Tag: Chargers vs. Vikings

Keys to a Chargers’ victory over Vikings in Week 10

Highlighting what the Los Angeles Chargers must do in order to capture a victory over the Minnesota Vikings.

On Sunday afternoon, the Chargers are set to face off against the Vikings, looking to stay in the win column after their bounce-back game against the Eagles in Week 9.

There are a few key things that Los Angeles will need to do to secure a victory against Minnesota this week.

First and foremost, the Bolts need to stop the run. Teams like the Patriots and the Ravens figured out that one way to be successful was to run the ball early and often. So Los Angeles has to be stout at the point of attack up front and disciplined tacklers to limit Dalvin Cook from running wild.

The duo of Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson is how Minnesota has earned most of its points this season. But, with Ryan Smith out for the season and rookie Asante Samuel Jr. and Michael Davis’ statuses still up in the air, Tevaughn Campbell and Kemon Hall must step up.

In addition, it’s crucial that when Cousins is throwing the ball, the front must get pressure to mitigate the lack of depth in the cornerback room.

Offensively, the Chargers need to continue to let quarterback Justin Herbert cook. This means Joe Lombardi must draw up a good game plan, like he did last Sunday against Philadelphia, to put him in manageable situations early and often and control the time of possession.

That includes the protection plan, which proved to be formidable, allowing more time for Herbert to throw. Further, getting Herbert on the move more often is essential.

It isn’t a question of whether Herbert and his offensive weapons are talented, but it’s about execution. Every piece of the puzzle needs to be firing on all cylinders. If they can replicate that performance, Los Angeles ‘ offense should dominate and force the Vikings’ defense to defend more plays.

“In terms of where we’re at halfway, we still have a lot of room to improve as a team, in all three phases,” Brandon Staley said. “We’ve seen some good improvement in all three phases; but we need to keep that coming to life by being intentional on first and second down run defense, getting negative plays.”

Point spread, over/under for Chargers vs. Vikings in Week 10

The Los Angeles Chargers open as slight favorites over the Minnesota Vikings.

The Los Angeles Chargers (5-3) are currently 2.5-point favorites over the Minnesota Vikings (3-5) heading into Week 10 of the regular season. The over/under is set at 51.5, per Tipico Sportsbook.

The Chargers most recently defeated the Eagles by the score of 27-24.

Led by the bounce-back performance of quarterback Justin Herbert, who completed 84.2% of his passes for 356 yards and three total touchdowns, Philadelphia was able to match it. But it was kicker Dustin Hopkins who hit the game-winning field goal.

The Vikings, on the other hand, lost to the Ravens in overtime, 34-31.

Baltimore erased a 24-10 deficit in the second half with three straight touchdown drives. After picking off QB Lamar Jackson on the first possession, the Ravens forced a three-and-out, and Justin Tucker hit the game-winning field goal.

The last time these two teams met was back in 2019, and it was the Vikings who came out on top, 39-10.

Sunday’s contest between Los Angeles and Minnesota will begin at 2:05 p.m. PT and be televised on CBS.

NFL finalizes 17th regular season game, Chargers will face Vikings in 2021

The NFL will have 18 weeks of regular season action now.

A 17-game regular season in the NFL has been coming for a while now, and it has finally been made official.

The season will now consist of 272 games (previously 256), with each of the league’s 32 teams playing 17 games during an 18-week period with a standard bye week.

With the added 17th game, the standard four-game preseason has been reduced to three games.

Additionally, given the expansion of the regular season, Super Bowl LVI, which will be played at SoFi Stadium, will now be pushed one week later, from Feb. 6 to Feb. 13, 2022.

So, what does this mean for the Chargers? With the addition of the 17th game, Los Angeles will now serve as host to the Minnesota Vikings to conclude the regular season matchups in 2021.

Click here to see a rundown of the rest of the team’s 2021 opponents.

Report: Chargers would host Vikings for 17th game in 2021

An extra regular-season game might be added in 2021.

As we are approaching the new league year, one of the changes the NFL is planning to make is adding a 17th regular season game.

