Quarterback Matthew Stafford threw for 279 yards and four touchdowns Thursday to pilot the Rams to a 30-20 NFL victory over Minnesota in Los Angeles, handing the Vikings just their second defeat of the season.
Stafford had only three touchdown passes for the season coming into the contest, but the return from injury of top receivers Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp made all the difference for the Rams.
They notched their second victory in five days to improve to 3-4 and keep themselves in the thick of the NFC West division race.
Nacua, sidelined since the opening week of the season, had seven catches for 106 yards. Kupp, absent since week two, caught five receptions for 51 yards and a touchdown.
It was a second defeat in less than a week for the Vikings, who were unbeaten before falling to the Detroit Lions on Sunday.
They made a brisk start in their bid to bounce back, scoring on their opening drive as Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold found tight end Josh Oliver for a five-yard TD.
Stafford tied it up with a five-yard touchdown pass to running back Kyren Williams.
The back-and-forth action continued with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Darnold to Trent Sherfield, and Stafford’s seven-yard scoring throw to Kupp that made it 14-14.
Rams head coach Sean McVay took advantage of his post-game press conference to douse speculation that Kupp could be on the trading block.
“The things I’ve seen out there, they’re not true,” McVay said. “I’m really glad to have Cooper Kupp back with us and I expect it to stay that way.”
Stafford’s lone interception of the game gave the Vikings a chance in the third quarter, and Will Reichard’s field goal put Minnesota up 17-14.
But Stafford responded, guiding the Rams 70 yards on eight plays in a drive capped by a 25-yard touchdown pass to Demarcus Robinson. It put Los Angeles ahead for the first time 21-17.
After another Reichard field goal, Stafford connected on a 10-yard touchdown pass to Robinson that pushed the lead to 28-20 with 6:17 to play.
The Vikings had a final chance but Darnold was sacked in the end zone with 1:36 remaining, the safety giving the Rams another two points.
Darnold was livid after the play, telling officials that Rams defender Byron Young had grabbed his facemask. But officials missed it and the call was not reviewable.
Had the foul been called, the Vikings would have had a first down and plenty of time to try to score again.
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell, who was offensive coordinator under McVay during Los Angeles’ Super Bowl run three seasons ago, said he wasn’t looking to place blame.
“I’m not going to make any kind of excuses about the short week or about penalties or anything like that,” he said.
“We’ll get back to work. We’re a 5-2 football team with a lot of football out in front of us.”
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