZ
January 14, 2025 – 1 a.m. GMT

The Minnesota Vikings begin their latest foray into the NFL postseason this weekend. Their loss to the Detroit Lions last Sunday not only meant they missed out on the number 1 seed in the NFC, but they dropped all the way to the number 5 seed and a road matchup against the Los Angeles Rams in the wild card round.

However, a 14-3 record in the regular season means the Vikings remain one of the most attractive teams in the NFL this year, and as such, they were selected for a primetime slot on Monday night. Taking the time difference into account, the game will kick off at 1 a.m. UK time on Tuesday morning.

With the Rams having taken the NFC West title, the Vikings will be facing their first road playoff game since 2019. In tragic circumstances, the game will not be played at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. The rampaging wildfires in Southern California meant a change in venue to State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

The Vikings are coming off one of their most disappointing performances of the season after a 31-9 loss to the Detroit Lions in week 18. Now facing an extra game to get to the Super Bowl in New Orleans on February 9, they come up against a Los Angeles Rams side who snapped a five-game winning streak after resting their starters against the Seattle Seahawks last weekend.

Key for the Vikings will be a return to form for QB Sam Darnold, who managed a season-low of just 166 passing yards against the Lions. His main weapons were largely kept quiet, especially WR Jordan Addison and TE T. J. Hockenson, who combined for a total of 3 catches for 9 yards. Red zone efficiency will also be a key area to improve for the Vikings offense: they managed to get inside the Detroit red zone four times but came away with just two field goals after some questionable playcalling.

How to watch Rams vs. Vikings

• Rams vs. Vikings date: Tuesday, January 14th
• Rams vs. Vikings kickoff time: 1 a.m. GMT
• Rams vs. Vikings channel: Sky Sports NFL (Sky 408, Virgin Media 507, Now TV) / DAZN (stream)

Now that we’re into the playoffs, all games are available live and in full to stream via DAZN. You can also catch the game live from 1 a.m. on Tuesday morning on Sky Sports NFL via Sky, Virgin Media and Now TV.

Why is Rams vs. Vikings being played in Arizona?

Since last Tuesday, four major wildfires have been raging across Southern California around the Greater Los Angeles metro area. These fires have killed more than 20 people, forced nearly 200,000 to evacuate the area and caused massive amounts of damage across the region. In the interests of public safety, the NFL took the decision on Thursday to move the game to its alternate site of State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, home of the Arizona Cardinals.

Rams season ticket holders were given first refusal on tickets from 6 p.m. GMT on Friday, and the remaining tickets went on general sale from 8 p.m. GMT. Arizona is known for having one of the largest concentrations of Vikings fans outside of Minnesota, so we’re hoping for a decent amount of purple in the stands on Monday night.

What uniforms are the Vikings wearing against the Rams?

As the home team, the Rams had first choice of uniforms and have elected to wear their home combination of blue jerseys and yellow pants. That means the Vikings will be wearing their road combination of white jerseys and purple pants. We also wore that combination against the Giants, Packers, Jaguars, Titans and Seahawks this season, going 5-0 in those games.

Key to the game

The defense deserved a lot of credit for being able to get off the field early in the game, forcing two punts, an interception and a turnover on downs in the first half. However, the offense’s inability to put sustained drives together put a lot of pressure on the defense as the game wore on, and by the end, they were out on their feet. After an interception early in the second half, they gave up three straight touchdowns and the game was pretty much put to bed.

Playing on Monday night gives the defense an extra day’s rest, but they’ll have to be on top form against the Rams if they’re to avoid conceding another 30 points; the Vikings have lost all three games this season in which they’ve conceded 30 points or more. They’ll rely heavily on sack leaders Jonathan Greenard (12) and Andrew Van Ginkel (11.5), both of whom were named to the Pro Bowl this season but managed zero sacks in the two teams’ last meeting in week 8.

Previous meetings

The Vikings have played the Rams on the road already this season, coincidentally also after a defeat to the Detroit Lions, losing 30-20 back in week 8. The difference that time was that the Vikings had a short week, playing on Thursday Night Football after a hard-fought battle against their division rivals. That was also the game when they lost starting left tackle Christian Darrisaw to a season-ending injury, tearing the ACL and MCL in his left knee near the end of the first half.

The two teams have met 48 times in all, including seven times in the playoffs, and the Vikings have the edge both in the regular season (22-17-2) and the postseason (5-2). The Rams are currently on a three-game winning streak against the Vikings, including two in Los Angeles. They also won the last postseason meeting between the two teams, coming out on top 49-37 in a shootout back in January 2000 as the then-St Louis Rams went on to win Super Bowl XXXIV.

Vikings injury report

The Vikings have ruled out OLB Patrick Jones, who is still recovering from the knee injury he suffered against the Packers. RB Ty Chandler was listed as questionable after missing practice earlier in the week with an illness. RB Aaron Jones is carrying a lingering quad injury and was limited in practice, but was not listed on the final injury report, nor was Sam Darnold, who was a full participant on both Thursday and Friday despite his own quad injury. The only other player listed on the final injury report was DL Taki Taimani (ankle), who was designated to return from injured reserve earlier in the week.

Rams injury report

For the Rams, starting RT Rob Havenstein was limited on Thursday and Friday with a shoulder injury, but is expected to start on Monday after full particpation on Sunday. TE Hunter Long took full part on all three practice sessions despite a quad issue and is also expected to be active.

Score predictions

• Big Deal Rich: Vikings 22, Rams 11
• Reece: Vikings 30, Rams 20
• John: Vikings 25, Rams 17
• Darren: Vikings 21, Rams 17
• TPJ: Vikings 24, Rams 20

Let us know your score predictions. Send us an email at UKVikingsFanClub@gmail.com or get in touch via any of our social media channels.