Note: After this was uploaded, it was confirmed that Carson Wentz (as expected) will be the starter Thursday night.
The Philadelphia Eagles entered U.S. Bank Stadium and laid out the red carpet for the Vikings to grab a season-defining, narrative-flipping victory. After coming together in a collective huddle to think it over, KOC and company said, “Nah, we’re good.”
It was classic Vikings for anyone who has been a fan longer than it takes to brew a pot of coffee. Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory has been commonplace for this franchise, and we added yet another chapter to our War and Peace-sized, voluminous history.
Wentz Wasn’t the Only Problem
I’m not going to pile on Carson Wentz. He was abysmal and shoulders the lion’s share of the blame. But you know what? There was also Blake Brandel’s horrible afternoon. And Wentz didn’t allow Jalen Hurts to sit back in the pocket long enough to recite Hamlet. He also didn’t let Hurts convert a 3rd and 15, 3rd and 13, and 3rd and 9 to seal the game en route to a perfect 158.3 QB rating (95.2 QBR). The defense shares blame in this fiasco, too. Let’s say they’re called team losses for a reason.
The difference between good and great teams is their ability to snatch wins when things go sideways. It’s no secret that the Eagles’ offense relies heavily on Saquon Barkley; he opens everything up and is the key to unlocking an unstoppable, well-oiled machine. If you told me we’d hold an opposing team’s best player to 44 yards and freakin’ 2.4 yards per carry, I’d say we’d be sitting at 4-2 right now. Then again, the Eagles are no ordinary NFL team; they’re great. And great teams find ways to win. Simple as that. This is what the Vikings must aspire to and achieve. When? Well, your guess is as good as mine.
Back to Wentz. The encouraging performance against an elite Browns defense may have been fool’s gold. My faith in Wentz had much to do with the fact that he objectively had the superior career resume to Sam Darnold. Therefore, if KOC turned Darnold into Dan Fouts, you’d assume doing the same for Wentz would be easy-peasy lemon squeezy. Well, you know what they say about assumptions.
He’s also clearly hurt and playing through some significant injuries. He’s gutting it out for us. We should all applaud him for that. Even so, I’d be shocked if he doesn’t get one more shot on Thursday to redeem himself on a short week. I was unwavering in my view that J.J. McCarthy must start when 100% healthy, but it makes sense to wait until the mini-bye and Week 9 to put him back in, regardless of whether he could technically go against the L.A. Chargers. The added time for the body and catching up on essential practice reps can’t hurt. But, if KOC deems McCarthy good to go this week, then let’s go, baby!
KOC: Fine, But…
Speaking of KOC, while he obviously called a game good enough to win on Sunday, some questionable decision-making is still rearing its ugly head. The inexplicable red zone decision to pass on 2nd and 1, 3rd and 1, and 4th and 1 from the six-yard line, specifically, and the larger eagerness to abandon the run continues to baffle. What was the point of signing Jordan Mason and his league-leading forced missed tackle rate (37.3%)? One of the few positives about Sunday was listening to the best in the business, Greg Olsen, call the game. He pointed out that even when we did run the ball in the first half, it tended to be right into the teeth of the Georgia Bulldog Duo of Doom (Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter). It wasn’t until the second half that we had Mason work more of the outside zone game. That made me scratch my head.
The Vikings’ offense is now 24th in rush play call percentage. You’d expect that with Mahomes, Burrow, and Allen, not McCarthy/Wentz. This is directly contributing to our putrid, 28th-ranked third-down conversion rate. It also isn’t helping keep our quarterbacks upright (29th in sack percentage). KOC must find a better balance, regardless of who’s behind center.
Nowhere Near Mike McDaniel Territory, But…
Finally, we need to address the fact that the Vikings officially have an elite team problem under KOC. With another loss to the Eagles, we are now 4-11 against legitimate Super Bowl coaches/contenders since 2022 (Lions, Eagles, Bills, Chiefs, Rams, 49ers). If you want to throw the Packers in there (I wouldn’t), it does improve to 8-13. Then again, we had no business winning the Bills game, so there’s that.
