Week Nine features a significant game between the 4-3 Rams and 5-2 Vikings, the most meaningful encounter between the two teams since the 1999 divisional-round of the playoffs, when St. Louis beat Minnesota 49-37 en route to the franchise’s only Super Bowl win.
But the Rams and Vikings had plenty of high-stakes clashes in the 1970s, when the Rams were in L.A. and the Vikings played at a crappy outdoor baseball stadium. Twice, the Vikings beat the Rams in the NFC title game, prior to losing Super Bowl IX and Super Bowl XI.
Arguably the most memorable ‘70s-era meeting between the two franchises came in the 1977 postseason, when the Vikings and Rams met in Los Angeles, it rained in a decidedly non-L.A. way, and the Vikings emerged victorious from the ensuing swamp 14-7, with the uniforms of many players indistinguishable from the mud.
Sunday’s game has a chance to have an old-school vibe (unfortunately without the mud), with the Rams and Vikings each having strong running games and potent defenses. And the first meeting between Todd Gurley and Adrian Peterson surely will motivate both of them.
Regardless of the history or the story lines, the game will have a major influence on each team’s immediate future. A win by the Vikings would give them a two-game lead plus the head-to-head tiebreaker in a wild-card chase with the Rams. If St. Louis wins, the records will be squared at 5-3, with the Rams holding the tiebreaker.
There’s a good chance Sunday’s game will be sufficiently compelling that everyone will be rooting for a January rematch.
Unfortunately without the mud.
