On a short week of rest, the Minnesota Vikings flew out west for the second straight season after a Week 7 game following a Week 6 bye in the Southern California area for Week 8 at SoFi Stadium. Last season, the team was 5-0 heading into this stretch, but this year they entered at a record of 3-2 and then suffered their third loss of the season against the Philadelphia Eagles at home due to some bad offensive execution in the red zone and some clutch passing by Jalen Hurts. Instead of taking on the Los Angeles Rams, they faced off against the other team that plays their home games at SoFi Stadium in the Los Angeles Chargers, who decided to wear throwback threads to their competitive glory days in San Diego for this Thursday night game. With the navy blue threads that look very black to the naked eye, the Bolts were wearing their throwbacks in honor of Rodney Harrison being inducted into their Ring of Honor at halftime. They wore them also in hoping to get a good feel after losing three of their past four games, including a 38-24 home loss against the Indianapolis Colts. But just like the Rams last season, they had a Thursday night date with the Vikings, who had to fly out from Minnesota for the second straight season for a duel in Inglewood, Calif.

For the Vikings, they made a decision on who their starting QB would be in this game on Tuesday. In spite of progress made by J.J McCarthy practicing in the past week-plus, Kevin O’Connell did not see his injured prized possession as healthy enough(like at the 100% mark) to make adjustments and didn’t want to risk something worse happening to him than an ankle sprain. So, once again Carson Wentz was penciled in as the starting QB with Max Brosmer as the backup and McCarthy as the emergency-third QB. Some good news for Wentz was that one of the injured players on the sidelines for the Vikings was making his return to the field, as Aaron Jones was activated from injured reserve after having his 21-day practice window opened. Suffering a hamstring injury in Week 2 against Atlanta, Jones had been watching as Jordan Mason took on the bulk of the rushing duties. Now back as a pass-catching RB option for Wentz, Jones looked to provide some offensive consistency for an offense that has been very inconsistent this season so far. The bad news is that Brian O’Neill would be held out due to a right knee injury that had flared up on a short week again and that meant Justin Skule would have to start again at right tackle. Blake Brandel still was penciled in at center in spite of a gaffe in Sunday’s matchup against Philly. Also, CJ Ham was out as well on a short week, so not having sufficient offensive line protection would continue as a tough theme for Minnesota. Andrew Van Ginkel remained out for the defense, which was mostly healthy but looking for a better performance from the secondary due to giving up a load of passing yards and three passing TDs in their most recent game.

This game against the Chargers was the fourth matchup in the last seven seasons against the team with the lightning bolts on their helmets. Winning in 2019 and 2021 in SoCal against them was satisfying, but in 2023 the Vikings were defeated in a tight game where they gave up more than 400 yards of passing to Justin Herbert, who has developed into a more dangerous QB under the guidance of Jim Harbaugh, who coached the Chargers to a playoff berth last season. In spite of good pieces such as rookie receiver Ladd McConkey, veteran receiver Keenan Allen and others, the Bolts have been banged up with injuries, with them losing Omarion Hampton and Najee Harris to devastating injuries. They had Kimani Vidal as their starting running back with Hassan Haskins hurt as well. For their defense, the Chargers had recently gotten Khalil Mack and Denzel Perryman back from injured reserve, making their pass rush a bit more lethal. So, Wentz hoped to have a bounce back performance against a defense that had gotten rocked over their last couple of games.

The game started with the Vikings having possession, with Myles Price returning a stellar kickoff but it was brought back due to a holding foul by Tyler Batty, who wasn’t having a good start to his rookie season. Instead of starting at their 46-yard line, the Minnesota offense was positioned 30 yards deeper within their own territory. Wentz threw his first pass of the night and it was incomplete to Jones, who ran up the middle for no gain on the next play. On third down, Wentz got hit while passing and the ball came out odd, but it was caught by Justin Jefferson, who had a good 16-yard gain for a first down. Jordan Mason got his first carry of the night, as he gained two yards. On second down, Wentz found Jordan Addison for a good gain of seven yards, being barely short of the first down marker. On third down, a potential run play would be in order since only one yard was needed for the first down. Instead, the Vikings’ offense ran a disjointed play that had Wentz scramble backwards in trying to avoid getting sacked by two Chargers defenders. In the end, Wentz hurled the ball incomplete into the team’s sideline. It was fourth and short, and with the ball being at the minus 41-yard line, O’Connell decided not to go for it and instead have the punting unit come onto the field. Ryan Wright booted the ball a good 42 yards inside the 20-yard line on the west side of the field, with the ball being fair caught by Darius Davis.

