Vikings @ Chargers
Final Score: Chargers 37, Vikings 10
Senior Writer: Benjamin Haller (@benjaminhaller1.bsky.social on Bluesky)
Despite a controversially overturned pick-six for the Minnesota Vikings that certainly played a part in changing the momentum of this game, the Los Angeles Chargers dominated on both sides of the ball to comprehensively win out with ease at SoFi Stadium. The Vikings were abject for much of this contest on the back of yet another horror show from Carson Wentz, who threw a terrible interception and took five bad sacks. Justin Herbert made several impressive, if not unchallenged, throws to move the Chargers down the field, but it was the rushing attack that proved potent, with Kimani Vidal amassing 117 yards on 23 carries in a standout performance behind a creative 22 personnel. The rookies also turned up for Los Angeles with wideout Tre Harris hauling in his first touchdown as a professional, emerging tight end Oronde Gadsden II dominating across the middle of the field, and safety RJ Mickens picking off Wentz to end this as a contest. A great night for the Chargers faithful.
Three Up
- Kimani Vidal – stepping up after a glut of injuries to the running back room, Vidal was dominant up the gut and showed both elusiveness and determination throughout the contest. A real workman’s effort.
- Ladd McConkey – the elite Chargers wideout saw double the targets of any other receiver with 10, and he hauled in six catches for 88 yards and a score. He did have one bad drop on a free play that could have gone for a big gain but otherwise he was excellent again.
- Oronde Gadsden II – the rookie tight end looks like a steal in the fifth round and once again showed his prowess over the middle of the field with a number of good grabs, including an 8-yard score for the first Chargers touchdown.
Two Down
- Carson Wentz – fire him into the sun! This was a peak veteran quarterback meltdown under the lights. There was nothing good. Nothing. And this Vikings team has a lot of problems. Wentz is just one.
- Vikings rush attack – Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason combined for 18 yards on just nine carries as Wentz imploded once again. Zavier Scott led the team in rushing with 16 yards on just two garbage time carries. Woeful, and you have to start to question the game plans.
Minnesota Vikings
Quarterback
Carson Wentz: 15/27, 144 Yards, TD, INT, 5 Sacks
This was bad. This was “we might never see him again” bad. Wentz looked totally lost behind an offensive line that didn’t help matters by providing terrible protection. Would it have mattered if they were better? Probably not, as the journeyman quarterback showed he is not Sam Darnold by too often being slow through his reads, exhibiting bad mechanics, and terrible decision-making. Of the 15 passes he did complete, half were into double-coverage or highly risky areas. His receivers had to bat down potential interceptions on at least three occasions. He just looked very slow, and it was a sad sight as he kept trotting out in the second half bereft of ideas, hope, or desire. To make matters worse, he was clearly nursing hand and elbow injuries that should have seen him being pulled much sooner than the final few minutes of the game. Max Brosmer immediately looked better in his brief cameo, but then that wasn’t hard to do. I’m not piling everything on Wentz here; responsibility must also now fall on Kevin O’Connell, as his offense wasn’t prepared to an acceptable standard.
Max Brosmer: 3/4, 13 Yards
Running Back
Zavier Scott: 2 Carries, 16 Yards | 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 8 Yards
Aaron Jones Sr.: 5 Carries, 15 Yards | 4 Targets, 2 Receptions, 15 Yards
Jordan Mason: 4 Carries, 3 Yards | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 3 Yards
A rough day at the office for the rushing attack, which just didn’t get the opportunity to sustain drives due to dreadful quarterback play. The offensive line is also a patchwork mess of substandard players, and so no matter who was carrying the rock, they never had a chance. The longest play of the game, a catch and run from Aaron Jones, should have actually been called back due to a hold, just to make matters worse for this uninspiring ground game.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Justin Jefferson: 11 Targets, 7 Receptions, 74 Yards
The Vikings’ star wide receiver is being completely wasted in this offense currently. He tried his hardest to make some of Wentz’s throws look respectable, and a sideline grab to earn the Vikings their first first down was a phenomenal grab under double coverage and heavy contact. Jefferson was wildly overthrown for Wentz’s fourth quarter interception, which effectively sealed the fate of this game for Minnesota. Despite the quarterback troubles, it shows just how good he is to come away from this contest with a respectable fantasy output.
Jordan Addison: 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 26 Yards, TD
After the Chargers had committed back-to-back penalties on a field goal try and a 4th & goal, Addison took advantage of some poor coverage to haul in a looped throw from Wentz for Minnesota’s only touchdown of the game in the third quarter. It saved his fantasy day, and the bigger question is why KOC isn’t finding more ways to get a special player like Addison more of the ball. Since returning from his suspension, Addison has been impressive, logging two 100+ yards games to go along with two touchdowns. He needs to be more involved.
