Last season, the Minnesota Vikings didn’t lose their third game until the final game of the NFL’s regular season.
It isn’t last season anymore for the Vikings.
Everything that went right for the Vikings last season is a challenge now. Minnesota was never competitive Thursday night against the Los Angeles Chargers in a brutal 37-10 loss. It’s the Vikings’ fourth loss of the season, already surpassing last season’s total.
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Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores had all the answers in 2024. On Thursday night, Justin Herbert carved up Minnesota’s defense. Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell was widely praised for his work with Sam Darnold last season. Both quarterbacks this season have struggled, including Carson Wentz yet again Thursday night.
Minnesota had a dream start to last season, and not a lot to show for it. The Vikings didn’t win a division title. They didn’t win a playoff game. That’s even harder to take because the Vikings haven’t replicated any of that magic this season.
The Vikings’ Carson Wentz (11) is sacked by Chargers edge rusher Khalil Mack (52) on Thursday at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
(Harry How via Getty Images)
Vikings get blown out
The Vikings came out flat. They punted on their first possession, then the Chargers started on a 14-play, 83-yard drive that took up 7:39. Rookie Oronde Gadsden II, who is looking like a major fifth-round find at tight end for the Chargers, scored an 8-yard touchdown. That set the tone for the night.
The Vikings never really stopped the Chargers for the entire first half. The only drive that didn’t end in a touchdown was a missed L.A. field goal. The Chargers had 266 yards at halftime. Herbert threw for two touchdowns and Kimani Vidal rushed for one. Minnesota’s offense wasn’t much better. A missed field goal at the end of the first half added to their frustration.
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The Chargers led 21-3 at halftime. There were times last season in which opposing offenses had no idea what Flores’ defense was doing, and they couldn’t move the ball as they tried to figure it out. The Vikings’ defense doesn’t have much mystery this season. The Chargers had no problem moving the ball.
Clearly, this is a much different season for the Vikings.
Chargers get impressive win
On the other side, the Chargers might start to get some momentum.
Their offensive line was as healthy as it has been in weeks, and it showed against Minnesota. Vidal had more than 100 rushing yards, and Herbert was rarely sacked. The defense pressured Wentz all night, though Wentz holding onto the ball too long was a factor in that.
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The Vikings finally showed some signs of life in the third quarter. Herbert threw an interception that was tipped as he released it. Two Chargers penalties on fourth down, one on a field-goal attempt and another on a sack, kept a drive alive and Wentz found Jordan Addison for a touchdown to finally get Minnesota in the end zone.
But right after that, Vidal had some big runs to move the Chargers downfield and then Herbert hit his third touchdown pass, this one to rookie Tre Harris. That pretty much put the Vikings out of their misery. Wentz’s terrible interception on an overthrown pass on the ensuing drive ruined any remaining hope.
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The Vikings will hope that QB J.J. McCarthy’s return from an ankle injury, which could happen in Week 9, will provide a spark. But McCarthy struggled in his two starts this season. And he won’t fix the defense or the offensive line. The Vikings have dug themselves a hole, something they didn’t experience last season. But they can tell you, last season seems like a long time ago.
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Jack Baer
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Jack Baer
Justin Herbert: 13-for-25, 227 passing yards, 3 touchdowns, 1 interception, 62 rushing yards
Kimani Vidal: 117 rushing yards on 23 carries (5.1 average), 1 touchdown, 10 receiving yards
Carson Wentz: 15-for-27, 144 passing yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception, 5 sacks
Every Vikings running back: 34 yards on 11 carries
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Jack Baer
This one is finally over. The Chargers outgained the Vikings 419-164 in an absolute bludgeoning, both figurative and literal in the case of Carson Wentz.
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Jack Baer
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Jack Baer
Max Brosmer enters the game for the Vikings, who mercifully pull a veteran who took a ton of hits tonight
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Jack Baer
More points for the Chargers, this time on a 45-yard Dicker field goal. 1:56 to go
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Jack Baer
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Jack Baer
The Vikings go for it on 4th-and-8 rather than accept a 3-and-out, and all they get for it is Carson Wentz getting absolutely trucked on an incomplete pass. The Chargers are outgaining them 410-135.
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Jack Baer
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Jack Baer
Three more points for LA on a 34-yard Dicker field goal. Carry on.
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Jack Baer
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Jack Baer
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Jack Baer
The Chargers RB is up to 109 yards and a touchdown on 21 rushes.
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Jack Baer
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Jack Baer
RJ Mickens comes down with the ball for his first career interception and it’s still all LA over here.
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Jack Baer
Justin Herbert gets flushed out of the pocket, but buys enough time to hit Tre’ Harris for the rookie’s first career TD. Just 12:42 to go in a game that already feels over.
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Jack Baer
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Jack Baer
The third quarter ends with the Chargers in the red zone, after a 21-yard rush from Kimani Vidal. Justin Herbert also just reeled off an eight-yard scramble for first down. The Chargers are outrushing the Vikings 158-18.
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Jack Baer
Well that was quite a sequence. The Vikings settled for a field goal on a long 4th-and-goal, but a too-many-men penalty pushed them up the 9-yard line. Then, a Carson Wentz sack gets wiped out by an illegal contact penalty.
Finally, Wentz finds Jordan Addison from four yards out to notch Minnesota’s first touchdown of the game.
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Jack Baer
A play was initially called as a 97-yard scoop-and-score, but not many people believed it was an actual fumble from Carson Wentz. Replay shows he was down by contact, giving the Vikings second-and-goal from the 15.
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Jack Baer
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