Trailing the Minnesota Vikings by a score of 7-0 to start the second quarter Minnesota Vikings T-Shirt , the Detroit Lions got things started with a penalty on center Graham Glasgow to give them a first and goal at the Minnesota 9-yard line. Kerryon Johnson was stopped for no gain on first down, and an incompletion on second down brought up third and goal. Sheldon Richardson and Sebastian Thunderbucket Tom Johnson combined to bring Stafford down for a sack on third down, and the Lions called on Matt Prater for a 35-yard field goal attempt that split the uprights. That cut the Vikings’ lead to 7-3 with just over 13 minutes remaining in the half.Sam Martin. . .who stayed upright this time. . .kicked the ball into the end zone for a touchback, giving Kirk Cousins and company the ball at their 25. Cousins found Adam Thielen for the first time on the day for an 11-yard gain and a quick first down. A couple of runs, one by Dalvin Cook and an end-around to Thielen, brought up a 3rd-and-3 for the Vikings from their own 43, and the Vikings converted with the third reception of the day for Chad Beebe for a first down to midfield.Unfortunately, Cousins was looking for Thielen again on the next play, and made an awful throw into double coverage that went right into the hands of Darius Slay for an interception. Slay returned the pick to the Minnesota 44-yard line, and the Lions were suddenly in business. No idea what Cousins was looking at on the throw, but it might have been the worst pass he’s thrown this season.LeGarrette Blount picked up seven yards on first down for the Lions, and Xavier Rhodes went off the field after apparently aggravating his ankle injury. A short pass to Blount was stopped short of the sticks, and the Lions faced another third down situation. Linval Joseph stopped Kerryon Johnson short on third down, and the Lions elected to go for it on 4th-and-1. The Lions elected to throw, and the Vikings covered the play nicely, but Stafford managed to scramble for enough to move the chains.Kerryon Johnson then ran for five yards, and Stafford then found Kenny Golladay for another first down to the Minnesota 12. Stafford was then sacked for the second time on the afternoon, this time by Danielle Hunter with an assist from Everson Griffen (Hunter got credit for the sack). Facing 3rd-and-13 from the 15, Hunter got to Stafford again and took him down behind the line of scrimmage. That brought on Matt Prater for another 35-yard field goal attempt, and he got the same results as he did the first time. Splitting the uprights, he cut the Minnesota lead to 7-6 with 4:45 remaining in the half.The kickoff from Martin went through the end zone for a touchback, giving the Vikings the ball at their own 25 again. On the first play of the drive, Dalvin Cook took a handoff from Cousins and blasted 70 yards down to the Detroit 5-yard line!Latavius Murray then carried the ball to the 2 on a first-and-goal, and then Kirk Cousins found Adam Thielen in the back of the end zone for a two-yard touchdown! Dan Bailey added the extra point Minnesota Vikings Hats , and the Vikings were quickly back ahead by a score of 14-6.Dan Bailey’s kickoff was returned by Brandon Powell, but the Lions were called for a holding penalty on the return, giving them the ball at their own 18. The Lions quickly found themselves facing a 3rd-and-3 from their own 25-yard line at the two-minute warning. The Vikings swarmed Stafford in the backfield on the play, but Stafford managed to once again scramble for the necessary yardage. However, on the next play Stephen Weatherly got to Stafford for the Vikings’ fourth sack of the first half! The Lions had to punt the ball away, and Marcus Sherels got the ball to near midfield for the Vikings with under a minute left.Cousins then found Laquon Treadwell for a 22-yard gain down to the Detroit 30, and then went for Treadwell again on first down, but the Lions were called for a holding penalty. Cook then took a handoff down to the 20, and the Vikings called timeout with 23 seconds left. Ezekiel Ansah then jumped offside to give the Vikings five free yards and a first down to the 15. Cousins then found Thielen for another short gain, but was sacked by Ansah on the next play back to the 21. Minnesota burned their final timeout, and brought on Dan Bailey for a 39-yard field goal attempt. Bailey split the uprights, and the two teams went to the locker room with Minnesota leading 17-6.Cousins had an up-and-down first half. He completed 10-of-12 passes for 101 yards and a touchdown, but also had the one inexplicable interception. The leading receiver. . .as expected. . .is Laquon Treadwell, who has two receptions for 37 yards. Chad Beebe has three grabs for 21 yards in his NFL debut. Seeking a ninth consecutive 100-yard game, Adam Thielen is going to have some work to do in the second half, as he currently has just three catches for 16 yards and a touchdown. Latavius Murray (16 yards) and Dalvin Cook (4 yards) each have one reception.On the ground, Dalvin Cook’s big run has sparked the Vikings’ run game, as he has six carries for 86 yards thus far. Latavius Murray has chipped in with 15 yards and a touchdown on four carries, and Adam Thielen has five yards on an end-around.We’re at halftime at U.S. Bank Stadium, and the Detroit Lions will get the ball first in the second half, trailing the Minnesota Vikings by a score of 17-6. Come on in and join us for the third quarter of play! Many facets of the game of football were on display tonight.For the majority of the game, defense was not one of them.Under a picture-perfect California sky, the Minnesota Vikings kicked