Sean McVay was a precocious offensive coordinator when they got together in Washington.After they collaborated on two tremendously productive seasons Irv Smith black jersey , the partnership led to big things for both men: McVay became the NFL’s youngest head coach in Los Angeles, and Cousins got an $84 million contract in Minnesota.“I’m very grateful for having crossed paths with him,” Cousins said. “And I’m always rooting for him. But certainly, though, we want to get the ‘W’ this week.”Indeed, they’re getting back together Thursday night in a compelling early season NFC showdown between McVay’s Rams (3-0) and Cousins’ Vikings (1-1-1).And both say they wouldn’t be there under the Coliseum lights without the other.“I feel fortunate to have worked with Kirk,” McVay said.“Sometimes you hear people talk about not having the strongest arm or whatever, (but) I’m not sure what film they’re watching,” McVay added.“He can make every single throw. I think he has the ability to speed it up with excellent twitch. He can change the launch point. So you’re not limited in any way that you can utilize him. And I couldn’t be happier for Kirk Irv Smith Jersey Mens , and I’ll be rooting for him the rest of the year after Thursday night.”Their meeting will be an interesting barometer for both teams’ early season fortunes.The Rams have been largely outstanding during their unbeaten start to a season that has picked up right where McVay’s first team left off.But coach Mike Zimmer’s Vikings defense gave perhaps the most impressive performance of last season against the high-octane Rams, who managed only one early touchdown from Todd Gurley in a 24-7 loss at Minnesota.“We didn’t run the ball as well as we had in other games against this defense,” said Aaron Kromer, the Rams’ running game coordinator. “They’re a stout defense. They’re built to stop the run. That’s their No. 1 goal. … We have to do a much better job. I think we’re a lot smarter football team than we were in the past, so I hope that shows on Thursday night.”More things to watch:WEEKNIGHT PARTYThe Rams realize Thursday afternoon isn’t an ideal time to brave LA traffic for a football game at a stadium undergoing renovation that has severely curtailed its parking and tailgating.So they’re trying to make this important NFC game into a civic duty: McVay sent out a funny “memo” through newspapers and social media to all employers in Los Angeles, urging them to allow their employees to leave work early so they can head downtown for the 5:20 p.m. local start time — which he says is the “typical bedtime” of his 71-year-old defensive coordinator, Wade Phillips. They also got Vanessa Hudgens to sing the national anthem, while Compton rapper YG will perform in the second quarter.EARLY DEPARTUREThe Vikings flew to Los Angeles on Tuesday evening, hoping to better acclimate to the two-time-zone change. The Vikings are 1-5 in Thursday night road games Irv Smith Jersey nfl draft , winning only at Dallas in 1978. Traveling cross-country to play one of the NFL’s best teams with three days of rest is a daunting task.“Yeah, it’s a problem,” coach Mike Zimmer said. “We haven’t had a home game on a short week since I’ve been here in five years. But you play the schedule how it is.”NOT A FANThe Rams are also unenthused about their short-week schedule, although they’re grateful they got to stay home for it. McVay joked that he’s running on “maybe two” hours of sleep per night. Last weekend, Gurley summed up many players’ feelings about Thursday football: “It’s the dumbest thing ever.”GOING WITHOUT GRIFFENThe Vikings will play without defensive end Everson Griffen, a captain and three-time Pro Bowl pick. The former USC star won’t make his Coliseum return while he is sidelined indefinitely for treatment of mental illness following a pattern of erratic and threatening behavior. With players, coaches and staff concerned about Griffen’s well-being, the show must go on. Stephen Weatherly had his first career sack against the Bills while starting in place of Griffen.INJURED CORNERSThe Rams have bigger problems than a late start time: Their star-studded defense is suddenly short-handed after former Pro Bowl cornerbacks Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters both incurred injuries in last week’s win over the Chargers.Talib needs ankle surgery and will be out for at least eight weeks. Peters’ calf injury isn’t so serious, but still might keep him out. The Rams are likely to go against Cousins with backup cornerbacks including Sam Shields Everson Griffen Jersey , Troy Hill and Nickell Robey-Coleman.“I feel like we’re going to be great,” Robey-Coleman said. “I can’t take away from the hard work that every guy on this depth chart put in to get an opportunity to get on the field.”SLOW STARTAfter ranking seventh in the NFL last season in yards rushing, the Vikings are next-to-last with just 66 yards per game, although they’ve been throwing excessively with two late deficits in their first three games. There still hasn’t been much room for Dalvin Cook or Latavius Murray to run, and going against the Rams’ stout defensive line won’t help. Pat Elflein will return to the starting lineup at center, his rehab from offseason surgeries finally complete.“We’re not in panic mode. We’re not in that,” said Cook, who is expected to play after sitting out last week’s loss to Buffalo. “We’re going to get this thing going. It’s just a matter of time.”___AP Sports Writer Dave Campbell in Minneapolis contributed to this report.___ In our Cheering Interest Guide for this week, we laid out the scenario in which your Minnesota Vikings could clinch a playoff berth in Week 16 of the regular season Anthony Barr Jersey , and the first of the three dominoes that needed to fall in order to make that happen has done so.And the Vikings can thank Blaine Gabbert. Yeah, that Blaine Gabbert.Gabbert, in relief of an injured Marcus Mariota, found former Vikings’ tight end MyCole Pruitt for a 2-yard touchdown just before the two-minute warning at Nissan Stadium to push the Tennessee Titans a 25-16 victory over the Washington Redskins on Saturday afternoon.Mariota was injured just before halftime with a shoulder stinger after landing awkwardly on a sack, and Gabbert took over for the entire second half. The Redskins took the lead late in the second quarter, and led until the Gabbert-to-Pruitt touchdown toss. The final margin was provided by cornerback Malcolm Butler, who intercepted Josh Johnson’s last-second desperation heave and returned it 56 yards for a score.The loss for the Redskins drops them to 7-8 on the season, and it means that the Vikings can eliminate them from playoff contention with a victory over the Detroit Lions on Sunday. The loss also means that if the Vikings can beat the Lions and the Philadelphia Eagles lose to the Houston Texans on Sunday afternoon, Minnesota will secure a playoff spot for the second season in a row and the third time in four years.As we keep stressing Mike Hughes Jersey , if the Vikings beat both the Lions and the Chicago Bears to finish off their season, they’ll secure a playoff spot regardless of what any other team does. Still, if we’d like the anxiety to go away by the time this week concludes, the Vikings are one-third of the way there.