Analysis: Drubbing by the Chargers leaves gnawing questions for the Vikings

INGLEWOOD, CALIF. – The Vikings flew west with their fingers crossed, hoping at least one of their starting tackles had two knees that could hold up for four quarters and that their quarterback’s aching left shoulder would endure with the help of a substantive shoulder brace. They harbored no illusions their Thursday night game against the Los Angeles Chargers would be seamless, but even an uneasy evening at SoFi Stadium would be welcomed if they could head into their weekend break with a winning record and a chance to exhale.

There was no such reprieve in a 37-10 loss that became the most thorough drubbing they’d absorbed in nearly three years and sent them home with gnawing questions about everything from their health and quarterback depth to the fitness of their innovative defense.

The Vikings (3-4) were outclassed in every phase and exceeded in every metric by the Chargers (5-3), who gained 29 first downs, ran for 207 yards, didn’t punt once and held the ball for 39 minutes. Los Angeles had 10 plays of 15 yards or more; the Chargers posted seven of those plays in the first half alone, when quarterback Justin Herbert strafed the middle of the Vikings’ defense and gained 51 yards on five scrambles of his own. The Chargers had four drives of nine plays or more; their longest drive, a 94-yard march in the second quarter, ended with Herbert lofting a 27-yard touchdown pass over Jeff Okudah’s head for Ladd McConkey, who scored to put them up 21-3.

“As I told our team, we’ve got an opportunity in front of us where we need to own this,” coach Kevin O’Connell said. “This is not a bury-the-tape kind of time for our organization. This is watch it, view it, own it. Every coach, every player. It starts with me. I did not have our team prepared to play, and we’ll go back to many aspects of what we need to improve on.”

Few elements of the Vikings’ performance will escape the harsh glare of the team’s day-after critique. Carson Wentz was sacked five times and hit eight, completing only 15 of his 27 passes for 144 as he left the field wincing in pain after multiple drives. After he landed on his left shoulder after getting knocked down on his final snap of the game, Wentz fired his helmet into the Vikings’ bench, a move he said was out of frustration with the significant pain he’d weathered for most of the second half.

“Not proud of that,” Wentz said. “I apologized to the equipment guys for that one.”

The quarterback said he worked with the new brace, which restricted his left shoulder movement more than the one he’d worn four days earlier against the Eagles, during a walk-through this week and didn’t feel it affected his throwing mechanics. But O’Connell wondered if Wentz might have hit Justin Jefferson on a crossing route if he was healthy, rather than misfiring high on a pass that was intercepted.

Right tackle Brian O’Neill missed Thursday’s game after playing through his right MCL sprain on Sunday against the Eagles; O’Connell said O’Neill now had soreness in his left knee that might have come from compensating for the injury on Sunday. And left tackle Christian Darrisaw, who was active after a pregame workout, departed after just two series over concerns with the surgically repaired left knee that’s required the Vikings to manage his workload since his Sept. 21 return.

The Vikings, who finished the game with guards Donovan Jackson and Will Fries their only healthy offensive line starters, have given up 38 sacks in nine games during the 2025 calendar year, and ran just 11 times for 34 yards against a Chargers team that had allowed 5.1 yards per carry this season. O’Neill and Darrisaw could benefit from the Vikings’ mini-bye, but their line is still likely to be a question as McCarthy prepares to return for a division road game at Ford Field, where the Vikings haven’t won since 2020.

It put them in a tenuous enough situation on Thursday night that O’Connell said he stuck with Wentz rather than turning to Max Brosmer and asking the rookie to “figure it out” with the Chargers’ pass rush swarming.

“That’s probably beyond a guy that’s playing for the first time,” O’Connell said, adding he decided to continue with Wentz when the 32-year-old said he was willing to push through the pain.

“Pain is pain,” Wentz said. “I felt like I could still help this team, and find a way to go down and score. With Thursday night games, you don’t quite get the chance to recover, but that’s no excuse.”

This year, the Vikings have given up at least 130 rushing yards to four opponents, with the Chargers’ 207 yards surpassed only by the Falcons’ 218 on Sept. 14. The Chargers were content to bully the Vikings with fullbacks and tight ends, gaining 5.4 yards per play with two tight ends and two running backs on the field, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.

The Vikings struggled to corral big running back Kimani Vidal, who gained 74 of his 117 yards after contact, according to Next Gen Stats, as players stood with hands on hips fighting fatigue between plays. They sacked Herbert just twice, and though Isaiah Rodgers had an interception return for a touchdown on the Chargers’ second play overturned by replay review, the Vikings finished with just one takeaway: Josh Metellus’ interception, their first takeaway since Sept. 21.

Asked to describe the performance, linebacker Blake Cashman called it “sloppy.” When asked for examples of the Vikings’ imprecision, Cashman laughed ruefully and said, “Where do I start?”

“We got to be better at getting off blocks in the run game,” he said. “And that’s everybody: me as a [line]backer, the defensive line. I think in the past game, the quarterback stepping up the middle and picking up a lot of scramble yards was really hurting us. Justin was extending drives, and that was kind of the recipe of the game.”

BOX SCORE: Chargers 37, Vikings 10

In their two losses this week, Hurts and Herbert were allowed to work relatively undisturbed, testing a secondary that’s received spotty contributions from players like Okudah and safety Theo Jackson, who’s played less in recent weeks as the Vikings keep Metellus and Harrison Smith on the field in two-safety packages.

Talking to defensive coordinator Brian Flores late in the game, O’Connell said, “Across the board, we need to evaluate what gives us the best chance to sustain. We just felt like it wasn’t our best performance, or even an adequate performance in any phase. So I don’t necessarily want to get into the details of individual sides of the ball, but I will tell you, we’ve got to understand what we’re going to do moving forward.”

The Vikings start their five-game November in Detroit, with home games against Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson and Williams after that before a two-game trip to Green Bay and Seattle. Their issues, many of which are becoming familiar themes, will be provoked again.

“If you need a result to motivate you — that’s not the type of organization we want to be — but certainly these circumstances will test what we’re all made of,” O’Connell said.

Their loss to the Chargers, their worst since a 40-3 defeat to the Cowboys in 2022, showed just how forceful a stress test their foundation is facing.