The opening drive for the retro-blue Bolts started with a run by Kimani Vidal that went for a loss of three on the play, with a good tackle by Jonathan Greenard happening. On 2nd down, Herbert dropped back to pass but was pressured by Joshua Metellus and the ball went towards Ladd McConkey. However, the ball was intercepted by Isaiah Rodgers, who caught the pass down near the field and ran it back all the way for a touchdown. But with all turnovers and scores, the play was reviewed by the replay center in New York(ugh, here we go again). And just like the T.J Hockenson catch controversy last week, the ruling on the field was reversed to an incomplete pass due to the dumb rule of “surviving the ground” and being sure to hold onto the ball with a full grasp over it even when it hits the ground. This part of the catch rule is unbelievably stupid and should be abolished. For the second straight game, the Vikings had a touchdown taken off the board due to a replay review. The NFL’s expansion of replay occurred many years ago, and a play like that in the past would not have been reviewed due to a lack of technology. But apparently this modern tech can show the full imagery on the field for any play in question. Not all scoring plays and turnovers used to be automatically reviewed, it used to be on the opposing head coach to throw the challenge flag to have the play be reviewed. But this is unreal. Rodgers has the ball, the ball then barely squeaked out and he regained control of it and ran to the end zone for a presumed touchdown. This also makes it the second straight game against a Los Angeles team that a defensive TD has been taken off the board for the Vikings, with the Wild Card loss to the Rams in Arizona having a Blake Cashman fumble recovery TD that was negated due to Matthew Stafford barely flicking the ball away as he was getting sacked. The NFL replay center seems to not like the Vikings very much. This game also showed that the refs don’t, either. At least this crew with Clete Blakeman as the head official.

So, with a touchdown taken off the board, it was third down and the Vikings defense had a long yardage situation to deal with in potentially forcing a three-and-out. Instead, Herbert threw a completed pass to Keenan Allen for a 17-yard gain and a first down. Another negative run by Vidal occurred but Herbert passed it to his new favorite target in tight end Oronde Gadsden II, whose father played in the NFL and a couple of arena football leagues as a receiver in the 1990s and early 2000s. Gadsden had a breakout game in Week 7 and he would have his first catch of the night in gaining nine yards. It was third and short and backup RB Jaret Patterson ran the ball for a gain of three and a first down. Herbert then threw back-to-back completions to McConkey and Gadsden that went into Vikings’ territory. A couple of runs by Vidal set up a Herbert pass to McConkey that resulted in a first down and a 15-yard roughing the passer penalty was called on Dallas Turner to put the ball inside the 10-yard line. In the goal-to-go situations, the Chargers could not crack the end zone on the first two plays but on 3rd & goal Herbert threw a solid pass to Gadsden in the end zone for a touchdown. The extra point was longer due to Gadsden being called for a taunting penalty, but Cameron Dicker made the kick anyways. It was a 7-0 Chargers lead after the Vikings got robbed of a pick-6 on the second play of the drive. It was a 14-play, 83-yard drive that took seven and a half minutes for the Los Angeles team of the AFC. That’s not a good start defensively.

The Vikings offense could do no better on their second drive of the game as a negative run by Mason set up a Wentz incomplete pass and then he got sacked on third down by stud linebacker Tuli Tuipulotu. A short punt by Wright gave the Chargers good field position on their next drive and they took advantage of an offsides penalty on Greenard by picking up a first down on the ground and then another first down was picked up before the end of the first quarter. To start the second quarter, Herbert scrambled for a big gain of 18 yards into the red zone, where a couple of more runs set up a solid three-yard score by Vidal. It was now a 14-0 lead for the Bolts as the Vikings were falling behind early in this one. Thankfully, a solid drive occurred where Wentz threw a couple of first down completions to Jefferson for double-digit yards. In Charger territory, the Vikings fizzled out as a couple of short completions by Wentz to both Jones and Mason along with an incomplete pass to Jalen Nailor in between forced the field goal unit out onto the field. Will Reichard made a 54-yard field goal attempt to get the Vikings on their board, but it felt like they needed a touchdown there.

