The Minnesota Vikings failed to capture the NFC North title when they fell 31-9 to the Detroit Lions on Sunday, which means they will have to start their playoffs with the wild-card round instead of getting a wild-card bye.
They will head south to play the Los Angeles Rams on Monday in a game that has been moved from SoFi Stadium to Arizona because of numerous wildfires that are raging throughout Southern California.
Vikings running back Aaron Jones has been dealing with a quad ailment, and he was reportedly limited in practice on Thursday.
Vikings RB Aaron Jones (quad) limited in practice https://t.co/jjbAyeZtYG pic.twitter.com/i2rd7sEVq8
— Around The NFL (@AroundTheNFL) January 9, 2025
Jones came to the Vikings during the offseason as a free agent after he had spent his first seven seasons with the rival Green Bay Packers.
He played a sizable role in the Vikings’ unexpected success this season by tallying 1,138 rushing yards, five rushing touchdowns, 408 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns.
The Rams are a dangerous dark horse team in the NFC playoffs because they have a combination of young and hungry studs and veterans such as quarterback Matthew Stafford and wide receiver Cooper Kupp who led them to the Super Bowl championship three years ago.
Therefore, Jones will likely be called upon to have a strong performance in order to get Minnesota to the divisional round.
Quarterback Sam Darnold will be playing in his first postseason game, and after he played poorly on Sunday versus Detroit, many are wondering how he will hold up under the bright lights of the playoffs.
Darnold did have an excellent season overall and was named to the Pro Bowl.
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