The fourth-seeded Los Angeles Rams (10-7) will now host the fifth-seeded Minnesota Vikings (14-3) at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, as the L.A. area continues to deal with devastating wildfires that have forced many areas of the city to evacuate.
While the teams will be battling to advance to the second-round of the NFL playoffs on Monday night (8 p.m. EST, ESPN), both the Rams and Vikings are aligned in that the safety of the fans and the Los Angeles community remains the top priority.
With that said, a football game will be played, and fans can expect to see a good one in the finale of NFL Super Wild-Card Weekend. This one will be a rematch from Thursday Night Football in Week 8, when the Rams outlasted Minnesota, 30-20, at SoFi Stadium to help jumpstart a 9-3 run to close the regular season. The Vikings rebounded from that loss with a nine-game winning streak before falling flat at Detroit, 31-9, in their regular-season finale.
The Cardinals are sending two of the team’s 777 planes to Los Angeles this afternoon, picking up the Rams team, its staff, their families, six dogs and two cats — yes, six dogs and two cats, per an official — and bringing them to Arizona tonight.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 10, 2025
Cardinals are turning over their… pic.twitter.com/pdCeBFVHuN
Injuries were a big storyline in that first Rams-Vikings matchup. Minnesota was without linebacker Blake Cashman, whose presence in the middle of Brian Flores’ defense is like night and day. The Rams played a pair of wild cards in that game, welcoming starting wide receivers Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua back into their lineup after both stars had missed multiple weeks with injuries. Quarterback Matthew Stafford was happy to have his top targets back, as he burned the Vikings for 279 yards and four touchdowns that night.
Surprisingly, both teams are about as healthy as they could hope to be for mid-January after 18 weeks of football. For the Vikings, running back Aaron Jones (quad) was removed from the injury report on Saturday, clearing him to make his 18th start of the season against the Rams.
Here’s the latest news, updates and injury designations for the game following Saturday’s final practices of the week:
Vikings vs. Rams: Full injury designations
Los Angeles Rams
Out / Questionable
None. The Rams were able to avoid any major injury concerns after resting key starters in Week 18. Starting right tackle Rob Havenstein entered the week questionable with a shoulder injury, but he was able to upgrade to a full practice on Saturday. The Rams’ top stars will be healthy, rested and ready to roll against the Vikings on Monday night.
Minnesota Vikings
Out
- LB Pat Jones II (knee)
Jones’ knee injury was downplayed entering Week 18, but the fourth-year pass rusher hasn’t been able to practice. Rookie Dallas Turner should remain in the mix behind Pro Bowlers Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel.
Questionable
RBs Ty Chandler and Cam Akers (illness)
The Vikings added Chandler to the injury report on Friday, giving him a sick day. He returned in full on Saturday, but Akers was added with an illness of his own. Minnesota appears to have a bug going through its running back room, which will be something to monitor.
DL Taki Taimani (ankle)
The Vikings opened their undrafted rookie’s 21-day practice window on Thursday, and he practiced in full all three days this week. The last game he played in was back in October — against the Rams.
MORE: NFL picks, score predictions Wild-Card Round: Minnesota Vikings vs. Los Angeles Rams
