INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The Los Angeles Chargers defeated the Minnesota Vikings 37-10 on Thursday night at SoFi Stadium.

Four days ago, the Chargers played their worst game of the season. They were embarrassed and beaten down by the Indianapolis Colts in a 38-24 loss at home.

“We looked like s—,” a dejected Derwin James Jr. said after that game.

Even before, the Chargers had appeared out of sync. They had lost three of their past four, and their sole win, a 29-27 victory over the lifeless 1-6 Miami Dolphins, didn’t sit right with the team.

“We supposed to blow them out,” a frustrated James said then.

Ultimately, the Chargers had looked nothing like the team that began the season 3-0 by sweeping the AFC West.

But the paradigm shifted in a significant way Thursday. The Chargers played one of their best games of the season in a pummeling of Minnesota.

Playing in their first full game with tackle Joe Alt since Week 3, the Chargers did whatever they wanted on offense, and their defense shut down the Vikings to avoid their second two-game losing skid this season.

It was a much-needed win for a Chargers team spiraling into irrelevance. The win gives them a chance them to reclaim first place in the AFC West if the Denver Broncos lose on Sunday.

Trend to watch: Justin Herbert‘s interceptions.

Herbert’s ability to hit throws that few other quarterbacks in the NFL can replicate is what makes him great, but this season he has also put the ball in harm’s way. He threw his seventh interception of the year Thursday. Herbert was backed up against the Chargers’ goal line, rolling to his left, and tried to hit a smothered Ladd McConkey with a pass that was tipped and intercepted. The Vikings scored their first touchdown on the next drive. In this game, where the Chargers dominated, it was a meaningless turnover, but Herbert’s poor decision-making in recent weeks could hurt the Chargers if it continues.

Most surprising performance: Kimani Vidal.

The Chargers’ sixth-round pick in 2024, who was released after the team cut the roster to 53 players, racked up 117 yards on 23 carries and scored his first career rushing touchdown.

Vidal also had a standout performance against the Dolphins in Week 5, with 124 rushing yards against the league’s worst run defense, but until Thursday, that game seemed like an anomaly. By dashing a defense that held the Philadelphia Eagles‘ Saquon Barkley to just 44 yards and 2.4 rushing yards per carry just last week, Thursday proved Vidal can be a consistent impact player.

Stat to know: Oronde Gadsden II is the first rookie tight end since Mike Ditka in 1961 with 240 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns in a two-game span.

Gadsden, who finished with five catches for 77 yards and a touchdown, has emerged as one of Herbert’s favorite targets and one of the Chargers’ best receiving tight ends in recent memory. A fifth-round rookie, Gadsden had the most receiving yards by a Chargers tight end since Antonio Gates in 2009 in last week’s game, when he finished with seven catches for 164 yards and a score. He appears to be headed toward having a significant role in the passing offense this season.

Next game: at Tennessee Titans (1 p.m. ET, Nov. 2)

There is no sugarcoating it. The Vikings played one of their worst games in the four-year Kevin O’Connell era Thursday night, and it left them at a crossroads in a season that is rapidly deteriorating.

It was the second-worst loss in the O’Connell era by point differential. The worst was a 40-3 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in 2022.

The Vikings are now 3-4 and squarely positioned in last place of the NFC North, with the NFL’s most difficult remaining schedule ahead of them. The Chargers, losers in three of their previous four games, dominated them in every phase. The Vikings are ravaged by injuries, which continued to pile up Thursday as tight end Josh Oliver (foot) and cornerback Jeff Okudah (concussion) were added to the list, and the team is now facing a massive competitive decision.

Will the Vikings deem quarterback J.J. McCarthy (ankle) ready to return for their next game, Nov. 2 at the Detroit Lions? And if so, will they stick with him no matter how he plays — knowing their playoff hopes are in the balance?

The Vikings committed to a cash payroll this season of more than $350 million, hoping they could compete for a deep playoff run while developing McCarthy in real time. It doesn’t look good for the former, and now it might be time to find out about the latter.

Most surprising performance: The Chargers gashed the Vikings’ defense in every way imaginable. Some opponents have managed to accumulate yards against them this season, but before Thursday night, the Vikings had at least been able to limit scoring.