off the NFL’s Week Four schedule Thursday night by taking on the Los Angeles Rams .The Rams won the toss and deferred, bringing Kirk Cousins and the Vikings offense onto the field to start the game.Cousins’ passing offense moved the ball down the field Minnesota Vikings Hoodie , and Dalvin Cook’s running was hot and cold.On third-and-ten from the Rams sixteen, Cousins hit Vikings newcomer Aldrick Robinson on a pretty pass in the end zone.Fellow Vikings newcomer Dan Bailey banged the extra point through, to make the score 7-0 Vikings.The drive went 13 plays for 75 yards and took 7:05 off the clock.The Rams, wearing their classic blue-and-yellow jerseys went on their own 12-play, 75-yard drive before quarterback Jared Goff hit running back Todd Gurley on a quick-hit pass to even the score at 7.The offense seemed to be picking on Anthony Barr just a bit, and Gurley blew past Barr on the touchdown.The Vikings took over, and Cousins once again drove the Vikings down the field, including a couple of very nice third-and-fourth-down conversions.Dan Bailey came in for the 37 yards try.For a few fleeting milliseconds, it seemed like the kick was going鈥?you guessed it, wide right.The familiar *BONG* of the uprights sounded, and the ball鈥?went鈥?THROUGH!!!!!ZOMGWEHAVEAKICKERAGAIN!!! 10-7 Vikings.The Rams struck quickly on the next drive - against Anthony Barr yet again - with Jared Goff hitting wide receiver Cooper Kupp in stride for a 70-yard catch-and-run touchdown, giving the Rams their first lead of the game at 14-10.It probably wasn’t entirely Barr’s fault, as replays showed Mac Alexander was initially covering Kupp.Cousins and the Vikings offense didn’t flinch one bit.Three plays, seventy five yards, 1:22 off the clock.Bang.Bang.Bang.Passes of 34, 24, and finally a 17-yard touchdown, again to Aldrick Robinson, putting the Vikings on top 17-14.Apparently both coaching staffs had reached the end of their playbooks, as both teams exchanged three-and-outs.Then, the Rams stormed back down the field on a four play, 71-yard drive which culminated with Goff hitting Cooper Kupp yet again, to put the Rams back on top 21-17.The drive was marked by poor play and penalties in the defensive backfield.Momentum, body language www.thevikingsfootballauthentic.com , everything was pointing at the Rams at this point.The Vikings went five yards on four plays before punting.Then, Xavier Rhodes held his man, kicked the penalty flag, and Jared Goff then hit Brandin Cooks in stride for a 47 yard touchdown, making the score 28-17 Los Angeles.The Vikings abysmal clock management once again reared its ugly head, with the team wasting twenty seconds before bringing in Dan Bailey, who booted the ball through the uprights once again, bringing the Vikings to within eight.At halftime, the score stood at 28-20 Rams.To begin the second half, Vikings Defensive End Danielle Hunter made two nice plays and the Rams were forced to punt.Rams Head Coach Sean McVay reached into his bag of tricks to attempt a fake punt, which the Vikings covered well, forcing the turnover on downs.The Vikings were once again forced to punt.The Rams then benefitted from an absolutely awful non-call on a block in the back by guard Rodger Saffold, which allowed Todd Gurley to scamper 57 yards.That brought the Rams into field goal range, and Sam Ficken booted it through making the score 31-20.The Vikings took over with 5:21 left in the third quarter.Kirk Cousins hit Stefon Diggs on a couple of nice plays, then nailed Adam Thielen for a 45 yard score.The Vikings lined up for two, where Cousins then hit Latavius Murray in the flat for the two-point conversion, bringing the Vikings to within three at 31-28.The Rams would answer back yet again, as Jared Goff hit Robert Woods down the seam for a 31-yard touchdown over (it hurts to even say, at this point) Anthony Barr, making the score 38-28.After a Vikings punt, the Rams ran over five and a half minutes off the clock.The Vikings defense held, and forced a field goal attempt by Sam Fickens from 28.Fickens missed, and the score held at 38-28.The Vikings then went on nine play, 58-yard drive which ended with a Dan Bailey 40-yard field goal Minnesota Vikings T-Shirt , bringing them within a touchdown of the Rams, at 38-31.With just over two minutes remaining, the Vikings got the ball back with a chance to tie, but Kirk Cousins was stripped of the ball by Rams Defensive End John Franklin-Meyers, and the Rams recovered, effectively ending the game.Quarterback Kirk Cousins was 36/50 for 422 yards and 3 touchdowns.He was sacked four times, for 30 yards.He also led the team in rushing, carrying four times for 28 yards.Dalvin Cook rushed ten times for 20 yards, and Latavius Murray and Roc Thomas ran a combined three times for six yards. The Vikings receivers stat lines were as follows:Stefon Diggs 11/123, Adam Thielen 8/135/1, Kyle Rudolph 5/57, Laquon Treadwell 4/47, Aldrick Robinson 2/33/2Defensively, the Vikings stats would be laughable, if it didn’t hurt so much.Danielle Hunter grabbed the only sack of the night, the team forced no turnovers, and gave up 556 yards of total offense.If there is a silver lining, the team held the Rams to just 1-of-6 on third-down.The problem is that the Rams had twelve drives, which means six times, they never had to worry about a third down conversion.With the loss, the Vikings fall to 1-2-1 on the season.Up next is another road game, this time against the World Champion Philadelphia Eagles.Thank you to everyone for hanging around the game threads and also thanks to those of you who found your Vikings coverage right here on the Daily Norseman.