The Los Angeles Rams (3-0) host the Minnesota Vikings (1-1-1) on Thursday Night Football in Week 4. The Rams, fresh off the “Fight for LA” victory against the Chargers on Sunday, look to remain undefeated. The Vikings will look to bounce back from a lopsided, and unexpected, home loss at the hands of the Buffalo Bills. Can the Rams, who are dinged up on defense, secure victory in primetime?
The Turf Show Times’ staff make their predictions:
go rams (@AndrewKulick)
Rams wake up from sack slump, otherwise their doomed
Prediction: Rams win, 27-17
RamBuck (@lannyosu)
The Rams are being battle tested, and have a lot of shaking up to do in the secondary. Thielen and Diggs are one of the best WR duos in the league, and will cause some issues. However, the Rams will get two FG’s from Ficken to keep the game out of reach. Also, Suh, Donald, Brockers and Ebukam will EAT the Vikings’ OL.
Prediction: Rams win, 27-21
Eddie Perez (@iAmEddieP_)
Rams are on a short week this week against the Minnesota Vikings. The defense is a bit banged up with Marcus Peters & Aqib Talib going down. That’ll be tough against MIN’s receivers. I still like our chances, however. The offense is clicking on all cylinders at the moment. And, despite the lack of sacks, I like the pass rush Samson Ebukam brings. Give me the Rams with another 30-point game.
Prediction: Rams win, 34-27
Michael Frank (@turfshowtimesmike)
Rams: Injuries to the Rams top 2 CBs & and no pressure from the Outside Linebackers just yet. Vikings: Horrific showing vs. Buffalo with overall morale down. With a short week this game will come down to who makes the least mistakes. Rams offense will have to carry the load as the Rams defense will try to make the Vikings one dimensional and have them rely on passing. Wade Phillips comes through.
Prediction: Rams win, 27-24
Charlie Hiller (@charliehiller)
I really don’t know. Home team has won 8 of the last 10 Thursday night games so I’m leaning on that.
Prediction: Rams win, 34-27
Tevin Broner (@T_Bron)
I think the Rams defensive line will be too much for the Vikings. Goff will need to have another great game, but if he can pull it off the Rams will prove that they are indeed Super Bowl contenders on this big stage.
Prediction: Rams win, 21-14
Eric Nagel (@Eric_nagel)
Jared Goff continues to get better. In his fourth preseason game, I expect the training wheels to come off. They’ll need him to play lights out again if they are to weather the defenses’ multiple injuries.
Prediction: Rams win, 35-23
Skye Sverdlin (@skyeattolah)
Who knows with a Thursday night game? If there is a loss out there for the Rams this season, this could be it. We saw the trouble the Vikings talented receivers gave the Rams’ backup corners in Minnesota last year. Plus, they gotta be spitting flames fresh off the beating the Bills gave them…or not. Maybe the talented Vikings lost something when Pat Shurmer went to NY, and scramblin’ Case Keenum went to Denver. Plus they’re pretty banged up.
Eh, I’m not picking against the best team in football at home. Rams in a funky one.
Prediction: Rams win, 24-19
Elijah Kim (@Big_EZK)
The Rams are 3-0 for the first time in a long time. In a great matchup Thursday night against the NFC Contender Vikings, the Rams are likely to be a bit shorthanded with CBs Peters and Talib likely to be out. While Kirk Cousins and the Vikings offense might be able to get a little more traction than the Rams opponents to date, the Vikings defense looks to rebound after a putrid game against the Bills lead by rookie QB Josh Allen.
Ultimately, the Rams will fall a bit short with all of the injuries as the Vikings look to rebound. Rams lose in a close one.
Prediction: Vikings win, 28-24
kristianramirez (@kristianramirez)
It’s a short week before we face the Vikings, and after the bout with the Chargers, the legendary secondary is down 2 key players with Talib and Peters both likely missing Thursday. This means we’ll see a lot more willingness to test the corners than we would have see otherwise. Maybe they give up big plays, maybe they won’t, but the Vikings will try
Prediction: Rams win, 33-21
Hotdaddywags (@hotdaddywags)
Which Vikings team will show up on Thursday? The one that got their asses handed to them by the Bills at home on Sunday? You know, the NFC contender that ran it four times and threw it 55? Or the one that caused the Rams’ offense to sputter in last year’s road loss in Minnesota? Safe bet they’re not as bad as they were against Buffalo, but I’m not sold. We can wring our hands over the loss of Peters and Talib, soil our collective Rams-embroidered bedding over Troy Hill’s sure-to-be ghastly performance, and wonder aloud why our DL isn’t getting sacks. Or we can just say that we believe in our offense’s ability to outscore Minnesota. And we can choose to have faith in our DC’s ability to devise a game plan that masks our injuries and generates pressure on the statuesque Kirk Cousins behind a brutal O-line. Short week, Vikings travel, RB Dalvin Cook unlikely to go and Everson Griffen’s gone Incognito. Rams will remain undefeated and the class of the NFC.