The next drive for the home team Bolts started from their 25-yard line and Herbert completed a big pass to Gadsden for a massive gain of forty yards all the way to the Minnesota 35-yard line. After a loss of a yard by Vidal, Herbert threw another pass to Allen that gained 12 yards for a first down. But on the next play, Herbert got sacked by Greenard and threw a couple of incomplete passes on second and third down. The field goal unit for the Chargers came onto the field and Dicker tried a long 49-yard kick, but due to a bad snap and tricky hold, the ball sailed wide left of the uprights and no good. The Vikings now had a golden chance to take advantage of an empty drive by the opposition. But an offensive holding penalty on Donovan Jackson backed the offense up and a couple of completions by Wentz to Jefferson made third down more easy to make. But an incomplete pass to Adam Thielen that was defended well by cornerback Tarheeb Still ended the drive. Another fourth and short opportunity was passed up on by O’Connell in favor for field position, as Wright punted the ball deep into Bolts territory and a return by Darius Davis was negated due to a holding penalty that was enforced half-the-distance to the goal line.

The Chargers offense started from their six-yard line as Vidal ran for a few yards to start out and a short pass by Herbert to receive Tre Harris made it third down. A chance for the Brian Flores defense to get a big stop and have time for the Wentz offense to run some plays before the end of the half was blown due to Herbert completing a big pass to Allen for a first down. Herbert then threw another chain-moving pass to McConkey, who gained 16 yards before the two-minute warning. Out of the break, Herbert scrambled for a big gain of 18 yards to midfield and he ran again on the next play for seven yards, forcing Harbaugh to call his team’s first timeout of the half. Clearly, the Bolts were aiming for a touchdown in this situation. On the next play, Herbert passed it to McConkey for a big 15-yard gain and then after an incomplete pass towards Allen that stopped the clock at under a minute, Herbert threw a deep pass to the right that was caught by McConkey into the end zone. A big score there by the Chargers, as they pushed the lead to 21-3 with the made extra point. With the Bolts set to receive possession at the start of the second half, that score felt like a gut punch to the stomach of the Vikings.

With 45 seconds left, the Wentz offense still had time to drive down the field to at least get a field goal before the half and a very short kick by Dicker that hit one of the Chargers’ kick defenders outside the 40-yard line placed the ball in favorable position for the Vikings. A potential touchdown could have been in order if the offense played their cards right with all three timeouts in their pocket. On the first play of the drive, Wentz threw a good pass to Addison for a gain of 15 yards and a first down at the plus 44-yard line. O’Connell called the team’s first timeout and then on the next play, Wentz was stuck in the pocket and tried to escape, but was caught by pass rusher Odafe Oweh, who recently came over to Los Angeles in a trade with the Baltimore Ravens. That short sack forced O’Connell to call the second timeout of the half and on the next play Wentz got sacked again, this time for a big loss of 7 yards. O’Connell called the team’s final timeout and on third and super long, the Vikings needed a play that simply got back into field goal range and if the ball was short of the line to gain the field goal unit had to hurry onto the field fast. With 26 seconds left, this was a tight window, with Wentz completing a big pass up the middle to Jefferson, who was ruled one yard short of the line to gain. The offense hurried off the field and the players who were part of the kicking unit came on, as Reichard prepared to try a 53-yard field goal on short time. The snap occurred with a few seconds left on the clock, the hold was good and the kick went up by Reichard and hooked a bit to the right but still looked like it was going in. However, in a rarity in the NFL, the ball landed a little short below the goalpost and the kick was no good. That was a tough way to end out the first half. The only points on the board for the Vikings was a field goal and the defense had given up three touchdowns, one of them on a huge point-swing due to a negated interception by Rodgers that could have been a pick-6. So, down by their biggest halftime deficit of the season and seeing the super Chargers have possession to start out the second half, the Vikings really needed to grind in order to stay in this game and prevent it from becoming a blowout.

