Vikings Offensive MVP: Week 11 vs. the Los Angeles Rams

The offensive line of the Minnesota Vikings stepped up and had a big-time performance during the team’s Week 11 win over the Los Angeles Rams.

All week long leading up to their game on Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings had to hear about how dangerous Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald is and how much better the Rams’ defense is in 2017 compared to a season ago.

Well, the Vikings offensive lineman had something to say about all of that on Sunday.

Minnesota’s blockers served up an outstanding performance against Los Angeles and played a big part in the Vikings getting a 24-7 win over the Rams this week. Without their impressive effort, the successful day had by the Minnesota offense could have been much, much different.

For the fourth time in the Vikings’ last five games, and the sixth time this season, their offensive line did not surrender a sack on Sunday.

Minnesota Vikings

In total, Minnesota’s blockers have only given up 10 sacks in the team’s 10 games this year and half of these have come with quarterback Sam Bradford being on the field. During their first 10 games in 2016, the Vikings had already allowed 26 total sacks.

While the mobility of Minnesota quarterback Case Keenum does help him out in avoiding a sack, the dramatic improvement in the team’s offensive line from a season ago cannot be understated.

The impressive play of their guys up front has also lead to the Vikings seeing their rushing attack become a vital part of their offense once again this year.

The combination of running backs Latavius Murray and Jerick McKinnon lead Minnesota to finish with 171 rushing yards on Sunday. Their total on the ground against Los Angeles is the seventh time the Vikings have rushed for at least 100 yards this season. They did this twice in 2016.

Next: Vikings' ups and downs from win over Rams

So yes, Keenum and wide receiver Adam Thielen both had good performances on Sunday as well. But neither would likely been able to put up such impressive numbers this week if not for the great work put forth by their blockers up front.