At some point, to be taken seriously and shift the national narrative, we need to win more of these types of games. That said, I’ll take any win, which brings me to…
Week 8 Preview: We Need This One
It’s hard to argue that any game played before November is a “must-win,” but we really, really, really need this one.
Like the Eagles, the L.A. Chargers play the Vikings looking for a “get right” game. They’ve lost three of their last four, with the only win (29-27) coming against a Miami Dolphins team that has officially added a white flag to their helmets.
Statistically, the Chargers look…okay. They’re fourth in total yards (372.7 per game), third in passing (261.6), and 17th in rushing (111.1). In contrast to our struggles in the area, they’re a stellar fourth in third-down percentage (46.0%). While moving the ball between the 20s has come easy enough, the issue for the Chargers has been converting it into actual points, where they’re a less impressive 20th (21.6).
Defensively, it’s similar. The Chargers are 18th in points per game (23.3) and 13th in total yards allowed. They’ve been better against the pass (eighth/192.3) than the run (19th/123.6). In terms of third-down conversion rate, they’re 19th (39.3%). What KOC does with this data is anyone’s guess. Since we’re the Vikings, it could run the gamut from the run n’ shoot with Wentz to the wishbone offense. Other than things running smoothly (of course), nothing would surprise me with this team.
In forecasting the 2025 season back in May, I had this to say regarding Week 8:
Week 8: @Los Angeles Chargers: I don’t like this spot – at all. Taking on the defending Super Bowl champs, then flying to L.A. on a short week to face another physical team in Jim Harbaugh’s Chargers is not ideal. The Chargers will be coming off a home game. It also doesn’t help that, if anyone knows how to defend J.J. McCarthy, it’s the guy who developed him in college. We hang in there, but in the end, the Chargers’ relentless ground game will set up some big Justin Herbert passes to close it out. Chalk this one up to fatigue, coupled with a strong opponent.
Los Angeles Chargers: 24
Minnesota Vikings: 17
Well, as of this writing, take the McCarthy part and toss it; it looks to be Wentz (or even…Max Brosmer) for this one. In the unlikely event it is Brosmer, I’ll work myself up with a similar degree of hope that occurred for Jaren Hall’s Week 17 start against the Packers in 2023. Hey, how’d that go?
However, the general idea is unchanged: Traveling to L.A. on a short week is challenging. The Chargers are well-coached, talented, and, worst of all, desperate. But then again, so are we, right?
The nature of the travel disadvantages the Vikings, but that’s where it ends. The Chargers have arguably the worst home-field advantage in the entire NFL, so that shouldn’t be too much of a factor. I’d expect a healthy dose of purple representation in the stands on Thursday night. Maybe not as much as if it were a traditional Sunday game, but we should be well-represented, nonetheless.
The last time we met in 2023, the Chargers got extremely lucky with Akayleb Evans gifting the winning score with that ridiculous, surefire interception turning into a Joshua Palmer touchdown. Truly one of those “only the Vikings” plays. Will luck turn the Vikings’ way for a change? Yeah, I know.
Justin Herbert also had a day, throwing for 405 yards and three touchdowns. That was Flores’s first year cleaning up the mess, with a new scheme and limited talent. We’re undoubtedly a far better defense by every statistical measure this time. I’d be surprised if such a performance were repeated on Thursday night, especially given the rare coverage breakdowns against the Eagles.
In the end, I’ll lean into the fact that (so far) the Chargers aren’t quite as good as initially expected.
If we lose this one, it’ll probably be the last time I’ll adopt the glass-half-full approach until further notice. I didn’t think we’d go 14-3 again, but equaling the number of losses after only six weeks is deflating. At 3-4 with a demanding schedule on the horizon, the prospects of the playoffs fade considerably. With it, the tedious continuation of the Vikings’ inability to have back-to-back playoff seasons since we managed it once, 2008-09, in the Brad Childress era. Achieving the consistency of the Dennis Green years would be nice, wouldn’t it? There you are, stuck in the wrong century again, Shawn.
Vikings: 24
Chargers: 23
See More:
