Wow, football at its best. It would be a shame if anyone missed the Thursday Night Football matchup between the Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Rams. Both teams have star-studded defenses, but it was their offenses that came out firing at the Coliseum. It was a good old fashioned shootout in primetime with the Rams coming out on top by a score of 38-31. Jared Goff, Kirk Cousins, Todd Gurley II, Stefon Diggs, what more could you ask for on Thursday night?
Jared Goff Picks Apart the Vikings Zone Coverage, Leading the Rams to a 38-31 Win
Oh My Gosh Goff
Some of the throws that Goff made against the Vikings on Thursday were flat out ridiculous. It is crazy to think that just two seasons ago, most of the NFL was declaring the former number one overall pick a draft bust. Now in his third season, it’s easy to see why the Rams took a chance on him. Check out this dime of a throw Goff makes to wide receiver Cooper Kupp for his third touchdown.
Lmfao this is fantastic. Love Jared Goff. His Cal film was littered with insane throws like this pic.twitter.com/q1jD3P9Cot
— Ian Wharton (@NFLFilmStudy) September 28, 2018
Goff made so many great throws in tight coverage but it was his field vision that impressed everyone tonight. Broadcaster Troy Aikman acknowledged that Goff made plenty of great plays with his eyes moving the safety away from where he wanted to throw. On his fifth touchdown of the night; he saw the Vikings were in a cover three zone, looked off Andrew Sendejo to the right side of the field and then zipped it to Robert Woods, who had a mismatch with linebacker Anthony Barr in coverage. Tom Brady couldn’t have done it better himself.
What a veteran play by a young quarterback: pic.twitter.com/4fjwwR9int
— Noah Alvarez (@_noahalvarez) September 28, 2018
Goff finished with a stat line of 26-33, 465 passing yards, five touchdowns and a couple of nice scrambles as well. The 465 yards and five touchdowns are both career highs and his completion percentage of 78.7 percent was the second highest of his career. Goff led the Rams to over 500 yards on offense for the second week in a row, which is even more impressive considering it was on a short week. If Goff continues this level of play, he is going to be a front-runner for the MVP award at the end of the season.
Defensive Line Coming Out Party
Despite having a star-studded front seven on defense, the Rams haven’t necessarily gotten to the quarterback all that much this season. In fact, they entered the game tied for 31st in the league with four sacks on the season. However, Aaron Donald and newcomer Ndamukong Suh brought the heat on Thursday night. Both defensive linemen recorded sacks, with Donald getting two, and they came late in the second half when the team needed stops the most.
Then, to seal the game, rookie John Franklin-Myers had the play of his young career. The defensive end got to Cousins, forced a fumble and then Suh recovered it in the final minutes putting the game out of reach.
Kirk Cousins strip sack in the clutch pic.twitter.com/BLV2M4WY4e
— Ian Wharton (@NFLFilmStudy) September 28, 2018
Pointing Spiderman Meme
The reason this game was full of excitement was due to the non-stop back and forth action. The score was close, and the team’s stat lines were even closer. Cousins had a spectacular day, throwing the ball for 422 passing yards, three touchdowns and had a few key scrambles as well. Wide receivers Adam Thielen, Aldrick Robinson, and Diggs had big days combining 21 receptions, 180 yards, and three touchdowns, while the three-headed monster of Brandin Cooks, Kupp and Woods combined for 21 receptions, 379 yards and four touchdowns.
Though there were many similarities, it was the balanced attack of the Rams that gave them the advantage. The Vikings could not get anything going on the ground and they finished the game with 54 rushing yards compared to the Rams 100. This made the Vikings offense predictable, allowing the Rams defensive line to pin the ears back and attack the passer first. This made it a long day for offensive linemen like Mike Remmers, Riley Reiff, and Tom Compton.