The first drive in the second half started out strong for the Bolts, who had a good kickoff return by Darius Davis to set them up well. The first few plays were runs by Kimani Vidal and he looked a lot like LaDanian Tomlinson in running the ball right down the throats of the Vikings’ defense. Herbert also used Vidal in the passing game, as the running back caught a pass for ten yards and a first down in field goal range. Vidal got tackled down for a loss of three yards on a good tackle made by Eric Wilson, but on the next play Herbert completed a good pass to McConkey for 11 yards to get within a couple of yards of the line to gain. On a huge third and short, Herbert was pressured by Dallas Turner and threw an incomplete pass towards McConkey. On fourth down, Harbaugh sent his field goal unit out and Dicker attempted a 43-yard field goal that was a little shorter than the one he missed in the second half. Dicker made the kick this time and it was now a 24-3 lead for the Chargers. The Vikings were now facing their biggest deficit of the season and had to really string together a drive that ended with a touchdown pronto.

On the ensuing kickoff, Price had another good return slightly negated due to another holding penalty by none other than Tyler Batty, who got flagged for the second time on an “opening kickoff” to the half in this game. Instead of starting at their 41-yard line, Minnesota’s offense was backed up roughly 20 yards to start this drive. A run for a loss of two yards by Mason was offset by a Wentz pass to Jones that served as a safety valve and picked up 13 yards for a first down. On the next play, Wentz threw an incomplete pass that was dropped out of the hands by backup tight end Ben Yurosek, who got a rare target. After a good five-yard run by Jones(the offensive line had a susceptive new look near the end of the first half when Christian Darrisaw was taken out for his own good so that he wouldn’t suffer another season-ending knee injury on the same field in the same situation as last year), Wentz got creamed on third down by Khalil Mack, who forced the ball out for a moment only for Wentz to land on it. A tough sack there that ended another unproductive drive that could not garner more than two first downs. Wright had a good punt that was fair caught at the 15-yard line to put the Bolts back deep. But another empty-handed drive was devastating for this Vikings offense that has been yearning for the return of J.J McCarthy.

The defense needed to catch a break and thankfully they did on the first play of the Chargers’ second drive of the second half. Herbert threw a pass towards McConkey that was tipped by the big glove worn by Jalen Redmond and the pass was intercepted by Metellus, who had secure possession of the ball and was touched down at the Los Angeles 26-yard line. An amazing play there as the defense got their first turnover in nearly a month. Not since the Bengals blowout game. If only they could have had that pick-6 in the first drive of the game playing defense, this game would have a different feel to it and a much different score on the scoreboard. But it’s nice to know that the Brian Flores defense got at least one turnover under their belts. Now the offense needed to take advantage of this golden chance and score a touchdown. A four-yard run by Mason started the drive and then Wentz dumped the ball off to Hockenson, who went forward for a gain of 14 yards for a first down inside the 10-yard line. Back in the red zone, the Vikings were looking for a touchdown to alleviate the pain from the previous week’s failures. The first play in the red zone was a near disaster, as Wentz was caught by Tuipulotu and flicked the ball forward as he tried to get rid of the ball. But his knee was down on the turf and it was ruled a sack. The flick could have been ruled a fumble, as the refs let a nonchalant fumble recovery by a backup Chargers defender occur and Wentz waved everyone back as Blakeman made one of the only good announcements he made all game. The offense was set back at the 15 and a weak run by Jones occurred on 2nd & goal and on 3rd & goal Wentz threw a pathetic incompletion in the shotgun towards Jones. Another failed red zone drive forced O’Connell to go to the field goal unit and Reichard made another short range kick from 32 yards out. But during the commercial break, a flag was thrown onto the field and it was on the Chargers for having too many men on the field. A 12th player on the defensive side failed to get off the field before the kicking ball was snapped, with O’Connell opting to take the points off the board and have the offense go for it on 4th & goal inside the 10-yard line. This gamble was obviously necessary in being down by three touchdowns and a made field goal would still warrant a three-possession deficit. So, the offense came back on and Wentz stepped back to pass in shotgun formation again, but he got sacked again by linebacker Daiyian Henley. However, there was a penalty on the play and it was for illegal contact on cornerback Benjamin St. Juste, who put two hands on Jordan Addison as he was running a route into the end zone. The five-yard penalty gave the Vikings an automatic first down and a second chance to break through into the end zone. On 1st & goal, Wentz stepped back to pass and threw a nice pass that was caught by Addison in the end zone for a touchdown. The offense had finally broken through in a red zone trip that was aided by a defensive turnover. The extra point by Reichard was good and the Vikings were seemingly a bit more in this game, being down 24-10 with four and a half minutes left in the third quarter. All that needed to happen now was another defensive stop and proof from the offense that they could string together a solid drive many yards across the field for another end-zone score. That would really make the fourth quarter a tight one.

