Both the Minnesota Vikings and the Los Angeles Chargers were coming off disappointing losses to conference rivals when they met on Thursday night in Week 8. Both teams were hoping to bounce back in prime time despite dealing with injuries on a short week. But it was the Chargers who won in a blowout as Los Angeles thoroughly outplayed the Vikings in all three phases on Thursday Night Football.
Carson Wentz drew the start in Week 8 for Minnesota. The 10th-year veteran filled in for an injured J.J. McCarthy for the fifth straight game. The Wentz experience has been a bumpy ride for the Vikings. But he led the team to a 2-2 record as the starter entering Thursday night’s matchup. And Minnesota’s offense has generally looked better with Wentz at the helm than it did in McCarthy’s two starts.
Wentz in doubt
However, Wentz deserves the lion's share of the blame for the Vikings’ 37-10 loss to the Chargers. It’s not all on the quarterback, obviously. He wasn’t out there playing terrible defense or failing to pass protect. But Wentz simply did not play well enough for Minnesota to win.
To be fair, the much-maligned QB was limited in practice after injuring his left shoulder against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. And it was clear Wentz was playing through pain against the Chargers.
Additionally, the Vikings’ offensive line is both injured and ineffective. The unit was missing Brian O’Neill and Christian Darrisaw left the game with a knee ailment. So Minnesota lost its two starting tackles.
Still, Wentz’s performance Thursday wasn’t good enough, especially considering the talent around him on the Vikings’ offense.
Wentz barely completed half his passes, going 15/27 for 144 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He was sacked five times by a stronger-than-expected Chargers’ defense. Of course the banged up O-line didn’t help matters but Wentz also consistently held onto the ball far too long, creating sack opportunities for LA.
The Chargers' secondary did a good job limiting the Vikings’ dynamic pass catchers. This contributed to the quarterback’s tendency to hold the ball. But Wentz looked indecisive in the pocket and he wasn’t able to sustain the offense. Minnesota’s longest drive of the game was nine plays for a total of 35 yards. That led to a field goal.
The Vikings scored their sole touchdown Thursday after a Joshua Metellus interception set the team up deep in Chargers’ territory. Despite the good fortune, Wentz still needed six plays and significant assistance from the officials to get in the end zone. After a replay review wiped out a fumble and two LA penalties extended the drive, Wentz finally found Jordan Addison for a four-yard score. The Chargers responded by ending the contest with 13 unanswered points.
Nowhere to run
While Wentz's dismal TNF performance deserves criticism, the Vikings' run game shouldn’t go unmentioned when doling out blame. Minnesota got Aaron Jones back from a four-game absence Thursday. Jones landed on IR after suffering a hamstring injury in Week 2. But the former Pro Bowler couldn’t move the needle in his return to the field as the team remained stuck in neutral all night.
Minnesota also featured Jones’ capable backup Jordan Mason against the Chargers on Thursday. Mason filled in nicely while the starter was sidelined and the Vikings took a committee approach in the backfield for Jones’ return game.
The two RBs did in fact split the Week 8 carries. All nine of them. Jones ran the ball five times for 15 scoreless yards. And Mason turned four rushes into three yards. That’s a 0.8 yards per carry average. Not ideal.
Undrafted rookie Zavier Scott led the Vikings with 16 rushing yards, picking up two totes on Minnesota’s final drive after Kevin O’Connell pulled the starters.
As mentioned previously, the offensive line was compromised for Thursday’s game. But even with replacement-level blocking you would expect Jones and Mason to contribute more than 18 combined yards.
Questioning KOC
While fans expected more yardage from Jones and Mason, they probably also anticipated more than nine combined carries. O’Connell obviously has a sterling reputation. But the reigning Coach of the Year made some questionable decisions in Week 8.
Including Scott’s garbage time contribution, the Vikings ran the ball 11 times Thursday night. Wentz and Max Brosmer combined for 31 pass attempts. That’s probably not a winning formula when you’re playing an injured backup quarterback.
Although the Chargers have a strong overall defense, they’re tougher against the pass (seventh in the league) than against the run (17th). Yes, the game got out of hand and the Vikings were in comeback mode, which skews the run/pass balance.
But O’Connell had a pass-first mentality right from the start in Week 8. The Vikings threw 16 passes in the first half while running the ball just five times. Minnesota was only down 14-3 for most of the second quarter. Los Angeles scored a touchdown with less than a minute remaining in the half, extending the lead to 21-3.
KOC does love passing. But the game plan is a bit baffling. Abandoning the run early, the Vikings were unable to sustain drives. Minnesota punted four times and turned the ball over on downs. The Chargers didn’t punt a single time and converted seven scoring drives.
LA ran for 207 yards – the Vikings had just 34 rushing yards. This allowed the Chargers to nearly double Minnesota’s time of possession (39:04 to 20:56).
Getting defensive
Justin Herbert has had some ups and downs this season but he looked poised and decisive on Thursday. The Chargers' QB threw for 227 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.
However, Herbert killed the Vikings with his legs. Minnesota’s defensive line routinely got caught too far upfield. And every time the defense failed to maintain discipline, Herbert made them pay. He simply bolted from the pocket untouched for chunk gains time and again.
Herbert picked up a season-high 62 rushing yards against the Vikings. And he was just taking what the defense was generously giving him.
Los Angeles lost its top two running backs to IR. Omarion Hampton is expected back at some point this year while Najee Harris is done for the season. The injuries to the rushers led to speculation that the Chargers would pursue a trade. However, third-stringer Kimani Vidal looked like a legit starter in Week 8.
Vidal led the Chargers' rushing attack, taking 23 carries for 117 yards and a touchdown. Los Angeles churned out 207 rushing yards on 43 carries, dominated time of possession and sustained drives by fighting through arm tackles by Minnesota’s defense.
Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores is not going to be a happy man when reviewing the game tape from Thursday night. It’s imperative that Minnesota improve its run defense. The team currently ranks 24th in the league against the rush, allowing 130.4 yards per game. It’s an area the Vikings will need to improve with their offense taking a big step back in Sam Darnold’s absence.
