🦁 OFFICIAL Los Angeles Rams at Detroit Lions Wild Card Game Thread 🐏

[Stifle]

Originally Posted by hairysasquatch

I am running around the block naked right now

Again, 92 was challenging enough, no mas.

[EBCollectibles]

Originally Posted by hairysasquatch

I am running around the block naked right now

You will be sued tomorrow already 35 reported to have lost vision.

[Stifle]

Originally Posted by EBCollectibles

You will be sued tomorrow already 35 reported to have lost vision.

Bleeding corneas have been the main caution by authorities.

[Onions]

Originally Posted by cnewby

Amazing they were able to win tonight after the Vikings ruined their season the last 3 weeks.

Vikes fans gotta be crushed after seeing the Pack beat the Cowboys and the Lions win this one. Queens will be lucky to battle the Bears for the bottom of the North for the next few years. Even the Bears have something to look forward to with picks #1 and #9 this year.

[hairysasquatch]

OK I'm back- that was great!

[Siberian13]

So catching up and seeing replays of the hit on Stafford. How was he allowed back in the game?

[CC_123]

Originally Posted by Onions

Vikes fans gotta be crushed after seeing the Pack beat the Cowboys and the Lions win this one. Queens will be lucky to battle the Bears for the bottom of the North for the next few years. Even the Bears have something to look forward to with picks #1 and #9 this year.

If you think us Vikings fans care that the Packers and Lions won, that is laughable. If Kirk didn’t go down, Vikings would have won 10+ this year. Everything thinks because they went 7-10 with the revolving door at QB after Kirk went down, that the Vikings are just fried for the next 5 years. They have a lot of logical moves that keep them from bottom dwelling the next two seasons while also building towards the future. But funny how people are still so concerned about the Vikings that they get brought up unprompted

[rms13]

Originally Posted by CC_123

If you think us Vikings fans care that the Packers and Lions won, that is laughable. If Kirk didn’t go down, Vikings would have won 10+ this year. Everything thinks because they went 7-10 with the revolving door at QB after Kirk went down, that the Vikings are just fried for the next 5 years. They have a lot of logical moves that keep them from bottom dwelling the next two seasons while also building towards the future. But funny how people are still so concerned about the Vikings that they get brought up unprompted

Who's playing QB next year for Vikings? Cousins most likely gone. They won't get a top QB in the draft and there are no great free agents or trade options. They have great receivers and nothing else. Bears probably leap frog them in division next year depending on how they handle their draft.

[EBCollectibles]

Originally Posted by rms13

Who's playing QB next year for Vikings? Cousins most likely gone. They won't get a top QB in the draft and there are no great free agents or trade options. They have great receivers and nothing else. Bears probably leap frog them in division next year depending on how they handle their draft.

Cousins will be they QB next season.

[CC_123]

Originally Posted by rms13

Who's playing QB next year for Vikings? Cousins most likely gone. They won't get a top QB in the draft and there are no great free agents or trade options. They have great receivers and nothing else. Bears probably leap frog them in division next year depending on how they handle their draft.

Cousins is the odds on favorite to be the Vikings QB, on a 2 year, which automatically puts them back in the mix to win the division. They would have coasted into the playoffs this year if Cousins doesn’t go down and Green Bay wouldn’t have made the playoffs altogether. The offense shows they need him and Cousins doesn’t want to uproot his family again. They will then draft a young guy and let him learn for a few years.

[oldgoldy97]

Penix and Nix are top QBs. One of them will be a Vike.

[rms13]

Originally Posted by CC_123

Cousins is the odds on favorite to be the Vikings QB, on a 2 year, which automatically puts them back in the mix to win the division. They would have coasted into the playoffs this year if Cousins doesn’t go down and Green Bay wouldn’t have made the playoffs altogether. The offense shows they need him and Cousins doesn’t want to uproot his family again. They will then draft a young guy and let him learn for a few years.

That still doesn't give me confidence they don't finish last next year. The three other teams all have better rosters and better coaches. Cousins was 4-4 as a starter this year so I'm not sure that makes you certain they would have coasted into the playoffs when there were two teams in the same division this year that were clearly better.

