Rams, behind 9 sacks and defensive TD, shut down Vikings

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Matthew Stafford threw two first-half touchdown passes and the Los Angeles Rams’ defense had nine sacks to tie the NFL playoff record in a 27-9 wild-card-round victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Monday in a game relocated to Glendale, Ariz.

The Rams’ home game originally was scheduled for Inglewood, Calif., before the venue was changed for public safety purposes because of deadly wildfires in the Los Angeles area over the past week.

“With everything that has gone on with our community and everything these guys have gone through, I thought they represented the city the right way,” Rams coach Sean McVay said. “You talk about sports offering a platform for people to come together and offer a little bit of temporary relief, and I thought the way our team competed tonight is what it looked like to stay connected, to stay together.”

Linebacker Jared Verse returned a fumble 57 yards for a touchdown and Kobie Turner had two sacks as the Rams came out on top in a playoff game for the first time since winning Super Bowl LVI at the end of the 2021 season.

Stafford completed 19 of 27 passes for 209 yards and Kyren Williams and Davis Allen each caught a touchdown toss as Los Angeles defeated Minnesota for the second time this season. Williams ran for 76 yards on 16 carries.

“The offense was able to go out there and get an early lead and our defense went crazy, was attacking the quarterback, making big plays, scoring on defense and doing a great job getting us the ball back,” Stafford said.

The fourth-seeded Rams will be on the road to face the second-seeded Philadelphia Eagles in an NFC divisional-round game on Sunday.

Sam Darnold finished 25-of-40 passing for 245 yards with one touchdown and one interception for the fifth-seeded Vikings, who were the first wild-card team to win 14 games in the regular season.