Vikings lose left tackle Christian Darrisaw to a knee injury

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Minnesota Vikings left tackle Christian Darrisaw was on crutches Thursday night after suffering a left knee injury in the second quarter of his team's 30-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell said afterward that his team is “fingers crossed that we get some positive news” but was otherwise unsure about the severity of Darrisaw's injury.

Darrisaw, who played one season at the Pro Bowl level, made a save with 35 seconds left in the first half when Rams safety Jaylen McCollough took a knee. Team medical officials helped Darrisaw go directly to the locker room as the Vikings ended the half. He was replaced by veteran David Quessenberry.

The Vikings had possession at their own 3-yard line, but had all three timeouts. Instead of kneeling on the ball to end the half, O'Connell said he wanted to see if the offense could get into position to score. The Rams had a timeout that required the Vikings to kneel twice in the tight space between the line of scrimmage and the end zone.

“They had top-notch defense on the field, so I thought maybe we could make a run,” O'Connell said. “I don’t know if we were necessarily targeted against that group out there, and I think if that’s the case, maybe the ball has a chance to move. If we can get that first, there's an opportunity to maybe move a few things up and not give them a chance to double us up there when they start the second half.”