Prediction: Rams win, 27-20
TG25 (@MrTimGodfrey)
The Vikings are the most talented, average team in the league. They have Kirk Cousins, yet their offense averages 19 points-per-game. They have a great defensive front, yet they made Josh Allen look good. I’m more impressed by how Minnesota is 1-1-1 with this roster than anything else. The Rams defense will be without Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib, so the Rams will have to rely on their depth, their powerful offense, and Jared Goff, who is playing his best football. Normally, I’d make fun of the opposing team in some way, but I think I will try to be more cordial this week and refrain from saying Minnesota is full of mouth-breathing, fat slobs.
Prediction: Rams win, 35-21
Brennan Smith (@BrennanJSmith)
This is a classic trap game for the Rams. Minnesota, embarrassed by Buffalo on Sunday, will be hungry to show that game was a fluke. With Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters both almost assuredly out this week, Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs will get plenty of opportunities to make an impact against Sam Shields and Nickell Robey Coleman. Additionally, the Vikings defense will rebound and limit Jared Goff slightly after he picked apart the Chargers’ secondary last week. This’ll be close, but the secondary and special teams injuries will catch up to Los Angeles on a short week.
Prediction: Vikings win, 24-21
Sosa Kremenjas (@QBsMVP)
The Rams are not the only team heading into this TNF match banged up - the Vikings are too. Both teams will be missing important players, so let’s break down how this might go. First, I think the Rams offense is simply too good to limit to a low scoring output. Second, the Rams’ defensive line has the ability to dominate this game versus a weak-er Vikings offensive line. Lastly, the Vikings only have two good WR’s - so the losses of Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib hurt less when you still have two quality corners in Nickell Robey-Coleman and Sam Shields playing.
Prediction: Rams win, 27-24
seattlerams (@seattlerams_nfl)
Even with the LA Rams rolling on offense and the Vikings booting the lock of the week to the Bills last week, I have an uneasy feeling about this game. The Rams were the best offense in the NFL last season, and yet they struggled against the Vikings, in what was probably their worst game of the year. Sometimes teams just have your number. Mix in the fact that the Rams will be missing 21 and 22, I’m going to lean towards the bad guys here and hope to hell that Sean McVay calls me out after the game for being a “system fan.”
Prediction: Vikings win, 24-20
joeyaucoin (@LARamsRamsRams)
I feel like both the Rams and Vikings are gonna be hobbled and gassed by the end of this game. The Vikings have a lot to prove and I feel like they’re going to put points on the board early on and McVay and Co. will be playing catch-up. Gurley will save the day in dramatic fashion.
Prediction: Rams win, 28-24
Sean Wilkinson (@Papa_Lurch)
Before the injury bug hit the Rams like a ton of bricks, this was shaping up to be an easy pick for me. Unfortunately, the injuries change that a bit. The Vikings are coming off an embarrassing loss at home against the previously hapless Buffalo Bills and will be playing with a HUGE chip on their shoulder. The Rams will be playing without their top 2 CBs and a host of other key players.
I had this down as a loss for the Rams in our season predictions and it’s going to stay that say given the dynamics in play here.
Prediction: Vikings win, 28-27
3k (@3k_)
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Prediction: Vikings win, 23-20
Brandon Bate (@NoPlanB_)
I’m torn. Prior to the onset of the regular season, I had this one as a win for the Vikings. But then last week happened...for both teams. The Rams looked damn near perfect and the Vikings lost to the Bills...at home.
The Rams are dinged up on defense and that’ll sting a bit, but their offense looks capable of doing whatever it wants, whenever it wants. I think this one will be very close, but I’m going to let my homer-ism prevail this week.
Prediction: Rams win, 31-27
That’s 14 TST staffers picking the Rams and 5 picking the Vikings. Up until this point in the season, every pick has been for the Rams...save for Tevin picking the Chargers in Week 3. Way to go, Tev.