Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Justin Herbert was lights out in the Chargers’ victory over the Vikings.
On Sunday, Justin Herbert went 40/47 for 405 yards and 3 touchdowns, finishing with the best completion percentage of any quarterback to throw at least 40 passes in the Next Gen Stats era.
The scariest part: he could have been even better.
Let’s get to the film.
Here is what the national media thinks of the Chargers after their first win of the season.
The Chargers beat the Vikings, 28-24, in Week 3 of the 2023 season.
After the victory, here is what the national media thinks of the Bolts:
USA Today: 21 (Previous: 21)
“Currently the league’s most accurate (74.4% completion rate) and careful (0 INTs) passer, QB Justin Herbert just notched his 100th career TD pass. Too bad he won’t be throwing any more this year to injured WR Mike Williams.”
Touchdown Wire: 13 (Previous: 14)
“I don’t have any justification for the Chargers being this high other than their quarterback is too good for me to ever quit him. They sure tried their hardest to lose to the Vikings, though.”
NFL: 15 (Previous: 16)
“Even in a much-needed win, the Chargers left the door open for criticism with porous pass defense (again) and a questionable decision by Brandon Staley. Going for it on fourth-and-1 near his own end zone while leading by four late in the game was a wild risk, for sure; though his defense bailed him out, I wonder what the message would have been had it failed. Between that and Mike Williams’ season-ending ACL injury, it feels like the Chargers barely got to enjoy a road victory. All of this really overshadowed a special performance from Justin Herbert and Keenan Allen, doing it late without Williams or Austin Ekeler available. The Bolts host the Raiders this week, followed by the bye, which might not come at the worst time.”
CBS Sports: 22 (Previous: 22)
“They saved their season by winning at Minnesota, but Brandon Staley did what he could to lose the game. Why did he go for it late?”
ESPN: 14 (Previous: 17)
Offensive efficiency: 72.0 (3rd)
Biggest issue on offense: Running the ball
“After gaining 233 yards in the season-opening loss to the Miami Dolphins, the Chargers’ rushing offense has turned nonexistent. They have gained 91 yards on 36 carries over the last two games. In Sunday’s win over the Vikings, they averaged two yards per carry against a team allowing the third most rushing yards in the NFL coming into the game. The caveat is that the Chargers have been without starting running back Austin Ekeler, who has missed the last two weeks with an ankle injury. His return could turn this unit around.”
Yahoo Sports: 18 (Previous: 21)
“Mike Williams’ torn ACL is a huge injury, though one the Chargers should be able to navigate. Josh Palmer is underrated and he’ll see a bigger role. It puts a bright light on rookie first-round draft pick Quentin Johnston, who has played just 22% of the Chargers’ offensive snaps and has just 26 yards. If Johnston emerges, the Chargers can survive the Williams injury. It’s a big spot for the rookie, and how Johnston responds could determine where the Chargers’ season is going.”
“I don’t think it’s a secret that the Chargers avoided a special kind of hell against the Vikings. I credit Brandon Staley for not abandoning common-sense fourth-down decisions, even if the octogenarians on Fox NFL Sunday will tell you it shouldn’t be. His defense is slowly getting better situationally. I could easily see this team, with or without Mike Williams and Austin Ekeler, ripping off a longish winning streak.”
Here are some of the best photos from U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday.
The Chargers defeated the Vikings in Week 3 by the score of 28-24.
To relive the game, here are some of the best photos from U.S. Bank Stadium.
Who shined and who disappointed in the Chargers’ win over the Vikings?
The Chargers got their first win of the season in Minnesota on Sunday. In a back-and-forth contest, Los Angeles’ offense powered them over the top with huge days from Justin Herbert and Keenan Allen. On defense, the pass rush got after Kirk Cousins consistently.
It cannot be understated how much the Chargers needed that game. From a win-loss standpoint, the need was obvious. But the Bolts needed to finally close out a game for the first time since before last year’s postseason. Let’s get to the first massive positive.
Year 11 and he’s aged like a fine wine. Allen is up to 402 yards on the season after a 215-yard effort on Sunday. It was a record-shattering performance for the Chargers receiver as he broke his single-game receiving record by 32 yards. His previous high was set against Houston four years ago.
