Rob Havenstein, Los Angeles Rams
It's a postseason episode this week! Super Bowl LVI champion and Los Angeles Rams legend Andrew Whitworth joins Ricky Hollywood to discuss the push into the playoffs, what to expect against the Minnesota Vikings a second time around,
As the Rams prepare for their NFC wild-card playoff game against the Vikings, they said they've been slowly building the team into a Super Bowl contender.
The Rams and Vikings met seven times in the playoffs previously; the Vikings lead the postseason series 5-2. They haven't faced each other in the playoffs since January 16, 2000, a 49-37 Rams victory in the divisional round. Minnesota finished 14-3 and second in the NFC North.
The Rams beat the Vikings in Week 8, but Sean McVay points out that a lot has changed since that Oct. 24 game.
The only Rams player who participated in limited practice on Thursday was wide receiver Jordan Whittington, who is still recovering from an ankle injury. Although he is expected to play a part on Sunday, since the team is likely to sit Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp, his involvement in that game might be limited.
As the Rams prepare for their NFC wild-card playoff game against the Vikings, they said they've been slowly building the team into a Super Bowl contender.
Rams rookie kicker Joshua Karty was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Month for December/January after hitting all 13 field goal attempts.
Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell was Sean McVay's offensive coordinator for the Super Bowl champion Rams. They know each other well, and the playoff game is a rematch.
McVay's Rams are 7-4 overall in the postseason, but they lost an opening-round game at Detroit last season. The Rams haven't faced Minnesota in the playoffs since the 1999-2000 season, when the "Greatest Show on Turf" outlasted Jeff George's Vikings 49-37 in Kurt Warner's playoff debut. St. Louis won the Super Bowl two weeks later.
Jimmy Garoppolo and the Rams fail to lock up the No. 3 seed in the NFC, losing to the Seattle Seahawks 30-25 at SoFi Stadium on Sunday.
After the Rams’ date with the Minnesota Vikings in the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs was cemented Sunday night, Sean McVay turned in. He wanted to make sure he got a full eight hours before he went about the task at hand.