INGLEWOOD, Calif. – This is the NFL playoffs. If you’re one of the few teams to make it into the pool of Super Bowl contenders you face the opponent you’re dealt with.
As the NFC’s No. 4 seed, the Los Angeles Rams and head coach Sean Mcvay had to wait for the outcome of the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions finale to find out who they would play in a Wild Card game.
With games played during the regular season against both teams, the Rams had mixed results. In Week 1, the Rams dropped a 26-20 decision to the Lions on the road. Against the Vikings in Week 8, the Rams came away with a 30-20 win at SoFi Stadium.

The Rams will host the Vikings, the fifth seed in the NFC. McVay, speaking at a postgame conference after the Rams fell to the Seattle Seahawks, 30-25, said it doesn’t matter who his ballclub faces.
“I believe in our team,” McVay said. “I think it’s one of those deals that we respect all, but we fear none. These are excellent football teams. There’s a reason why they’re sitting here and they’re playing for the one seed tonight and a 15-2 record and a 14-3 record to whoever comes up short. But it’s going to be a great challenge. I do know this, I’ve been fortunate enough to get into this thing and you can’t worry about ducking people.”
With the Rams resting a boatload of their offensive starters, including quarterback Matthew Stafford, running back Kyren Williams, and wide receivers Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp, the Rams played their season finale safe considering they had already wrapped up the NFC West title just a week earlier.
Seattle looked like gangbusters with a double-digit lead early in the second quarter, but the Rams, behind backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, did not give up.
Seattle clung to a narrow advantage at halftime with the Rams closing in on their Pacific Northwest rivals by the time the fourth quarter rolled around.
Aside from the play of Garoppolo, the Rams stayed in the ballgame thanks to the contributions of placekicker Joshua Karty and some highlight reel plays by wide receiver Jordan Whittington.
The two rookies helped put the Rams in position to win their second game this season against the Seahawks.

Karty booted a couple of field goals beyond the 55-yard marker (57 yards, 58 yards). He also knocked in a 38-yard field goal with 7:29 left in the fourth quarter to give the Rams a 25-24 lead.
Unlike their last game of the regular season, the Rams will have to find a way to beat Minnesota for a second time this season. The advantage that plays in the Rams’ favor is the fact that they will host the Wild Card game.
The matchup against the Vikings, a team that finished second in the NFC North Division, is something the Rams can’t get around, said McVay.
“If you want to try to be able to advance and you really expect to try to be able to make some noise when you get in it, you’re going to have to play people eventually,” McVay remarked. “I felt like it was the smart move for our football team and really, we had an opportunity to be able to come away with the win.”

Dennis has covered and written about politics, crime, race, sports, and entertainment. Dennis currently covers the NFL, MLB, NBA, NCAA, and Olympic sports. Dennis is the editor of News4usonline.com and serves as the publisher of the Compton Bulletin newspaper. He earned a journalism degree from Howard University. Email Dennis at dfreeman@news4usonline.com
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