Minnesota Vikings (5) at Los Angeles Rams (4)
Monday, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN/ABC, stream on fubo)
You may not believe me, but this isn't a simple overreaction to Minnesota's loss to the Lions last week. It's more about how I think the Rams could be a frisky team now that they've snuck into the playoffs. The duo of Matthew Stafford and Sean McVay has a Super Bowl-winning pedigree to lean on while Kevin O'Connell has coached in just one playoff game (a loss) in his career and Sam Darnold has never started a playoff contest. We know the moment won't be too big for Stafford and McVay, can we say that about O'Connell and Darnold? No. The Rams are 3-0 in the playoffs all-time at SoFi Stadium (including Super Bowl LVI), while Stafford has been lights out in those games. Minnesota's secondary could have problems containing both Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp, further applying pressure to Darnold and the Vikings offense to keep pace. I think McVay puts on a coaching masterclass against his former OC and pulls off the home upset.
Projected score: Rams 24, Vikings 23
The pick: Rams +1.5
