It was one heckuva football game, that's for sure!
Neither team thought to bring their defense to the field at The Coliseum so it was Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins head-to-head against the Rams young quarterback Jared Goff. Unfortunately Cousins' 422 yards passing for 3 TDs and 0 INTs wasn't enough.
Why is that? Well, Jared Goff ended the game with a perfect passer rating completing 26 of 33 for 465 yards, 5 TDs and 0 INTs. That ladies and gentlemen is a 158.3 perfect passer rating.
Once again, the Vikings defense forgot to show up. There were lapses that left receivers wide open and many miscommunications that left Vikings defenders trailing Rams receivers all. night. long.
Cooper Kupp would finish with 9 catches, 162 yards and 2 TDs.
Brandin Cooks caught 7 passes for 116 yards and 1 TD.
Even Robert Woods reeled in 5 passes for 101 yards and 1 TD.
That's three wide receivers with 100+ yard days and at least 1 TD each. Even running back Todd Gurley posted 73 yards receiving and tacked on an additional 83 yards on the ground.
It was an all out attack by the Rams on offense and they never let up. Every time the Vikings would fight their way back into the game, the Rams would answer. Even until the last drive as the Vikings were moving the ball down the field for one final go, then the Rams got pressure on Cousins and knocked the ball out of his hands for the turnover.
"There were a lot of good things," head coach Mike Zimmer told KFAN after the game. "But there were a lot of bad things as well."
It's been a rough go for that Vikings defense all season long unable to slow down the passing attack of the opposition and struggling down the stretch with the run game as well.
"It’s been like this for three weeks now," Zimmer added. "We give up so many big plays on defense and then we have to throw the ball around to get back in the game.”
Sitting now with a 1-2-1 record on the season, the Vikings have a few extra days to prepare for a return to the scene of the crime from last season for a week five matchup with the Super Bowl Champion Eagles in Philly.