Dennis Green and his high flying Vikings. Dick Vermeil and “The Greatest Show on Turf.” Sunday, January 16, 2000. The Trans World Dome in St. Louis, Missouri. This was the Rams’ opening game of the 99-00 NFL playoffs. Pat Summerall and John Madden were on the call.
Minnesota, having a vaunted offense of their own, found new life behind former first overall pick and straight-up gunslinger Jeff George after benching Randall Cunningham due to a 2-4 start to their season.
The Vikings were looking for redemption after their high-scoring offense was upset in their infamous 1999 NFC championship game loss to Atlanta. Having defeated Dallas the week before, Minnesota walked in confident as Green’s offense which had Randy Moss, Cris Carter, and Robert Smith could go toe to toe with the Rams if George’s passes were on the money.
The Rams, having found their spark with backup QB and NFL MVP Kurt Warner, possessed a fast firepower offense behind their devastating passing attack supported by an offensive line anchored by Orlando Pace. On defense, Kevin Carter, London Fletcher and Dre Bly were cornerstones on a severely underrated defense.
The expected shootout wasted no time getting started after Warner hit Isaac Bruce on a 77 yard touchdown from the Rams’ first play from scrimmage. St. Louis took a 7-3 lead after Minnesota opened with a field goal.
Warner, just getting warmed up, proceeded to hit Torrey Holt, Bruce and then Marshall Faulk on three consecutive passes with Faulk finding the endzone on a 44 yard score.
After a few back and forth possessions, Minnesota got to work. George found his rhythm, eventually finding Cris Carter for a touchdown to cut the lead, 14-10. Faulk would fumble leading to another Viking touchdown as Minnesota took a 17-10 lead into halftime.
Vermeil and OC Mike Martz got to work, redesigning their game plan to stop Minnesota, employing a counterstrike attack that would catch the Vikings on their back foot. Vermeil, the longtime NFL coach, was coaching in his first playoff game since 1981. Having coached in the big moments before, his confidence was unwavering throughout a tumultuous preseason that saw starting QB Trent Green go down with a season-ending injury. His composure would lead the Rams’ second-half charge.
Whatever Vermeil said at halftime resonated as the Rams wasted no time retaking the lead off of a Tony Horne second-half opening kickoff return touchdown. After a defensive stop and a big punt return by Az-Zahir Hakim, the pass-happy offense turned to a devastating ground attack with Faulk gashing Minnesota's defense on his way to the endzone.
The Rams would proceed to score another touchdown, this time by Jeff Robinson, pushing their lead to 35-17. On the Vikings' next play from scrimmage, George fumbled the QB-center exchange and the Rams kicked off the opening moments of the fourth quarter with a Ryan Tucker-eligible lineman passing touchdown that put the game to bed. Rams would win 49-37 after Minnesota had a couple of scores in garbage time.
The game sent St. Louis to the NFC championship game where a late Ricky Proehl touchdown gifted them a trip to the Super Bowl. The Rams would defeat Tennessee in a legendary QB showdown between Warner and Steve McNair. The Rams hope to emulate the success of Warner and company when they play Minnesota on Monday. This will be the first time these two teams have played each other in the postseason since 2000.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/rams/ as Revisiting Rams' Triumph Over Vikings in 2000 Divisional Matchup.