Minnesota Vikings at St. Louis Rams Line
The 4-0 Minnesota Vikings take on the 0-4 St. Louis Rams this Sunday at the Edward Jones Dome in a Week 5 NFC showdown. The Vikings come in riding high after a big win over the Packers on Monday Night Football while Rams were destroyed 35-0 by the 49ers. These teams last met in 2006 with the Rams crushing the Vikings 41-21 behind a big day from running back Steven Jackson. That win marked the fourth in the last five meetings for the Rams in this series, but they trail the all-time series 22-16-2. The books have Minnesota winning convincingly this week, listing the Vikings as 9.5-point favorites with the total set at 40.5.
Minnesota goes after its first 5-0 start since the 2003 season and it will have to avoid a letdown to get it. After a huge emotional win for Brett Favre and his team against Favre’s former team, it would be easy to come to St. Louis lacking focus this week, especially since the Vikings have one less day to prepare.
The past two weeks the 49ers and the Packers were not about to let Adrian Peterson beat them. After averaging 6.8 yards per carry and racking up 272 yards in the first two games, Peterson has been held to 3.2 yards per tote and only 140 yards the last two weeks. Favre was good enough through the air to beat both the 49ers and the Packers and they may have to continue to be the case as team’s stack the box to limit Peterson. However, there could be more running room for him this week against the Rams’ 24th ranked rushing defense.
On the defensive side of the football, the Vikings figure to give the Rams another tough task. Minnesota’s pass rush, led by Jared Allen, has been outstanding. It is worth noting that the Rams are just 6-16 against the spread in their last 22 home games.
For the Rams this week, it’s all about continuing to improve defensively and to finally get something going offensively. I like the strides this defense is making under Steve Spagnuolo as it is not getting worked as much as the final score might have you believe. The Rams’ defense spends way too much time on the field and then breaks down late in games, but is still the 19th ranked unit in the league. Rookie linebacker James Laurinaitis looks like he’s going to be a heck of a player. Safety Oshiomogho Atogwe is one of the best in the business at stocking the QB. In fact, his 14 interceptions since 2007 is tied for the most in the NFC. We’ll see if he has any better luck against Favre and the Viking wideouts than Charles Woodson and Al Harris did last week.
The Rams have to get going offensively or they are not going to be in very many games. The key is Steven Jackson. Jackson has 367 yards rushing and is averaging 4.4 yards per carry. He’s going to have to be the workhorse this week and the Rams are also going to have to utilize him as a receiver out of the backfield. It is worth noting that the Vikings are only 4-11 against the spread in their last 15 games following a straight up win.
