Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua returned and so did the Los Angeles Rams’ offense. Amazing how that works.
The Rams defeated the Minnesota Vikings, 30-20, on Thursday at SoFi Stadium. With Kupp and Nacua back from injury, Matthew Stafford threw for 279 yards and four touchdown passes.
.@JJettas2 is just built different 😤#MINvsLAR on Prime Video
Also streaming on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/KabuFWg7pQ— NFL (@NFL) October 25, 2024
The biggest beneficiary of the scoring throws was Demarcus Robinson. Both of his catches in the games went for touchdowns.
Kupp and Nacua combined for 12 catches and 157 receiving yards.
Justin Jefferson had eight catches for 115 yards in the loss.
The Vikings were furious on a non-call at the end of the game when the Rams wound up with a safety despite Byron Young clearly grabbing the facemask of Sam Darnold in the end zone.
A game-sealing safety on what should’ve been a facemask call against the Rams.
“They cannot review that. But he definitely got the facemask (of Sam Darnold). ” – Kirk Herbstreit
“Viking fans are going ‘What the hell?!'” – Al Michaels #NFL #TNF 🏈🦓🎙️ pic.twitter.com/DbfLrhtXHr
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 25, 2024
If the penalty had been called, Minnesota would have had a first down at its 20 with no timeouts and 96 seconds left.
A punt by Ethan Evans had pinned Minnesota deep in its territory when starting the final drive.
A near perfect punt by Ethan Evans lands on the 3 yard line 😮#MINvsLAR on Prime Video
Also streaming on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/J52CJu12Sw— NFL (@NFL) October 25, 2024
Minnesota has lost two straight after winning its first five games. Los Angeles is 3-4 and has won consecutive games.
Sean McVay tried to douse the speculation Kupp was on the trading block.
Rams HC Sean McVay to reporters regarding the speculation about a potential Cooper Kupp trade: “I'm really glad to have Cooper Kupp back with us and I expect it to stay that way.” pic.twitter.com/4jIh3W3zpP
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 25, 2024
