There will be various aspects to Monday night's game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Minnesota Vikings.
However, Sarah Barshop of ESPN believes the veteran Rams quarterback is the team's most critical storyline to keep an eye on.
"Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford had an 87.7 Total QBR against the Vikings in Week 8, which was the highest of any starting quarterback against Minnesota this season, according to ESPN Research," Barshop said. "He was pressured on 8.8% of dropbacks in that game, the lowest mark for the Vikings' defense all season. Now, he enters the playoffs, averaging the most passing yards per game all-time in the postseason (307.9)."
Seth Walder of ESPN made a bold prediction regarding head coach Sean McVay for the Rams. Walder made a very unique and specific prediction for McVay.
"Coach Sean McVay will attempt a field goal when he clearly should not, at least according to the ESPN Analytics model," Walder said. "This is expected to be one of the closest games on the wild-card slate, and the decision to kick will cost the Rams dearly in a game they lose by three or fewer points."
Matt Bowen of ESPN believes a Rams rookie defender could be the team's X-factor on Monday night, but it is not the rookie most would guess. Bowen predicts defensive lineman Braden Fiske could come up big for Los Angeles.
"Rams defensive tackle Braden Fiske. The rookie has the pass-rush juice to impact the pocket against Minnesota," Bowen said. "He had 8.5 sacks and 32 pressures in the regular season. And he has the physical traits to match up well with a Vikings offensive line that struggled against power on the interior."
Kevin Seifert of ESPN noted an interesting officiating nugget regarding the Rams' penalties this season. The Rams were among the least-penalized teams in the regular season of any of the teams that made the playoffs.
"The Rams were flagged the fewest times this season of any playoff team, and their average of 6.2 per game ranked fifth in the NFL," Seifert said. "So they'll welcome referee John Hussey's crew, which averaged the NFL's second-fewest flags per game (13.4), especially because the Vikings drew the most flags (8.3 per game) in the league."
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/rams/ as REPORT: The Rams' X-Factor Against the Minnesota Vikings.