After a surprising 14-3 regular season, the Minnesota Vikings hit the road in the Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs to take on a familiar opponent in the Los Angeles Rams. Unfortunately, the purple and gold struggled mightily on Monday night, losing by 18 points in the one-sided contest.
There are plenty of fingers to point for the Vikings. Neither the offense or the defense had a great plan for attacking Los Angeles and the coaches can take plenty of blame for that. Brian Flores couldn't come up with anything to slow down Matthew Stafford while Kevin O'Connell struggled to come up with a plan to catch the Rams off guard.
For these pieces, the focus is placed on the players, not the coaching staff. The question of which players for Minnesota had a positive or negative impact on the game will resonate since the Vikings are eliminated from the postseason. Let's take a look at those notable performances.
3 winners (and 2 losers) from the Vikings playoff loss to the Rams
Vikings winner No. 1: T.J. Hockenson, tight end
It was a tough day for most Vikings pass catchers. However, tight end T.J. Hockenson was one of the few players who made good things happen when the ball was thrown his way against the Rams on Monday night.
Hockenson was targeted five times in the game, catching all five for a team-leading 64 yards and scoring the only touchdown for Minnesota. He made a great adjustment on that scoring play, reaching behind him to grab the football and pick up the yards after the catch to get in the endzone.
Vikings loser No. 1: Sam Darnold, quarterback
Many fans hoped Sam Darnold would bounce back after a massively disappointing regular-season finale against the Lions. Still, his performance against Los Angeles may cost him millions of dollars in free agency.
Minnesota's quarterback completed 25 of his 40 pass attempts for 245 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. He was also sacked nine times and had a costly fumble that was returned by the Rams defense for a score.
Vikings winner No. 2: Blake Cashman, linebacker
Minnesota was pushed around quite a bit in this game, especially in the first half. Los Angeles scored 24 points in the first two quarters, neutralizing the Vikings pass rush and making some defensive backs look silly.
Blake Cashman was not one of the e players who dominated. He led the team with 11 total tackles (six solo) while getting one sack on Rams' QB Matthew Stafford. He and fellow linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. were the only Vikings with double-digit tackles.
Vikings loser No. 2: Garrett Bradbury, center
It will be tough for the Vikings to do this offseason, but they need to beef up the interior of their offensive line before the start of the 2025 NFL season. They did okay in run blocking but struggled mightily to protect quarterback Sam Darnold.
Garrett Bradbury may not have been responsible for all nine of the sacks Darnold took on Monday night, but he was outplayed and outmuscled on far too many occasions to not be singled out for his struggles.
Vikings winner No. 3: Cam Akers, running back
As a whole, the Minnesota Vikings had a decent day on the ground. The running backs carried the ball 18 times against the Rams, earning 87 yards. Starting running back Aaron Jones had 13 carries for 48 yards and led the team in rushing but his backup made the most of his opportunities on Monday.
Cam Akers acted in relief and as a change of pace for Jones, He averaged 7.8 yards per carry on his five runs, gaining 39 yards including a nice 26-yard dash that gave Minnesota's offense a little hope for a moment.