Allen took advantage of Byron Murphy and whichever poor corner had the responsibility of covering him. His route running was as smooth as it’s looked since the pre-2022 hamstring injury days. Throw in a trick play where he shows off his Julian Edelman arm on a trick play for a passing touchdown. He was just unstoppable.
With the unfortunate injury to Mike Williams, Herbert and Los Angeles will need Allen to continue playing at his Pro Bowl pace this season.
Brandon Staley’s decision to attempt a 4th down conversion with the lead sparked intense debate on Sunday. As far as that debate, I’ll say that I agree with the decision to go for it. I’ll phrase that another way: I trusted the offense to gain one yard to end the game more than I trusted the defense to get a stop.
Most analytical models agreed with Staley, for what it’s worth:
From the morning after…
Brandon Staley said after the game yesterday that the math behind his decision to go for it on 4th down was convincing. The numbers from Ben Baldwin and ESPN analytics agreed with him. From a data perspective it was the right decision. pic.twitter.com/ZqphLMkWqO— Guilty As Charged Podcast (@GACPodcast17) September 25, 2023
My issue was exclusive to the play call. A fourth-down fullback dive with Joshua Kelley never made sense. Kelley had rushed for 11 yards on 10 carries prior to that point in the game. The run blocking from the line was not at its best partially because of the bodies Minnesota was consistently sending with heavy blitz packages.
To me, there were two choices: Keep the ball in the air with Herbert and Allen’s connection or QB sneak it. In that situation with a 6’6″ quarterback, I don’t see why a Kelley run was preferred over doing some variation of the Eagles’ tush push.
The decision by Staley was fine, but there were so many other play-call options Moore should’ve gone to.
Herbert had the first 400-yard passing game of his career. He had come close a few times like Cleveland in 2021 and Miami in 2022, but 40-of-47 passing and 405 yards was otherworldly from him yesterday.
Herbert had played well in his first two games of the season, but there was a different level of decisiveness and efficiency from him on display in this one. The pocket awareness was on an elite level. Herbert also read the looks that Brian Flores’ defense was giving him at the line of scrimmage very well. The drive before the end of the first half that resulted in a Donald Parham touchdown was a prime example of Herbert dialed in and responding to everything an opposing defense was throwing at him.
It’s not an overreaction to say that was the best game of Herbert’s four-year career.
Dud: RB Joshua Kelley
Kelley had a great Week 1 performance that worked incredibly well in complement with Austin Ekeler. But the last two weeks of him as the starter have been unsuccessful. Kelley has put up 51 yards on 24 carries as the lead Chargers’ back. Against Minnesota, specifically, it was 11 carries for 12 yards.
Getting past the statistics, it really felt like this was a game where the Chargers missed what Ekeler could offer as both a runner and his gravity as a pass catcher. Defenses never have to consistently account for Kelley in the receiving game and it tends to show in the gameplan.
Kelley will have better games once Ekeler gets back, but the last two weeks have shown why he’s more of an RB2 than an RB1.
What a start to the season from Tuipulotu in these last two weeks. Against Minnesota, the rookie defensive lineman had nine pressures, four quarterback hits and a sack.
Frankly, if you told me that Tuipulotu had 12 or 13+ pressures in this game instead of the unofficial nine, I’d have believed it. He was that impactful on every rep.
To some extent, he took advantage of a Minnesota offensive line that’s going through a lot of turmoil right now. But his speed to power was just unprecedented to see in this game. There were plays where Tuipulotu just shifted Vikings tackle Brian O’Neil backward five yards seemingly at the line.
It cannot be understated how huge his performances have been with the impact of Joey Bosa’s nagging hamstring injury making him more limited in these last two games.
Cornerback J.C. Jackson was a healthy scratch in this game. He signed a five-year, $82.5 million contract just two years ago. The Chargers allowed 149 yards to Justin Jefferson and allowed a number of Vikings to convert more explosive plays on them.
Compared to previous weeks, I’m not sure I’d say that Asante Samuel Jr. or Michael Davis were as bad. But the miscommunications in the secondary were as rough as they previously had been. On Justin Jefferson’s touchdown, for example, Ja’Sir Taylor and the other corners were unsure as to who was supposed to follow him as he crossed inside.
