The Minnesota Vikings ran out of Los Angeles, collapsing on both sides of the ball and falling to the Chargers 37-10.
“Nothing to say,” coach Kevin O’Connell said via the team’s official website. “We got outs. We got outworked. There are no excuses. Injuries, short week, whatever,” he added. “This in no way shapes or forms our criteria for what we want to put on the field.
The Vikings offense couldn’t function with a bunch of backups on offense and an injured Carson Wentz under center, and a defense that has been completely disappointing hit rock bottom against Justin Herbert.
O’Connell took the blame for the poor outing in a short week.
“We have an opportunity in front of us where we need to own this,” he said. “This is not a time to dig up the tape for our organization. This is ‘watch it, view it, own it.’ Every coach, every player. And it starts with me. I didn’t have our team ready to play.”
With injuries mounting up front, the Vikings’ plan to bolster the O-line infrastructure has been derailed. Troubled Blake Brandel returned to start under center. Right tackle Brian O’Neill was out with an injury. Left tackle Christian Darrisaw played just nine snaps before being taken off the field. The Vikings’ O-line allowed 16 pressures Thursday night, according to Next Generation Stats.
Wentz struggled to see the field and played with a dislocated shoulder like a player dealing with an injury. He completed 15 of 27 passes for 144 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Wentz’s inability to keep the Vikings on schedule was magnified by an offense that couldn’t run the ball. Before the final drive in the explosion, the Vikings generated 18 rushing yards on nine carries.
With 10 days until they face the Detroit Lions in Week 9, JJ McCarthy could be in the lineup the next time Minnesota takes the field.
“We beat JJ and he was close,” O’Connell said. “The medical team didn’t think he was quite there yet, but there was a lot of motivation. … If JJ is healthy, JJ will play. That’s the way it’s been since the injury. That’s our mindset and I believe we’re hopefully just around the corner from seeing him.”
Then there’s the defense that entered the season with high expectations, but has been dismantled and run over this season. Los Angeles rushed for 207 yards, led by 117 from Kimani Vidal with a pinball and 62 from Herbert on seven scores.
Minnesota didn’t get off the field and forced no punts on nine Chargers possessions, with a missed field goal and a Herbert interception the only drives where LA didn’t score.
“Slack,” linebacker Blake Cashman called it. “We have to be better in many areas. This was not our brand of football.”
With questions at quarterback heading into the season, the Vikings needed their defense to be great to compete in the tough NFC North. They have been average.
“If we’re not all 11 [executing] every game, you end up with results like this,” safety Josh Metellus said. “Obviously something we have to look in the mirror and, as a team, figure out how we … execute at a high level like we’re supposed to. I think we have the right guys in this building, the right coaches, the right staff. Everyone in the house is bought in. But we’ve got to buy in a little bit more and figure out how to do that.”
At 3-4, the Vikings already had more losses in seven games in 2025 (4) than in all of 2024 (3).