The plan was approved but nothing is set in stone yet. If the league does go through with it this upcoming season, the Chargers would host the Vikings at SoFi Stadium to finish the regular season, per Peter King of NBC Sports.

This is subject to change as the league may not add the 17th game to the schedule in 2021.

The schedule has yet to be released and we may not know until the middle of April. Here’s a look at the rest of Los Angeles’ opponents.

Report: Chargers had to use silent count vs. Vikings

The Los Angeles Chargers had to use a silent count against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 15.

The Los Angeles Chargers never really had a home-field advantage when playing at Dignity Health Sports Park, where the stands were flooded with fans in colors other than blue and gold.

Last weekend was no different when they played the Minnesota Vikings, but it was so bad that it effected their game-plan.

The Chargers had to use a silent snap count against the last Sunday because there were so many fans of the visiting team at the stadium, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

A silent count is when snapping the ball is based on a movement from one of the interior lineman, such as a head bob or a tap on the center from a guard. If the quarterback is under center, he will just push up with his top hand on the center’s butt.

The Bolts almost had to do the same thing when they faced the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 6, but they never ended up using it.

Los Angeles is set to face an Oakland Raiders team in just a few moments. From what history shows, we can expect the stands to be filled with black and gold.

But the team is hoping to avoid using it in their last game played at Dignity Health Sports Park.

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What Anthony Lynn, Chargers players said after loss to Vikings

Here’s what coach Anthony Lynn and some Los Angeles Chargers players said after the loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

The Minnesota Vikings defeated the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 15 of the regular season on Sunday afternoon.

After the embarrassing performance, coach Anthony Lynn didn’t hold back how he felt.

“Seven turnovers,” Lynn said at the beginning of his press conference. “We got our asses kicked in all three phases. Any questions?”

The Chargers had not lost by more than seven points in their eight losses prior to their loss on Sunday.

“The letdown for me was I hadn’t seen that team all year,” Lynn said. “We’ve gotten beat, but we’ve never gotten beat like that, and that was my problem today. That’s my frustration right now. I hadn’t seen that team in three years since I’ve been here.”

Los Angeles turned the ball over seven times. The last time they committed that many turnovers was in December of 1998.

Running back Melvin Gordon was victim of two of them, as he struggled to hold onto the football.

“You go out there and make a mistake at this point in time, everything is under a microscope. You fumble once, it’s like you fumbled three times. You throw an interception, it’s like you threw two interceptions. Everything is worse,” Gordon said.

Gordon, who’s in the final year of his contract, is one of the many players that is under a microscope. His past few games were showing his worth to be on the team next season, but those costly mistakes did not help his case.

No one was more fired up than defensive end Melvin Ingram. With not much to play for, Ingram knows that he and his teammates still have to show up and put forth their best effort the last two games of the season.

Los Angeles’ season has consisted of a plethora of turnovers and missed opportunities. Wide receiver Keenan Allen acknowledged that it’s been frustrating that the team hasn’t been able to overcome them.

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Twitter reacts to Chargers’ Week 15 loss to Vikings

Here’s how Twitter reacted to the Los Angeles Chargers’ Week 15 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

The Los Angeles Chargers entered Week 15’s matchup against the Minnesota Vikings hoping to play spoiler.

The team was unable to deliver, and it just so happened to be one of their worst outings of the season. Today’s loss marked the first time that they’ve lost by more than one score.

Sitting at 5-9, there’s nothing for fans to look forward to anymore but the future.

Here’s how Twitter reacted following the Chargers’ loss to the Vikings.

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Instant analysis from Chargers’ 39-10 loss to Vikings

Chargers Wire’s Gavino Borquez delivers his final thoughts from the Los Angeles Chargers’ 39-10 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

There wasn’t a lot that went in the Los Angeles Chargers’ favor against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday afternoon.

Here is our instant analysis from the Chargers’ 39-10 loss to the Vikings.

Injury Report

Left tackle Russell Okung got hurt right before the end of the half on the Vikings’ fumble return for a touchdown. Okung attempted a tackle, but he came up limping. Okung, who was ruled as questionable with a groin injury, did not return to the game.