If the pass rush pressure hadn’t been as good as it was for the Chargers, Kirk Cousins probably would have had a much better passing day than he ended up having. A lot of Samuel and and Davis’ best plays were pass breakups because Cousins was a second late.
J.C. Jackson has failed to live up to his big contract.
The Chargers surprisingly made cornerback J.C. Jackson a healthy inactive in their victory over the Vikings.
After the game, head coach Brandon Staley said the decision on Jackson was made because he felt that group of cornerbacks gave them their best chance to win today.
“Just we felt like going into this game that this was the group that we wanted to play with in this game,” Staley said. “Felt like it was going to give us the best chance. That’s what we did today. And I was really proud of the way our defense played today, especially the secondary.
Jackson worked his way back to live-game action after a ruptured patellar tendon ended his 2022 season. However, in what Staley called a “ramp-up period,” Jackson’s play left a lot to be desired in the first two games.
Jackson played just north of 60% of the defensive snaps against the Dolphins and Titans. In Week 1, Asante Samuel Jr. started in the slot and moved outside when Jackson came out of the game. Last week, Michael Davis rotated with Jackson when Jackson came out of the game.
Jackson was given a five-year, $82.5 million deal last offseason to lock down opposing team’s top wideouts, like Justin Jefferson. And it’s clear based on the decision to bench him for something non-injury related that the team doesn’t have faith in him to do so.
In Los Angeles’ win over Minnesota, they had Samuel and Davis on the outside and Ja’Sir Taylor in the slot.
Jefferson finished the game with seven catches for 149 yards and a touchdown.
“Our guys really competed today against a good offensive group, and that group really brought us home at the end of the game,” Staley added.
Here’s what stood out from the Chargers’ Week 3 win over the Vikings.
Well, folks, they did it. The Chargers won a football game. It was hardly comfortable, of course, because that’s Chargers football. But they did, crucially, win the game.
Here’s what to take away from a whirlwind game.
To recap the Chargers’ win over the Vikings, here is everything you need to know.
The Chargers picked up their first win of the season, defeating the Vikings in a game that came down to the wire.
To recap Week 3, here is everything you need to know:
Mike Williams was carted off the field.
The Chargers may need to finish the game without one of their stars on each side of the ball.
The team announced during the quarter break that safety Derwin James was questionable to return to the game with a hamstring injury. When the broadcast returned, it also showed wide receiver Mike Williams being carted off the field with a knee injury.
It’s unclear when James was injured, but the Williams injury occurred late in the third quarter on a screen play. Williams hurdled a defender in the hole and then was twisted down and had to be assisted off the field. He did not put any weight on the injured leg before being carted off the field.
The Chargers got on the scoreboard first.
The Chargers converted on the Vikings’ turnover misfortune to open the scoring.
After Alohi Gilman took the ball away from Vikings tight end TJ Hockenson, LA drove 79 yards in 12 plays. Justin Herbert was methodical on the drive, peppering the boundaries with throws to six different receivers.
After a seed to Allen on the sideline gained 25 yards and put the Chargers in the low red zone, offensive coordinator Kellen Moore drew up an RPO. Herbert read the Vikings defensive end and pulled the ball from Joshua Kelley, finding a wide open Donald Parham for the tight end’s second touchdown of the season.
that's six
📺 | @nflonfox pic.twitter.com/fKiZZdh48H
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) September 24, 2023
Find out if you will get the matchup between the Los Angeles Chargers and Minnesota Vikings on national television.
The Los Angeles Chargers (0-2) are set to get Week 3 underway against the Minnesota Vikings (0-2).
Those in the green area on the TV map will get the game on FOX, courtesy of 506 Sports.
If you’re in the blue area, you will get the matchup between the New Orleans Saints and Green Bay Packers.
For those in the yellow area, will be the Houston Texans against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
If you’re in the red area, you will see the Atlanta Falcons take on the Detroit Lions.
Kevin Kugler and Mark Sanchez will have the call.
Los Angeles is currently a point underdog, which means it’s a pick ’em. Sunday’s matchup will begin at 10 a.m. PT.
