1. Darrisaw suffers knee injury
Christian Darrisaw, who has been playing at an elite level at left tackle, suffered a knee injury on the second-to-last play of the first half.
The Vikings received the ball at their own 3-yard line with 35 seconds remaining in the first half after a punt was downed at the 5 and a holding penalty went against Dallas Turner during the return.
Minnesota opted for a run by Jones, and a Rams defender trying to tackle the running back hit Darrisaw from behind.
Jones advanced to the 5, where Minnesota kneeled the football to close out the half after an injury timeout.
Darrisaw did not return and was replaced by David Quessenberry.
Vikings Head Coach Kevin O’Connell said the evaluation of Darrisaw will continue Friday.
2. Vikings defense unable to sack Stafford
The Vikings struggled to get home on Stafford, who avoided a single sack. Stafford’s best work on that front involved escaping Jonathan Greenard’s pressure after a great spin move by the outside linebacker, and staying upright after contact from Harrison Phillips. Stafford kept moving, and Kupp found an opening in the back of the end zone.
Stafford welcomed the return of Kupp (five catches for 51 yards) and Puka Nacua (seven catches for 106 yards) to the Rams lineup after injuries. He also threw two touchdowns to Demarcus Robinson, finishing 25-of-34 passing with 279 yards and four scores.
Stafford was intercepted by Murphy to end L.A.’s first possession of the third quarter, but he finished with a 124.5 passer rating.
The Rams entered the game with three passing touchdowns on the season, and Stafford put up four on the night.
Jones Exploits Mismatch Down Sideline For 25-Yard Gain
3. Run game comparison
The Vikings were productive in the run game early but finished with just 64 yards on 22 rushes, an average of 2.9 per carry.
Jones rushed 19 times for 58 yards (3.1) with a long of 9. Ty Chandler rushed three times for 6 yards with a long of 5.
The Rams didn’t average much more on the ground (3.3), but the 32 rushes for 107 yards included three for minus-4 yards by Stafford.
Kyren Williams led the Rams with 97 yards on 23 rushes.
Los Angeles totaled 26 first downs with five by rushing, including a fourth-and-1, 16 by passing and five by penalty.
The Vikings totaled 17 first downs, with three by rushing, 14 by passing and zero by penalty.
4. Flag football until it wasn’t
The Vikings had nine penalties accepted against them for a total of 50 yards, including the two above on critical third downs, as well as an illegal hands to the face that went against Jihad Ward on a third-and-9. Ward got his hand into part of an offensive lineman’s facemask. That drive, L.A.’s third possession of the game, ultimately resulted in a punt.
The Rams had six penalties accepted for a total of 40 yards and were able to score a safety to finish off the game after Byron Young tackled Darnold in Minnesota’s end zone. Young grabbed and twisted Darnold’s head, and he even put his hands on his own head after the game.
But officials didn’t throw a flag.
Darnold got up surprised that it wasn’t called. That play is not one that can be changed by video review.
The Vikings offense started fast Thursday, scoring touchdowns on each of its first two possessions.
But the Rams returned the favor, making it the first game of the 2024 NFL season in which both teams scored on each of their first two possessions.
Sam Darnold opened the game 8-for-8 passing for 97 yards with touchdown passes to Josh Oliver and Trent Sherfield, Sr., and a 156.8 passer rating through the first quarter.
Justin Jefferson recorded 44 yards on Minnesota’s first possession, moving into the top five in receiving yardage on the franchise leaderboard. He finished with eight catches for 115 yards that included a nifty 27-yarder down the sideline in the third quarter. Jefferson brought the ball in with one hand, completing the catch next to his helmet and squeezing both feet in bounds.
That play moved the ball to the Los Angeles 4-yard line, but Minnesota’s Aaron Jones, Sr., was tackled for a loss of 4 as the Vikings hurried the snap to avoid a challenge.
Minnesota found gridlock for much of the rest of the night, while Los Angeles was able to put together touchdown drives in the third and fourth quarter, securing a 30-20 win to open Week 8.
Darnold finished 18-for-25 with 240 yards and a passer rating of 128.8, but he suffered three sacks for losses of 28 yards.
Like with any loss, there are plays that teams want back (that usually happens in wins), but a particularly damaging series of events occurred on L.A.’s second possession.
That drive, which spanned the end of the first quarter and start of the second quarter, was extended by a holding penalty that went against Byron Murphy, Jr., on an incompletion on third-and-7 and by a pass interference call against Stephon Gilmore on a pass to Cooper Kupp that was underthrown. That infraction was flagged on third-and-7 from the Minnesota 11.
Matthew Stafford didn’t underthrow Kupp on his next pass, a 7-yard touchdown that made it 14-all with 10:05 remaining in the first half.
Minnesota was only able to net a field goal in the third and fourth quarter.
After going 5-0 to start the season and being one of two last unbeaten teams in the NFL, Minnesota has dropped two in a row after its Week 6 bye.
The Vikings will try to reclaim momentum when they host the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday Night Football in a Week 9 game that was flexed.
Here are four more observations presented by Minnesota Eye Consultants, the Proud LASIK Partner of the Minnesota Vikings, followed by a scoring summary: