The St. Louis Rams and Minnesota Vikings take similar teams into Sunday's clash at TCF Bank Stadium. Both have below-average offenses dominated by a star running back, and both have top-five defenses. That would seem to indicate a low-scoring game that will come down to whether Todd Gurley or Adrian Peterson can get the most production in a tough situation, or one where Nick Foles or Teddy Bridgewater can make a big play under pressure.
Rams vs. Vikings 2015 live stream: Game time, TV schedule and how to watch online
Two teams on winning streaks face off as they try to stay in divisional races.
Both teams need the win to stay in the division race. The Vikings got a break last week when Green Bay fell to Denver, while the Rams are only a 1.5 games behind Arizona.
Gurley has been the rookie sensation for St. Louis, coming back from an ACL injury to average 115 rushing yards in his first five games. Minnesota's rush defense stats are still skewed by the 230 yards that Carlos Hyde, Reggie Bush and Colin Kaepernick put up on them in Week 1, but only one team has broken 100 in their last six games. At the same time, no quarterback has thrown for 300 yards against the Vikings, a key reason that they rank second in the league in scoring defense.
For Minnesota, it has been business as usual for Peterson. He’s averaging 90 yards on the ground, with a little relief help from Jerick McKinnon. He’ll be facing the sixth-best rush defense in the league, as the Rams are holding opponents to only 3.7 yards per carry. St. Louis also forced 10 turnovers in a three-week stretch, then followed it up by keeping San Francisco under 200 total yards in the game that got Kaepernick benched.
Gurley looks set to have more success, especially if Tre Mason returns from an ankle injury in time to get him a couple breathers. If Gurley can't break out, or if Peterson has a big game for Minnesota, the game could easily turn into a battle between Foles and Bridgewater -- one that would seem to favor St. Louis.
Bridgwater's stats don't look horrific at first glance -- he's completing 64.5 percent of his passes at 11.2 yards per completion -- but he's only thrown six touchdowns as opposed to five interceptions, and has been sacked 20 times. Stefon Diggs has been a revelation, averaging 104.8 yards in his first four games, Mike Wallace is the No. 2 receiver, especially in possession situations, and tight end Kyle Rudolph has provided a goal line threat.
For Foles, sacks haven't been the problem -- he just isn't hitting throws. Even at 11.9 yards a catch, a completion percentage of 58.8 isn't good enough. He hasn't been able to find a receiver that gives him a consistent target -- Tavon Austin leads the team with just 3.4 catches per game, and tight end Jared Cook is the only other one over two. Kenny Britt and Stedman Bailey provide deep threats, but haven't been able to get open on a consistent basis.
Weather shouldn’t be a problem, with sunny skies and temperatures expected in the high 50s during the game.
How to watch
When: 1 p.m. ET
Where: TCF Bank Stadium, Minneapolis
Network: FOX
Announcers: Thom Brennaman, Charles Davis, Tony Siragusa
Online: NFL Game Pass
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