Herbert leads Chargers to comfortable Thursday Night Football win over Vikings | NFL
Justin Herbert threw for 227 yards and three touchdowns, and the Los Angeles Chargers beat the Minnesota Vikings 37-10 on Thursday night, ending a three-game losing streak that knocked them from the top of the AFC West.
The Chargers (5-3) won for the first time since Week 6 at Miami, rebounding four days after a resounding 38-24 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
Keenan Allen had four catches for 44 yards and joined Hall of Famer Antonio Gates as the only players in Chargers history with 11,000 receiving yards.
The Vikings (3-4) lost back-to-back games for the first time this season, both coming within five days. They had just 12 first downs, finished 3 of 11 on third down and only had the ball for 21 minutes.
Carson Wentz started on short rest in place of quarterback JJ McCarthy, who missed his fifth straight game with an ankle injury. Wentz finished 15 of 27 for 144 yards with a touchdown and an interception while being sacked five times. He played despite a shoulder injury that he aggravated several times.
The Chargers had scoring chances on all four possessions in the first half and led 21-3 at the break. They only missed Cameron Dicker’s 49-yard field goal attempt that went left after a bad snap. Dicker had made 46 of 47 attempts at home. Oronde Gadsden II caught an eight-yard TD pass, Kimani Vidal scored on a three-yard run and Ladd McConkey caught a 27-yard scoring pass.
Dicker’s 49-yard field goal early in the third extended the lead to 24-3.
After the Vikings were forced to punt, Herbert was intercepted at the Chargers 26. This led to the Vikings’ only touchdown, aided by two Chargers penalties. Will Reichard’s 32-yard field goal was overturned when the Chargers were penalized for having too many men on the field. The Vikings went for it on fourth and nine and Wentz was nearly sacked, but Chargers cornerback Benjamin St-Juste was penalized for illegal contact. That kept the drive alive and Wentz hit Jordan Addison for a four-yard score to make it 24-10.
The Chargers answered early in the fourth on Herbert’s six-yard pass over the middle to Tre’Harris. The Vikings were penalized for too many players on the field and the Chargers overcame a false start penalty from Foster Sarell.
Rookie RJ Mickens had his first career interception, throwing away Wentz to end Minnesota’s first possession in the fourth. Two Dicker field goals completed the scoring to make it 37-10.
