Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Sam Darnold had an outstanding season and made the playoffs for the first time in his career. Tonight, Darnold makes his first-ever playoff start when the Minnesota Vikings take on the Los Angeles Rams at a neutral site at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
The Rams are hoping that the Darnold from Week 18 shows up and not the one from the first couple of months of the season. Their defensive front is the reason Los Angeles has survived. Rookies Jared Verse and Braden Fiske have helped the Rams generate pressure.
They’ll need to against Darnold and company. If not, he’ll have plenty of time to scan the field and find Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison running through a secondary that relies on Ahkello Witherspoon to lock the opposing receivers down.
I like playoff Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford to carve up a Brian Flores defense that has some predictability to it. If the Vikings blitz and run zone behind it, Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp will have a field day. Plus, Stafford is adept at finding vacancies.