In a rematch of the Rams' week eight 30-20 victory, the Minnesota Vikings will once again travel to Los Angeles as both sides prepare for the opening round of the playoffs. For Sean McVay and company, these next seven days of preparation and reflection have allowed the Rams to refocus as they shift from being a team that no one expected to make the postseason to a team ready to contend for a title.
McVay spoke to the media on Monday, addressing the shared history and mutual respect between the two franchises and their head coaches. Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell was the Rams OC from 2020-2021 where he and McVay helped guide an award winning offense to victory in Super Bowl LVI.
McVay would say "Excellent team. You look at it, 14-3. Obviously, we’re very familiar with their coaching staff. The respect, the admiration, and what a great job [Vikings Head Coach] Kevin [O'Connell], [Offensive Coordinator] Wes [Phillips], [Senior Offensive Assistant] Chris O'Hara, and [Assistant Inside Linebackers Coach] Thad Bogardus did when they were here. Defensively, they've been excellent. They pose a lot of different problems."
"Offensively, Kevin does an excellent job of accentuating guy’s skill sets. Obviously [Vikings Quarterback] Sam [Darnold] has had a great year. It's cool to see [Vikings Running Back] Cam Akers do his thing and make some plays for them over the last few weeks. [Vikings Running Back] Aaron Jones is dangerous," McVay continued.
"Their receivers are obviously well-documented. [Vikings Wide Receiver] Justin Jefferson is as unique as it gets. They move him around and do a great job of putting him in a variety of spots. I think [Vikings Wide Receiver] Jordan Addison is an excellent football player that…you see, he’s a number one receiver on other teams. You've seen [Vikings Wide Receiver Jalen] Nailor make a bunch of plays and getting [Vikings Tight End T.J.] Hockenson back has been big for them with the different things that he can provide, not exclusive to just the pass game. It’s a great challenge. They're really good on [special] teams. Obviously, [Vikings Special Teams Coordinator] Matt Daniels is their coordinator who is here with us. It's going to be a great challenge, but it's NFL playoff football so we're excited about it and we're diving into that preparation as we speak."
The parallels between the two organizations run deep, especially on the coaching staffs. Another connection is that Vikings OC Wes Phillips is the son of former Rams DC Wade Phillips. The elder Phillips and Sean McVay won an NFC Championship together in 2019. A family affair heading into Wild Card Weekend.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/rams/ as Sean McVay Shares Thoughts On Minnesota Vikings Before Wild Card Showdown.