Kurt Warner and the Rams had plenty to celebrate in their playoff opener.

In their first playoff game in a decade, and the city's first playoff game ever, the NFC West champions shrugged off a rare halftime deficit in a 49-37 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

"So much for not having much experience," coach Dick Vermeil said. "John Wooden told me a long time ago that talent is more important than experience."

Entering the game, only 12 Rams players had playoff experience -- and that totaled only 49 games. That's counting 13 games from 40-year-old punter Mike Horan, who went to three Super Bowls with the Denver Broncos.

League MVP Kurt Warner, who had thrown 11 career passes before this season, certainly had no experience. The same went for four other of the Rams' six Pro Bowl starters: offensive tackle Orlando Pace, cornerback Todd Lyght, defensive end Kevin Carter and wide receiver Isaac Bruce.

But Vermeil has been saying for weeks that the Rams were too proficient to allow that perceived weakness to be a problem. The NFL's No. 1 offense, led by Warner, NFL Offensive Player of the Year Marshall Faulk and wide receiver Isaac Bruce, topped anything it accomplished in the regular season.

"Now we have one game of experience," Vermeil said. "Our inexperienced playoff guys ought to play better."

Broadcaster John Madden talked to players after practice Friday and told them to seize the moment. He later said, "Playoff experience is a bunch of baloney."

The Rams went into the game believing they could take advantage of the Vikings secondary.

"I expected to win," Vermeil said. "Our coaches expected to win. Our players expected to win."

The Rams (14-3) also answered skeptics that pointed all season at their weak schedule, a byproduct of their 4-12 record a year ago. They beat only one team that finished with a .500 or better record, and took advantage of the 49ers' collapse and a season-ending knee injury to Falcons running back Jamal Anderson for four easy victories in division games.

The Vikings (10-7), who were 15-1 and made it to the NFC Championship Game last year, were supposed to be the acid test. They were just another hapless opponent in the Trans World Dome, where the Rams won by an average score of 35-11 in the regular season.

"I think we played somebody today," Bruce said. "I think we finally smashed that question of us not playing anybody."

Defensive tackle D'Marco Farr said a record, and roaring, crowd of 66,194 deserved an assist.

"This playoff experience thing, I'm starting to understand what it means," Farr said. "You get the best teams coming at you one right after the other.

"But the bottom line is, they have to come here, and it's tough to play here. We're going to keep making it tough to play here."

The Vikings were convinced the Rams are for real.

"They've got a very good football team, and they've made good plays all year, and they made good plays today," coach Dennis Green said.

The Rams, 8-0 at home for their first unbeaten home record since 1977, rallied from a 17-14 halftime deficit to score 35 straight points before the Vikings got three late gratuitous scores. No one was worried in the locker room at the break.

"We weren't that concerned," said offensive guard Adam Timmerman, who played in 10 playoff games with the Green Bay Packers. "A lot of things weren't going wrong.