 

Play of the Game: Melvin Ingram’s interception

Following an interception thrown by quarterback Philip Rivers, Ingram picked up his teammate by picking off Kirk Cousins with less than a minute left in the second quarter. That marked Ingram’s second interception of his professional career.

 

Notable Number

7: There was nothing positive on the offensive side of the ball. The Chargers committed seven turnovers on the afternoon. The last time they did that was in the 1999 season.

Quick Takes

  • Coming off his best performance last weekend, quarterback Philip Rivers was unable to match that outing. Rivers resorted back to his reckless ways, tossing three interceptions and wasn’t able to secure the football, which turned into a strip-sack that went for a touchdown.
  • The offensive line was a mixed bag. They allowed three sacks, but one of them was a result of Rivers holding onto the ball too long when he had plenty of time to throw. Trent Scott replaced Russell Okung at left tackle, when this would have been a perfect time for rookie Trey Pipkins, who was ruled out, to get snaps.
  • Running back Melvin Gordon struggled immensely on the ground today. Gordon only managed to amass 28 yards on seven carries, but he fumbled twice today, both of which were recovered by the defense.
  • Gordon’s poor showing was noted by the coaching staff. As a result, he was benched for a good chunk of the second half in favor of Austin Ekeler and Justin Jackson. The decision to bench Gordon shows the loss of trust in the former Wisconsin product.
  • The passing defense did a great job by keeping everything underneath for the most part, not allowing explosive plays, which the Vikings have excelled at this season. Quarterback Kirk Cousins finished with only 207 yards.
  • The run defense was stellar against a dynamic Dalvin Cook. Once Cook went down with an injury, they struggled to stop his backup, Mike Boone, who went for 57 yards and two touchdowns. Their struggles came from lack of gap integrity and missed tackles.

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Key takeaways from first half of Chargers vs. Vikings

Chargers Wire’s Gavino Borquez delivers what stood out in the first half between the Los Angeles Chargers and Minnesota Vikings.

The Los Angeles Chargers currently trail the Minnesota Vikings, 19-10.

Here are some key takeaways from the first half of the Week 15 battle.

  • Have a day, Mike Williams! Williams ended his touchdown drought last weekend and was eager to keep the scoring streak alive. He did that with a leaping catch in the end zone to give the Chargers the lead. He has four receptions for 71 yards.
  • Quarterback Philip Rivers has been efficient today outside of the head-scratching interception, passing for 15-of-20 for 174 yards and a touchdown. Rivers is benefiting from good offensive line play, which has been given him time to heave it downfield.
  • Wide receiver Keenan Allen has six catches for 59 yards. Allen has surpassed 1,000 receiving yards for the season making it his third straight season going over 1,000 yards.
  • Running backs Melvin Gordon and Austin Ekeler have been a bit of a non-factor on the ground today. The Chargers knew that the Vikings run defense is their strong suit, which is why they have resorted to the passing game.
  • Gordon had a hiccup by fumbling the football in Minnesota territory. Luckily, the defense bailed them out, holding them to only a field goal.
  • The Vikings rushing attack has been nonexistent. Dalvin Cook has only gained 23 yards on seven carries.
  • In a desperate need of a takeaway, defensive end Melvin Ingram delivered in a big way by picking off quarterback Kirk Cousins near the end of the half, marking his second interception of his career.
  • Bend don’t break defense from the Chargers as they have had their fair share of big plays given up, but they have been efficient at limiting the Vikings in the red zone and third-down, 1-of-2 and 3-of-6, respectively.

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Everything you need to know about Chargers vs. Vikings

Here’s everything you need to know about the Week 15 matchup between the Los Angeles Chargers and Minnesota Vikings.

The Los Angeles Chargers are looking to play spoiler when they face the Minnesota Vikings in just a couple of hours.

Here is everything you need to know about the Week 15 matchup:

Features

  • 4 things to know (link)
  • Stopping Dalvin Cook (link)
  • 5 Vikings that need to be game planned for (link)
  • 8 Chargers who need more playing time (link)
  • Prediction poll (link)
  • NFL experts make Week 15 picks (link)

How to watch/stream

  • Will the game be on in your area? (link)

Social Media

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