The next drive for the Bolts offense started at their 27-yard line and a couple of negative plays started the drive out. On a huge 3rd & 8, Herbert threw a pass to Keenan Allen that picked up enough yards for a first down. There was also a flag for holding on Byron Murphy that was declined. Vidal then had a couple of strong runs in a row as he picked up 18 and 21 yards on two separate carries to get the ball into Minnesota territory. A couple of runs by Jaret Patterson set up a scramble on third down by Herbert that picked up a first down in the red zone to end the third quarter. The Vikings may have won the quarter, but were still down by a lot of points and in danger of going down by three possessions again entering the fourth quarter. Both units moved to the opposite side of the field and on the first play Herbert only got three yards on another designed run. But on the next play, Vidal nearly powered his way into the end zone and picked up a first down while getting knocked out of bounds a little short of the goal line. A couple of penalties occurred as a timeout was called due to Jonathan Greenard getting banged up. A couple of penalties happened and on the next official play, Herbert threw a solid pass to Tre Harris, who caught the ball in the end zone for a huge touchdown. That was a real backbreaking score for the Vikings in this one. The PAT made the margin 21 points again and with under 13 minutes left to go overcoming this gargantuan deficit seemed less likely.

With no room for error, the offense came back onto the field after a solid kick return by Price. On first down, Wentz found Hockenson for a good gain of 12 yards. Then on the next play, Wentz tried to throw the ball deep downfield to Jefferson, but the pass flew well away from him and it was intercepted by safety RJ Mickens, who returned the ball 15 yards to be near midfield. That was pretty much a dagger there on Wentz’s night. For all the times he had gotten hit, throwing that pick was the most symbolic thing he could have done. Having to wear a constraining shoulder brace and getting hit hard in that area and grimacing in pain all night long, Carson was clearly in pain. Bringing in Brosmer would be seen as mercy and also a sign that Wentz’s time as a QB for the Vikings was coming to an end. Unfortunately, the Chargers milked more clock, were aided by a facemask penalty called on Metellus, and in spite of Herbert getting sacked by Jonathan Allen, the Bolts settled for an easy peasy field goal by Cameron Dicker from 34 yards out to push this lead to 24 points. Wentz apparently was back out for one last drive with 7 minutes left on the clock. Wentz threw a short two-yard pass to Jefferson and then proceeded to throw three straight incomplete passes, including one where he suffered one last hit of the night that made him throw his helmet in frustration on the sidelines. Wentz was done for and sadly defeated in SoCal.

