2025 NFL Wildcard Predictions: Minnesota Vikings vs Los Angeles Rams
The postseason has finally arrived and so have our 2025 NFL Wildcard Predictions. We will be predicting the outcome of every NFL play-off game and in today's edition we will break down the Vikings vs Rams. Let's dive in....
Minnesota Vikings @ Los Angeles Rams (Neutral Site)
We cap off the first round of the play-offs on Monday night, with the Rams “hosting” the Vikings in a game with a solid 47.5 total. The Rams are installed as 2.5 point “home” dogs in this one, while this game was supposed to take place in LA it has since been moved to Arizona due to the Los Angeles wildfires.
I think the wrong team is favored in this game. Neutral field or not I will be selecting the Rams to come out victorious for the second time this season over the Vikings. If we go back to October, the Vikings lost to the Lions and then had to travel to face-off with the Rams. Puka Nacua surprisingly returned early from injury in that game and lit the Vikings up for a 7-106 line en route to a 30-20 Rams victory. Fast forward to now and once again the Vikings will be traveling for this game after facing the Lions. Much has been made of the trend of teams losing after facing the Lions and I do think there is some merit to struggling after facing a very physical team. Minnesota’s offensive line was destroyed in that game last Sunday night and the Rams can look to take advantage of that with Jared Verse.
We also continue with the trend of a QB making his first NFL play-off start vs an experienced QB here with Sam Darnold facing off against Matt Stafford. This Rams team is very experienced on offense, and if they can survive the Vikings blitz tonight I think they will come out on top.
Score Prediction: Rams 27, Vikings 21
Touchdown Prediction: Puka Nacua
As I noted above, Nacua crushed the Vikings in these teams last meeting as they were not prepared for him to be playing in the game. Tonight is a different story, but I still like Nacua’s chances to find the end zone given how dynamic he has been when on the field this season. He has clearly usurped Cooper Kupp as the teams top target – and plays a crucial role in the red zone leading the team in targets inside the 20. I’m expecting the Vikings to come out with a completely different game plan than they had earlier this season, but Nacua will likely continue his success against a beatable secondary if the offensive line can hold up.
Written by Ben Hossler