Vikings Face Nightmare in Search of Next Win
The Minnesota Vikings sit at the bottom of the NFC North division with a 3-3 record following their loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. The Vikings have bounced back from both of their previous losses this season with a win. Minnesota faces the worst possible scenario to achieve that again in Week 8.
VikingsTerritory examines the worst possible scenario that the Vikings face as they seek their next win.
Two things in the NFL are viewed as making a game extra difficult. They are playing on Thursday Night Football (though at least both teams are at the same disadvantage) and having to travel to a road game on the West Coast (vice versa for the West Coast teams).
It’s a Worst-Case Scenario for the Vikings
Minnesota faces the prospect of doing both this week as they travel to Los Angeles on a short week to take on Jim Harbaugh’s Chargers on Thursday night.
The Chargers currently sit second in the AFC West with a 4-3 record, sandwiched between the Denver Broncos and the Kansas City Chiefs. Like the Vikings, they come into the short week on the back of a disappointing loss. They suffered a heavy loss to the Indianapolis Colts at their home stadium, losing 38-24.
The Chargers have injury problems at running back, a key part of Harbaugh’s offense. First-round rookie Omarion Hampton was hitting his stride before injury struck, and his replacement Hassan Haskins is now injured as well.
The Vikings’ QB Situation
Adding to the difficulty of a short week and a long trip. Minnesota has both of its top two quarterbacks on the injury report this week. Kevin O’Connell announced that Carson Wentz will start for the fifth straight game, with JJ McCarthy still not ready following his high ankle sprain.
McCarthy will again take on emergency QB3 duties with undrafted rookie Max Brosmer as the backup QB. There was a collective groan from the Vikings fanbase at the announcement of another game for Wentz, who was largely blamed for ruining Minnesota’s chances of beating the Eagles last Sunday.
The Vikings’ season, much like the QB situation, appears to be in limbo. In a very competitive division, this team doesn’t appear good enough with Wentz at QB, but the wait to find out whether McCarthy is never seems to arrive. This has led to weekly speculation that the team made a massive mistake in letting both Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones leave.
I hope the young Vikings QB will be back next week, but Minnesota needs to find a way for him to return with the team’s record still positive.
Vikings/Chargers History
Recent history is on Minnesota’s side as the Vikings have won both games on the road since the Chargers switched from San Diego to Los Angeles. SoFi Stadium is a great place for traveling fans, and you can expect lots of purple in the stands on Thursday night. The overall record between the two teams stands at 8-7 in favor of the purple team, with the record for away games tied at 3-3.
The last meeting – and only one during Kevin O’Connell’s tenure as head coach – came in 2023 at US Bank Stadium. The Chargers won 28-24 in a game that was dominated by veteran wide receiver Keenan Allen, who had over 200 receiving yards on the day. Allen is back with Los Angeles after spending a year with the Chicago Bears. Not letting Justin Herbert and Allen wreck the game with quick crossers, as they did that day, should be high on the Vikings’ game plan.
It’s a short week, a West Coast trip, and banged-up QBs – the signs aren’t good for the Vikings this week, but somehow they need to make it work.
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