Another field goal for the Bolts put a stamp on this game and with under two minutes left Max Brosmer made his second career appearance in garbage time. Brosmer completed his first ever passing attempt of his regular season career with a five-yard pass to Yurosek and then an encroachment penalty gave the Vikings a ho-hum first down. Brosmer threw an incomplete pass towards Thielen and a six-yard run by Zavier Scott(resigned to being the third-string RB now that Aaron Jones is active again) along with a couple of caught passes thrown by Brosmer and another solid run for a first down concluded this game on a slightly high note. But it was still a devastating defeat of 37-10 at the hands of the retro-navy blue jersey wearing Chargers, who had players look like comparable versions to good players who wore those uniforms in their glory days down in classy San Diego. Kimani Vidal looked like Hall of Fame running back LaDanian Tomlinson in having 23 carries for 117 yards and a 9-yard average on the ground. Oronde Gadsden II might wear number 86 on his jersey, but he sure looked like a legend who wore number 85 on his jersey for his entire career playing for the Bolts. An Antonio Gates like performance for Gadsden, who had five catches for 77 yards and a typical tight end TD in the red zone. A fun fact is that Keenan Allen is now only four catches away from breaking Gates’ franchise receptions record for the Chargers after garnering four receptions for 44 yards. The Chargers defense played well under the coordinator leadership of Jesse Minter, as Khalil Mack and others embodied the spirit of the late Junior Seau with a combined five sacks and seven tackles for loss. And of course, an interception had to be made by a safety in honor of Rodney Harrison(who isn’t in the Hall of Fame but should be eventually), but it was not Derwin James who did that(he got hurt early on in the game). It was RJ Mickens, who wears number 27 and that is fitting since Harrison wore number 37 in his career. It was definitely a blast to the past for the super Chargers as they got a good win to break themselves out of a slight slump they were in so that they could keep pace with the Denver Broncos and stay ahead of the Kansas City Chiefs in the three-horse AFC West race they are squarely in.

As for the Vikings, this loss is a devastating reminder of why games are won in the trenches and clearly their offensive line and defensive line both have problems to address. The secondary is problematic as well, with a three-TD performance surrendered for the second straight week. There were some good tackles made, just not enough for lost yardage. It was hard to break through the solid ranks of the Bolts’ O-Line and due to Darrisaw being held out of one half of the game and no Brian O’Neill(along with the continued absence of Ryan Kelly due to concussion issues and a four-game minimum stay on IR), the Vikings’ O-Line crumbled as Carson Wentz got beat up badly in this one. A very unimpressive performance with an inability to get rid of the ball and a lack of scrambling abilities. Only a 5-yard average on 15 completions for Wentz, who was sacked five times(even more if not for a defensive penalty). The ground game was nonexistent as only a combined 34 yards were picked up and only 18 of them combined by Jones and Mason, who have failed to be a solid duo together. The leading rusher was actually Zavier Scott in garbage time with 16 yards on two carries. The logical move would be to go back to McCarthy, who has missed 22 of his first possible 24 games of his career due to injury designations. He looks ready to return back onto the field, but until he can get more practice reps with the first- team offense and move around with solid mobility on that ankle of his, he will not be cleared for game action. It’s on Kevin O’Connell’s shoulders to do that, but it’s also on him to have better play-calling no matter who is in at QB. This was by far one of the worst(if not the worst) defeat in the K’OC Era for the Vikings. They showed very little fight and the referees not calling offensive holding penalties at all on the Chargers was a tough thing to overcome(along with a robbed pick-6 due to a bogus review that led to an opening drive TD by the Bolts instead), but the defense did not perform to a high standard. Giving up 37 points with only three of them off a turnover is a disgrace. They need to get Van Ginkel back and even with his return there are still glaring holes, especially in the secondary.

The next opponent for these Vikings off a mini-bye will be the Detroit Lions on the road and that will be another test. The Vikings have not won a road game in Detroit since 2020 and have not beaten the Honolulu-Blue kitty cats since 2022. A five-game losing skid to the Lions must be overcome and it will be a big game for the Vikings’ prospects of staying in a high-record playoff field in the NFC right now. Being two games back of Detroit and however much they are behind the bizarre record of the Green Bay Packers at 4-1-1(which could either improve or decline this week in a reunion matchup with Aaron Rodgers on Sunday night football in Pittsburgh) and with the Chicago Bears at third place on a four-game winning streak that will be put to the test against a desperate 1-5 Baltimore Ravens team, the Vikings cannot afford to fall behind any further in the division race. With a strong NFC West and NFC South along with a slightly rising NFC East, Minnesota cannot afford any more tough losses. Thankfully, everything this team wants to accomplish is still achievable as three of their next four games will be against divisional opponents. So, the Vikings have to get their business in order, make some appropriate roster moves and have better offensive consistency, especially in the first half. This season hangs in the balance, but there’s still hope for this team. A tough defeat can sometimes be the best guide to improvement for a mediocre team, let’s hope that is the case for this Vikings squad.