A few minutes into this week’s Thursday Night Football contest in Los Angeles, it looked like the Minnesota Vikings were ready to give the Los Angeles Chargers a run for their money.
That was pretty short-lived.
Minnesota’s defense had no answers for Justin Herbert and the Chargers’ offense, and Minnesota’s offense allowed Carson Wentz to be battered all night long as Los Angeles rolled to an easy 37-10 victory over the Vikings.
The Vikings had a pick-six taken off the board on the Chargers’ second offensive play, as a pass from Herbert was initially ruled an interception and a touchdown for Isaiah Rodgers, but it was taken off the board following an official review. The Chargers took advantage of their second chance, as Justin Herbert found rookie tight end Oronde Gadsden II for an 8-yard touchdown pass to take a 7-0 lead with four minutes left in the first quarter.
Los Angeles added to their lead early in the second quarter, as they marched straight down the field once again and got a 3-yard touchdown run from Kimani Vidal to extend their lead to 14-0 around two minutes into the second quarter.
Minnesota finally got on the board midway through the second quarter, as Will Reichard connected on a 54-yard field goal attempt to make it 14-3 with just under nine minutes left in the first half. Then, the Vikings allowed another long march by the Chargers, as they went 94 yards in their two-minute offense, concluding with a 27-yard pass from Herbert to Ladd McConkey to make it 21-3 just ahead of halftime. The Vikings then got Reichard into position to attempt a field goal just before the half, but his attempt from 53 yards fell just short as time expired in the half.
The Chargers added to their lead on their first drive of the second half, as Dicker connected from 43 yards out to make it 24-3 five minutes into the third quarter of play. Then, the Vikings’ defense finally got a break, as a pass from Herbert was deflected by Jalen Redmond and intercepted by Josh Metellus for a turnover that gave the Vikings some hope.
It looked like the Vikings were going to settle for another Reichard field goal after the interception, as he connected on a 32-yard attempt to make it 24-6. However, the Chargers got called for 12 men on the field on the field goal attempt, so the Vikings chose to take the three points off the board and go for it on fourth-and-goal. On that play, Wentz was sacked, but the Chargers were called for a defensive penalty to give the Vikings a fresh set of downs, and they took advantage as Wentz found Jordan Addison for a 4-yard touchdown to get the Vikings into the end zone and make the score 24-10.
But, as they did all night, the Chargers again marched down the field and got into the end zone again on Herbert’s third touchdown pass of the night, a 6-yarder to Tre Harris that made it a 21-point game again at 31-10.
After Carson Wentz was intercepted by R.J. Mickens on the ensuing drive, the Chargers put the game on ice with a 34-yard field goal from Dicker to make it 34-10. After a turnover on downs, Dicker tacked on a 45-yard attempt at the two-minute warning to make it 37-10, and that was how it ended.
Not really a whole lot to be said about this one, ladies and gentlemen. The Vikings simply looked ill-prepared for this one in all three phases of the game and the final score is a pretty accurate reflection of that. The Vikings fall to 3-4 on the season and will get a mini-bye before they take a trip to Detroit in Week 9.
The Vikings get crushed in prime time on Thursday Night Football, falling to the Los Angeles Chargers by a final score of 37-10. Thank you to everyone who got their coverage of this week’s game right here at The Daily Norseman!
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