[CC_123]

Originally Posted by rms13

That still doesn't give me confidence they don't finish last next year. The three other teams all have better rosters and better coaches. Cousins was 4-4 as a starter this year so I'm not sure that makes you certain they would have coasted into the playoffs when there were two teams in the same division this year that were clearly better.

Tell me you didn’t watch the games without telling me you didn’t watch the games. Vikings started 1-4, not because of Cousins, but because our HBs and WRs couldn’t hang onto the ball and fumbled those games away. Cousins just came off a win over the Niners and throttling of Green Bay at Lambeau when he blew his ankle. The Packers were not a better team than the Vikings when the Vikings had Cousins. Also, the Vikings lost to the Broncos by 1, Bears by 2, and Bengals in OT by 3 with Dobbs and Mullens at QB. Vikings don’t lose any of those 3 games with Kirk. And KOC doesn’t shell up and go conservative in those games with Kirk

The Lions were the best team in the division. Vikings, with Kirk, have just as potent of an offense as the Lions (still scored 24 and 20 against the Lions with Mullens throwing for a combined 800+ yards. Just had 6 INTs). Vikings defense was better than the Packers and better than the Bears the first half of the season. If Kirk is back in purple and keep guys like JJ healthy (he only played 10 games), I guarantee they finish top 2 in the division next year. It is actually laughable to say the Packers and Bears have better rosters and coaching, actually. Bears defense played well but they are still a mess offensively. Packers offense played well, but are a mess defensively. KOC has his flaws, but a lot of those flaws were because he didn’t trust Mullens or Dobbs late in games. I’ll take the KOC/Flores combo over the GB HC/DC combo and Chicago HC/OC combo. This isn’t to say that LaFleaur isn’t better than KOC, but the way. But KOC is definitely better than Eberflus

[CC_123]

Originally Posted by oldgoldy97

Penix and Nix are top QBs. One of them will be a Vike.

Nobody wants to touch Penix after what they saw in the Natty. His footwork is a disaster. Everything is all arm. McCarthy is the guy they have put the most work into scouting throughout the year, but he will need to learn for a year or two yet because he’s raw. If they are banking on Nix to be the guy, they are going to fail miserably.

[TripleCrown24]

Originally Posted by CC_123

Cousins is the odds on favorite to be the Vikings QB, on a 2 year, which automatically puts them back in the mix to win the division. They would have coasted into the playoffs this year if Cousins doesn’t go down and Green Bay wouldn’t have made the playoffs altogether. The offense shows they need him and Cousins doesn’t want to uproot his family again. They will then draft a young guy and let him learn for a few years.

Cousins alone will not make the Vikings a contender, lots of other questions to answer. First, how does he recover from an achilles injury? It's not guaranteed he will be the same guy. I hope he is because he seems like a genuinely good guy, someone you can't help but root for. That's not necessarily an easy injury to bounce back from.

Outside of him, though, you're going to have to lock up Justin Jefferson. You're likely going to need to find a replacement for Danielle Hunter. You're likely also going to need replace or start thinking about replacing Harrison Smith. You're going to have to hope Brian Flores doesn't leave for a head coaching gig because he was phenomenal for your defense last season. If you draft a quarterback of the future, it'll cost you the opportunity to draft someone to help you win next season. It might also cost you some critical draft capital in future seasons.

That's a lot to ask for in one offseason. Not saying it can't done, but it's a huge ask.

[49erRCCollector]

Originally Posted by Siberian13

So catching up and seeing replays of the hit on Stafford. How was he allowed back in the game?

He went in the tent but it sure looked like he got knocked out on that play, however briefly.

Puka also on the sideline hit to the head.

[hairysasquatch]

Originally Posted by 49erRCCollector

He went in the tent but it sure looked like he got knocked out on that play, however briefly.

Puka also on the sideline hit to the head.

Much of the impact to Stafford's head came from when he bounced it off the turf.

Didn't see Puka.

[cnewby]

Originally Posted by hairysasquatch

Much of the impact to Stafford's head came from when he bounced it off the turf.

Didn't see Puka.

Puka got folded up the play before Stafford. He landed right on the crown of his helmet.

[CC_123]

Originally Posted by TripleCrown24

Cousins alone will not make the Vikings a contender, lots of other questions to answer. First, how does he recover from an achilles injury? It's not guaranteed he will be the same guy. I hope he is because he seems like a genuinely good guy, someone you can't help but root for. That's not necessarily an easy injury to bounce back from.

Outside of him, though, you're going to have to lock up Justin Jefferson. You're likely going to need to find a replacement for Danielle Hunter. You're likely also going to need replace or start thinking about replacing Harrison Smith. You're going to have to hope Brian Flores doesn't leave for a head coaching gig because he was phenomenal for your defense last season. If you draft a quarterback of the future, it'll cost you the opportunity to draft someone to help you win next season. It might also cost you some critical draft capital in future seasons.

That's a lot to ask for in one offseason. Not saying it can't done, but it's a huge ask.

From my understanding, Flores has declined all head coaching interviews. He is only leaving for the right situation because you rarely get 2 times at being a head coach.

Smith is aging and not as impactful as he was. Still solid, but replacing him won’t be as tall of a task as it would have been 3 years ago. Rumors are that they will be restructuring that contact because he wants to retire here. We will see if that happens, but we have two very good safeties on the roster outside of Smith, in Cam Bynum and Josh Mettelus who were both really good and impactful this year.

Hunter is most likely gone unless he really really enjoyed playing for Flores and values that more than being the highest paid DE. That will be a tough hole to fill for sure, but I trust Flores on being able to evaluate defensive talent and he has a history of elevating okay players into good players. I’ll trust the process there.

As for Kirk, his Achilles is going to allow for more flexibility money wise. All signs point towards a good recovery and he is one of the hardest working guys out there so I believe he will strengthen it enough. Vikings have to try regardless because the alternative was an absolute mess.

The Vikings have no choice but to look at QB round 1 or 2. They have to start planning for the future without Kirk. You can’t keep taking 3-5th round guys who are absolute projects. They have to try to take a swing at it either this off-season or next offseason, depending how they value guys. There is also a strong chance they trade back from 11 to gather more picks and still get “their guy” at QB to help fill more of those holes. I don’t exactly trust Kwesi in the draft, but in terms of how our offense is constructed, if Kirk is back to being Kirk, they will have arguably the best offense in the division paired with a Flores defense. I’ll take that as a top 2 division finish more often than not.

Lastly, Jefferson will sign an extension and there are ways to work it to where there is still flex capability. That is why those guys in the front office who deal with financials, get paid what they do.

[kluke84]

Just put in an RPA redemption for SB IV and pulled a White Sparkle. Does he have any chance to stick in the league next year?

[Stifle]

Originally Posted by CC_123

If you think us Vikings fans care that the Packers and Lions won, that is laughable. If Kirk didn’t go down, Vikings would have won 10+ this year. Everything thinks because they went 7-10 with the revolving door at QB after Kirk went down, that the Vikings are just fried for the next 5 years. They have a lot of logical moves that keep them from bottom dwelling the next two seasons while also building towards the future. But funny how people are still so concerned about the Vikings that they get brought up unprompted

I bring up the Vikings because they are a well built team. Injuries occurred to all teams but when they decimate the quarterback position then it’s over. I’m glad the Lions took advantage of a Vikings team because that is what playoff teams are suppose to do.

Detroit will somehow need to find a cornerback who can at least keep the opponents number 1 receiver from going 140-230 yards a game - Lamb 13-227-1, Jefferson 12-192-1 & 6-141-1, Nakua 9-181-1, K. Allen 11-175-2. I can understand that occurring a game or two but it’s becoming common place and we see Jefferson twice a year. All but the Allen game have been the stats of the last 4 games the Lions have played. That’s a average of 185 yards and at least 1 touchdown for the top receiver. The Lions cant let Evans go wild.