The Rams defeated the Minnesota Vikings, 30-20, at SoFi Stadium on Thursday night.
What we learned from the victory that improved the Rams record to 3-4:
The Rams still have a Cooper Kupp quandary
Davante Adams, Amari Cooper and DeAndre Hopkins are star receivers who have been traded in recent weeks.
Rams coach Sean McVay acknowledged Thursday night that teams have reached out to the Rams about trading for veteran receiver Cooper Kupp.
It remains to be seen if the eighth-year pro’s performance Thursday will fuel more offers — and if the Rams will entertain them.
Kupp, 31, was the 2021 NFL offensive player of the year but he has been plagued by injuries for the last two-plus seasons and has a huge contract.
Read more: With Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua back, Rams’ Matthew Stafford is up to old tricks
On Thursday, playing for the first time since suffering an ankle injury in the second game against Arizona, Kupp caught five passes for 51 yards, including a touchdown.
That might complicate any trade plans. After starting 1-4 the Rams have won two games in a row and improved to 3-4, and there is no reason to think they cannot win an NFC West that includes no juggernauts.
Puka Nacua is back
When the Rams began the week, the thought was receiver Puka Nacua might return from a knee injury and play on Nov. 3 against the Seattle Seahawks.
But Nacua, who was on injured reserve for four games, felt well enough to play Thursday, despite having no padded practices to prepare.
Nacua dropped a pass on the first play, but quarterback Matthew Stafford came back to him on the next one for a 13-yard gain.
Nacua caught seven passes for 106 yards.
“Obviously, you aren’t giving him the excuse to think he can just practice one time every week,” Kupp joked. “But he did a really good job. … For him to just feel confident out there and be kind of the Puka we’ve all seen before.”
Demarcus Robinson is a productive No. 3 receiver
Other than Stafford, who passed for four touchdowns, receiver Demarcus Robinson probably benefited most from the return of Kupp and Nacua.
Robinson caught two passes, both for touchdowns.
His 25-yard reception in the third quarter gave the Rams a 21-17 lead. His 10-yard touchdown with just more than six minutes left increased the lead to 28-20.
“You can’t double cover everybody,” Robinson said, adding, “Those guys get a lot of double coverage, so that leaves me with a lot of one-on-ones and Matthew was able to see that.”
Robinson, however, did not have layups.
“I’m a pretty good player myself too,” he said. “I’m able to get open a little bit and Matthew … he’s able to see me and put the ball only where I’m able to have a chance to make a play.”
Offensive line held up
After getting hit 10 times in each of the previous two games, Stafford was hit six times by the Vikings and was not sacked.
That was huge against a Vikings defense coordinated by Brian Flores. The Vikings went into the game with 24 sacks, third-most in the NFL.
Offensive linemen were penalized multiple times but they mostly kept Stafford out of harm’s way.
And Stafford, 36, showed the ability to escape pressure when he slipped a tackle and fired a touchdown pass to Kupp.
Edge rushers produced
Rookie Jared Verse had 1½ sacks, Michael Hoecht had a half-sack and Byron Young sealed the victory when he sacked Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold for a safety after punter Ethan Evans pinned the Vikings at the five-yard line.
Verse, the No. 19 overall pick in the NFL draft, had been close to making multiple big plays throughout the Rams first six games but consistently missed opportunities to finish plays.
After Thursday’s game, he said outside linebackers coach Joe Coniglio had told him, “you finish plays, it’s over with. Nobody’s stopping you.”
So Verse was thrilled to finish against the Vikings.
“Tonight I was ‘All right, I’m going to take a big step,’” Verse said.
Sean McVay made history
McVay earned his 80th victory, including playoffs, to eclipse John Robinson as the franchise leader. Robinson coached the Rams from 1983 to 1991.
McVay, 38, was hired in 2017. He has led the Rams to the playoffs five times in seven seasons. The Rams played in Super Bowl LII, and won Super Bowl LVI to cap the 2021 season.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
