The Los Angeles Rams are preparing to battle the Minnesota Vikings in the Wild Card Round on Monday night in what could be the last opportunity Matthew Stafford will have to embark on another playoff run.
The Rams definitely have a shot of winning this game regardless of the Vikings' 14-3 record.
Los Angeles is at home and has been rolling, having gone 9-3 over its final 12 games to close out the season (and one of those losses came in Week 18 when the Rams rested guys).
Not only that, but Los Angeles beat Minnesota back in Week 8.
But is there something that can derail the Rams' chances of topping the Vikings for a second time? Bradley Locker of Pro Football Focus thinks so.
In a piece where Locker outlined the key to every playoff matchup, he zeroed in on how Stafford will deal with Minnesota's pass rush.
"Even if not as elite as the year before, Stafford has been solid during his age-36 season, earning a 72.4 PFF passing grade," Locker wrote. "Yet, a caveat is that the Super Bowl champion has been anemic under pressure. Stafford’s 29.4 overall and 29.6 PFF passing grades are the lowest in the league among qualifiers under pressure. Meanwhile, when kept clean, Stafford is top-six in both overall (92.0) and passing (92.8) grades."
The good news is that the Vikings only pressured Stafford 23.5 percent of the team during the intiial matchup, so the Rams' offensive line definitely held serve the first time around.
However, Minnesota racked up 49 sacks during the regular season, so its pass rush is absolutely a serious threat.
Stafford also did not play particularly well toward the end of the year, as the Rams failed to break the 20-point barrier in each of his last three starts. He also did not even throw for 200 yards in any of those games.
On the plus side, the wily veteran has ample postseason experience, including a Super Bowl victory during his inaugural campaign with Los Angeles back during the 2021-22 season.
We'll see how Stafford handles himself against this fierce Vikings defense.
Ensure you follow on X (Twitter) @RamsInsideronSI and @MNSToday and never miss another breaking news story again.
Please let us know your thoughts when you like our Facebook page WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/rams/ as One Scary Factor That Could Derail Rams' Hopes Against Vikings.