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With Week 7 of the NFL season in the rearview mirror, it is time to look ahead to the Week 8 Thursday Night Football matchup. In this matchup, we have the 5-1 Minnesota Vikings taking on the 2-4 Los Angeles Rams. In this matchup, we have two of the better coaches in the NFL, with Kevin O’Connell from the Vikings and Sean McVay of the Rams, making for an exciting matchup.
Let’s dive deeper into this Thursday Night Football matchup and make our Vikings @ Rams NFL picks.
In Week 7, the Vikings suffered their first loss against the Detroit Lions. It was a tough one to lose after being a back-and-forth type of game all the way through. The Vikings had a late lead, but ultimately, Lions kicker Jake Bates hit a 44-yard game-winner.
It was the first time all season that the Vikings’ defense looked susceptible. They allowed Jared Goff to go 22-25 for 280 yards and two touchdowns, while they also allowed Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs 116 yards on the ground. The defense will need to come back around in this one if they want to beat the Rams.
As for the offense, they had a solid day, but it just was not enough. Sam Darnold was efficient, going 22-27 for 259 yards and throwing for a touchdown and interception. Veteran running back Aaron Jones returned from a hamstring injury and finished with over 100 all-purpose yards while catching a touchdown.
The best wide receiver in all of football did not disappoint either, with Justin Jefferson catching seven balls for 81 yards and an awesome touchdown. Jalen Nailor and Jordan Addison each contributed, as they both finished with over 65 receiving yards. This offense is still humming and needs their defense to bounce back in a matchup against the Rams.
The Rams are coming off their second win of the season. They have been banged up for most of the year, missing multiple offensive linemen, Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua. They took care of business against a bad Las Vegas Raiders team 20-15.
Matthew Stafford continued to struggle a bit without his weapons. He threw for just 154 yards, zero touchdowns and one interception. Stafford needs Cooper Kupp back ASAP, and his wish may come true, with Kupp trending in the right direction for this one.
Kyren Williams was awesome once again in this one, finishing with 76 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries. Williams was the best player on this Rams offense, as he has been for most of the season without Kupp and Nacua.
With those two still out, Tyler Johnson led the team with four catches for 57 yards. Tutu Atwell put together a decent day as well, with six catches for 51 yards. For this offense to explode, they need all their weapons back, and they should have at least Cooper Kupp back in this one.
This game should be quite entertaining after having a bit of a down game last week for Thursday Night Football. Kevin O’Connell, who coached under Sean McVay for years, will have to deal with the return of Cooper Kupp, as we mentioned above.
The Rams do not want to fall to 2-5, considering the NFC West is wide open, with the San Francisco 49ers now sitting at 3-4 and the Seattle Seahawks leading the division at 4-3. The Vikings sit at 5-1, but they are now in second place behind the Lions. The NFC North is extremely competitive as well, with the last-place Bears having a record of 4-2.
But, looking directly at this game, we have one pick that we like, which is for Kyren Williams to score a rushing touchdown at any point in the game. It truly is a simple pick, as Williams has found the end zone with his legs in every single game this year and has eight total on the season.
Dylan has had a love for sports since he was a kid. Four years ago, he decided to dive into the sports content-creating industry specializing in Fantasy Football, NFL and NBA. He has since had his work published on sites that include Fantasy Alarm, Fansided, and Fantasy Six Pack.