After a scrappy first half, St. Louis continued to struggle against Minnesota.
Our Vikings-Rams First-Half Breakdown
There was no miracle comeback for the Rams in this one, and the Vikings padded their lead on the way to a comfortable victory.
A Greg Zuerlein 56-yard FG put the Rams within 10 early in the second half, but those turned out to be their only points until the game had effectively been decided.
Rams coach Jeff Fisher decided to pull starting QB Shaun Hill in the second half in favor of backup Austin Davis, but Davis was also unable to generate any kind of offense. While Vikings RB Adrian Peterson didn't live up to expectations, rushing for just 75 yards on 21 carries, WR Cordarrelle Patterson made up for it.
Patterson broke off big gains on three designed running plays, one of which he took 67 yards to the house. The Touchdown put Minnesota up 20-3, and two fourth-quarter touchdowns (one from Kyle Rudolph by way of Matt Cassel, the other a 81-yard interception return) added some gloss to the scoreline.
Minnesota will be thrilled with such a dominant week one performance, and the Rams will have to do some major renovations on both sides of the ball if they want to try to salvage anything from this season.
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