T. J. Hockenson: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 26 Yards
Ben Yurosek: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 5 Yards
Adam Thielen: 2 Targets
Jalen Nailor: 1 Target
Los Angeles Chargers
Quarterback
Justin Herbert: 18/25, 227 Yards, 3 TD, INT, 2 Sacks | 7 Carries, 62 Yards
Benefitting from a couple of personnel returns on the offense, especially tackle Joe Alt, Herbert masterminded several key drives to ensure the Chargers kept their foot on the gas after an early scare threatened to swing the game in another direction. Facing a safety blitz from Josh Metellus, Herbert threw off his back foot and saw Isaiah Rodgers go down to scoop the ball up and return it for a pick six on Los Angeles’ first drive of the game. However, as has been the case recently, replay officials in New York overturned the on-field decision despite no clear evidence, and the Chargers got away with one. Herbert then found veteran Keenan Allen on third and long, which totally took the wind out of Brian Flores‘ defense, and the Vikings never recovered. From that moment, Herbert spread the ball willingly around to McConkey, Allen, and rookie tight end Gadsden to put Minnesota to the sword. It was an accomplished performance that also allowed the running game to work expertly in tandem. His throw of the day was a beautifully flighted deep ball down the right sideline into the hands of McConkey for a back-breaking 27-yard touchdown just before the half to put the Chargers in complete command. His rushing output was his highest of the campaign at 62 yards on seven attempts, one being a 15-yard scramble on third down. The only blemish was an interception deep in his own territory that was tipped at the line of scrimmage – despite the deflection, it was a poor decision by Herbert. He’ll have a few of those a game, but on current form, a top 10 fantasy quarterback finish is within reach.
Running Back
Kimani Vidal: 23 Carries, 117 Yards, TD | 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 10 Yards
As the Chargers built up an impressive lead at halftime, the former sixth-round pick was entrusted with the rock in the second half and made it count with three runs of over 10 yards that moved the chains and slowly wore down any resistance left in the tank from an exhausted Minnesota defense. Vidal had already rumbled over the line on the second Chargers scoring drive of the game, in which he carried the ball four times, including a 3-yard run into the end zone. Vidal also came out with intention out of halftime with three straight runs for over 25 yards. It was an impressive showing and a confidence-boosting performance from the second-year professional, who should now see the majority of the work in the backfield until rookie Omarion Hampton returns from an ankle problem.
Jaret Patterson: 11 Carries, 30 Yards
Nyheim Hines: 2 Carries, -2 Yards
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Ladd McConkey: 10 Targets, 6 Receptions, 88 Yards, TD
On one of his more inefficient nights, that included an inexplicable drop on a free play that would have likely added 30-40 yards on his receiving total, McConkey was still the beating heart of this passing attack with six catches for 88 yards and a sublime 27-yard score. Surprisingly, that was only his third score of the year, and that is something that needs to improve if he is going to pay back his WR1 fantasy draft value. McConkey seemed to shred coverage on many passes in this contest that allowed him space to run for extra yards. The explosive sophomore wideout now has 22 catches over the past three games for over 240 yards and two scores. That’s more like the fantasy numbers we loved last season.
Oronde Gadsden II: 5 Targets, 5 Receptions, 77 Yards, TD
After years of trying to replace Antonio Gates, on the night the Chargers honored him with a ring ceremony, Gadsden once again flashed his playmaking abilities across the middle of the field and in the red zone, two areas that made Gates a Hall of Famer. After a slow start to the season, the fifth-round pick has shown a blossoming chemistry with Herbert to the tune of 19 catches, 309 yards, and two scores on 22 targets. This is real!
Keenan Allen: 5 Targets, 4 Receptions, 44 Yards
It has been more of a case of quality over quantity this season for the veteran receiver, who converted on a couple of key passing downs in this game but fell way short of last week’s 100+ yard performance that included a touchdown pass, his fourth on the year. Allen didn’t need to make plays in this one, especially after the half, as the game script dictated Los Angeles lean on the run and see out a big lead, which they did with aplomb.
Tre’ Harris: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 8 Yards, TD
As a reward for his exceptional teamwork and blocking throughout his rookie season, Harris was given the chance to hit paydirt, and he made no mistake with a short throw from Herbert for the Chargers’ third touchdown of the game off a Wentz turnover. It was only Harris’ 11th catch of his rookie season, so hopefully this spurs him on to become more of a factor for his quarterback.
Photo by John Cordes/Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter/X; @justinparadis.bsky.social on BlueSky