The Great Lesson for the Vikings as the Focus Shifts from the Lions to the Rams
Corral the elite running back or a loss becomes considerably more likely. That’s the great lesson for the Vikings as Minnesota shifts from the Week 18 Lions loss to trying to overcome the Rams in the postseason’s opening round.
Jahmyr Gibbs was a monster last Sunday night. The RB1 in Detroit had a collective 28 touches go for 170 yards and 4 touchdowns. Guaranteed: Brian Flores put a major emphasis on slowing Gibbs down coming into the game but Minnesota struggled with the assignment the more the game wore on. Can Flores get his side of the ball to slow down Kyren Williams from start to finish in the Wild Card Round?
The Great Lesson for the Vikings
Turn back the clock to Week 8. LA dropped Minnesota down to 5-2, largely due to an excellent game from their top runner.
True, Blake Cashman was out of the lineup, but the Vikings still needed to do better. Williams finished his day with 23 carries for 97 yards, good for a 4.2 yards-per-carry average. Through the air, Williams added 5 receptions for 19 yards and a touchdown where he eluded Ivan Pace Jr.’s coverage.
Both the Lions and the Rams get a ton of value out of having a tremendous option out of the backfield. These runners are versatile and explosive, making life considerably easier for the quarterback. Consider their stats side-by-side:
| Players | Carries | Rushing Yards | TDs | Catches | Receiving Yards | TDs |
| Gibbs, Jahmyr | 250 | 1,412 | 16 | 52 | 517 | 4 |
| Williams, Kyren | 316 | 1,299 | 14 | 34 | 182 | 2 |
A few similarities and differences stand out. Gibbs is the better player, proving to be more efficient and a better receiver. Williams, though, is capable of carrying a large workload and is a great scorer, running the ball across the goal line 14 times. Plus, he proved that he can do damage as a receiver, as he proved in the Week 8 game against the Vikings.
With the regular season complete, the Vikings sit in 2nd in the NFL by allowing 1,588 rushing yards against in 2024. The average carry goes for just 4.1 yards, tied for 4th in the league. The 12 rushing touchdowns allowed comes in at a tie for 7th in the NFL (the recent game in Detroit didn’t help these stats).
The Vikings have done well in this area, all things considered. What Gibbs proved, though, is that Minnesota isn’t an impenetrable fortress of run defense. Rather, they’re a strong team that can eventually be worn down once the game becomes a long one.
Stifling the run early and often is paramount for postseason success. Kyren Williams is an excellent player, so removing him from the Rams’ attack will make life considerably more difficult for Sean McVay, Matthew Stafford, and the rest of LA’s offense.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference helped with this piece.
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K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter, as a co-host for Notes from the North, and as the proprietor at The Vikings Gazette, a humble Vikings Substack.