Justin Herbert and the Chargers came out Thursday night needing to prove to themselves that the recent four-game stretch was not a true showing of who they are as a team. The 1-3 record following a 3-0 start was filled with uncharacteristic mistakes and bad play that led them to dropping games they shouldn’t have.
Against the Vikings, under the lights of primetime, the entire Chargers team came together to dominate Carson Wentz and the Vikings from the first drive until the last.
For the first time under Jim Harbaugh, the Bolts scored on the first two drives of the game to build an early 14-0 lead. That lead was never threatened by the Vikings who couldn’t find any groove on offense throughout the night. They found the end zone once, but that was more of a fault on the Chargers defense and penalties than Wentz simply beating them.
Herbert finished with 227 passing yards (196 in the first half) and three touchdowns to one interception. He also chipped in 62 rushing yards on seven carries, showing a real feel for when to take off and utilize his legs.
Running back Kimani Vidal went over the 100-yard mark for the second time in three games since taking over the starting job. He finished with 117 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries. He ran hard all night long to post a strong night after a slow start.
Ladd McConkey led all receivers with six receptions and 88 yards to go with a touchdown. Rookie tight end Oronde Gadsden II continued his productive streak with 77 yards and a touchdown on five catches, all of which came in the first half. Rookie wideout Tre’ Harris also caught his first career touchdown on two catches for eight yards.
Defensively the Chargers got after Wentz, sacking him five times and breaking up seven of his passes. Defensive lineman Justin Eboigbe posted a team-high two sacks while Khalil Mack, Odafe Oweh, and Tuli Tuipulotu each chipped in one. Cam Hart was sticky in coverage with three pass breakups on his own.
The Chargers will now enjoy a mini bye week before hitting the road to face the Tennessee Titans in Week Nine.
For an entire quarter-by-quarter recap of tonight’s game, check it out below.
First Quarter
The Chargers won the toss and chose to defer. The Vikings would begin the game on offense.
After two stops for no gain on first and second down, quarterback Carson Wentz found wideout Justin Jefferson for 16 yards while getting decked by linebacker Daiyan Henley on a delayed blitz. Three plays later, the Chargers defense forced a throwaway on third-and-one to get the Vikings to punt.
On the second play of the Chargers’ opening drive, Herbert was pressured off the edge and was forced to throw hot with safety Josh Metellus barreling down on him. Herbert was hit as he attempted a throw to Ladd McConkey but it sailed behind and seemingly was picked by Rodgers who stood up and raced to the end zone. Fortunately for LA, the call was reviewed and overturned as an incomplete pass.
From there, the Chargers marched 12 more plays down the field where Herbert found tight end Oronde Gadsden II three times, including an eight-yard touchdown pass. The score of Gadsden’s second of the year and it put the Bolts up 7-0 in the opening period.
The Chargers defense continued their hot start by forcing the Vikings to go three-and-out on their next drive. Defensive lineman Justin Eboigbe got loose and notched his third sack of the year by taking down Wentz on third down.
As the quarter ticked away, Kimani Vidal burst up the middle on second-and-three to move the chains.
Second Quarter
On the first play of the second quarter, Herbert broke out the front of a murky pocket and scrambled up the left sideline for again of 18. Two plays later, he scrambled six more yards to move the chains again. From there, Kimani Vidal took a handoff and burst into the end zone for his first rushing touchdown of the year. With 13:08 in the quarter, the Chargers held a commanding 14-0 lead.
The Vikings found some life on the next drive thanks to Wentz’s connection Jefferson who caught two passes for 21 yards. Minnesota was able to push the ball to the LA 35-yard line where Will Reichard banged home a 54-yard field goal to minimize the deficit to 14-3.
The next drive for the Chargers started off with a bang as Gadsden was hit in stride by Herbert for a 40-yard catch-and-run. Unfortunately the drive ended with zero points for the Bolts as a bad snap by Rock Lovato resulted in a missed 49-yard field goal by Dicker, his first miss of the 2025 season.
Minnesota began their next drive with a holding penalty on rookie left guard Donovan Jackson which pushed them back to a first-and-20. Wentz and Co. could not find their way out of the hole and were forced to punt yet again. A holding penalty on Chargers cornerback Ja’Sir Taylor brought the short return by Derius Davis back and the Bolts would start at their own six-yard line.
Herbert led the Chargers on a nine-play, 94-yard drive that was capped off by a beautiful 27-yard touchdown pass that was dropped into a bucket for McConkey. His second touchdown pass of the game put the Chargers up 21-3 with 45 seconds left in the half.
On the ensuing kickoff, Dicker booted a ball that went almost nowhere, nearly hitting one of his teammates in the back of the leg. The penalty called for not kicking into the landing area gave the Vikings the ball at their own 40-yard line. Luckily the Chargers defense got two sacks out by Eboigbe and Odafe Oweh which forced Minnesota to line up and attempt a kickoff without any timeouts. Reichard’s 53-yard kick looked good the entire time l it somehow fell short of the crossbar.
The Bolts entered the locker room with their 21-3 lead still intact.
Third Quarter
The Chargers came out of the break to march right down the field with some strong runs of seven, eight, and nine yards by Vidal. Herbert then completed a pair of passes for 21 yards but the Chargers were eventually stopped short of the end zone which forced another Dicker kick that sailed through from 43 yards out.
The Vikings finally got into the endzone thanks to some ill-timed mistakes by the Bolts. After the Chargers stopped the Vikings on third down, cornerback Benjamin St-Juste was called for an illegal contact penalty in fourth-and-two. On the next play, St-Juste was beat by Jordan Addison on a crosser and Wentz delivered a perfect ball.
Before the intermission, the Chargers were driving on the Vikings behind more strong running by Vidal. The second-year back ripped off carries of 21 and 18 yards to get them into enemy territory.
Fourth Quarter
The Chargers began the final quarter with first-and-10 at the Vikings 14-yard line. A Herbert scramble and nine-yard run by Vidal put them at the two-yard with a fresh set of downs. After a false start by Foster Sarell on what would have been touchdown via quarterback sneak, Herbert threw his second touchdown of the night to rookie Tre’ Harris after maneuvering a collapsing pocket. The touchdown put the Chargers up 31-10 early in the final period.
On the second play of the ensuing Vikings drive, Wentz dropped back and fired a deep pass over the middle but it sailed far and away into the arms of rookie safety R.J. Mickens for his first career interception.
Los Angeles leaned into their ground game with the game all but in hand. Vidal and Jaret Patterson combined for five carries on the six-play drive before Dicker came on to extend their lead to 34-10.
The Chargers would force a turnover on downs on the next Vikings drive and Dicker would add one more field goal to total his to increase their lead to 37-10.
The Vikings played out the final drive but couldn’t put up anymore points as the Bolts would go on to win at home in dominant fashion.