They entered the game tied for No. 10 in the NFL with an average of 20 offensive points allowed per game. But they had no answers Thursday for Justin Herbert, who weaved through their blitzes to rush for 62 yards and throw three touchdowns. The Chargers faced little resistance in amassing a total of 419 yards and 29 first downs.

What to make of Wentz’s performance: In what might have been his last start for a while, Carson Wentz was clearly in pain throughout the game — largely because of a left shoulder injury suffered Oct. 5 that is still requiring a harness. He also appeared to hit his throwing hand on Chargers linebacker Khalil Mack‘s helmet in the first half.

It’s admirable that Wentz kept pushing through, but at times it was tough to watch. Rookie Max Brosmer would have been next in, and the Vikings likely didn’t want to expose him to the mess Wentz was experiencing.

Trend to watch: The Vikings played almost the entire game without their starting tackles, Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill, even though both had played every snap in Week 7.

O’Neill (right knee) was inactive and Darrisaw (left knee) left after nine snaps and did not return. That left the Vikings to go most of the way with backup Justin Skule at left tackle and third-string tackle Walter Rouse on the right side. It wasn’t a recipe for creating running lanes or protecting the quarterback, and it showed. The Vikings finished with 34 rushing yards and took five sacks.

Next game: at Detroit Lions (1 p.m. ET, Nov. 2)

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The Minnesota Vikings are visiting the Los Angeles Chargers in an NFL Week 8 matchup Thursday.

NFL reporters Kevin Seifert for the Vikings and Kris Rhim for the Chargers will provide updates on all the biggest plays and highlights from SoFi Stadium.

Vikings-Chargers highlights

The biggest story in sports, let alone the NBA, was the FBI gambling probe that was announced on Thursday, which involved the arrests of Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and former NBA guard Damon Jones among many others. 

During ESPN’s “Inside The NBA,” the panel of Shaquille O’Neal, Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley discussed the situation, but it resulted in a bit of a heated back and forth between Smith and Barkley. 

Smith began with his lengthy take on the situation. 

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“We look at players who are involved and people who are involved, we’re surprised when you have access and you’re at the top of the game, so to speak as a coach or a player or whatever at the top of the game, you have access to millions of dollars in this league. So, it was surprising that they put themselves in that position possibly. Innocent until proven guilty,” he said.

Smith’s next point is what ticked off Barkley, who was visibly frustrated at the desk.

“I think the other part is you have to realize gambling is an addiction, so the addiction of it is what makes you make illogical decisions,” Smith continued. “… The FBI Director [Kash Patel] said, there’s a man who lost $1.8 million. That means he has a lot of money, so he has an addiction to that. Those ‘fish’ that they talked about bringing in. So, gambling is an addiction which could make you make illogical decisions regardless of your ethnic background, regardless of your physical background, regardless of your financial status. So, let’s understand that.

OREGON SEN. RON WYDEN REACTS TO FBI PROBE INVOLVING TRAIL BLAZERS COACH CHAUNCEY BILLUPS: ‘VERY SAD DAY’

“I disagree in terms of the NBA dropping the ball. This is an ongoing investigation. There’s no way that any FBI, or police even, who anyone would say, ‘Hey, this is what we’re doing.’ The surprise element always makes it happen so they cannot overextend the information they’re receiving.

As Smith told Barkley he would let him talk once he made his final point, Barkley couldn’t hold back.

“I wish you would because you’re making me mad right here,” Barkley said. 

“I also think that because there’s people getting speeding tickets it doesn’t mean everyone in the league speeds. So, don’t look at this group of people that started to get investigated as the entire league,” Smith concluded. 

Kenny Smith, looks on before the game between the New Orleans Pelicans and Los Angeles Lakers as part of the 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament on December 7, 2023, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Mike Kirschbaum/NBAE via Getty Images)

Then, it was Barkley’s turn to speak. 

“First of all, these are two different things,” he began. “Take Chauncey out of the equation, and the reason I’m mad at Kenny is this has nothing to do with a damn gambling addiction. This ain’t got nothing to do with addiction. These dudes are stupid. You can, under no circumstances, fix basketball games. Under no circumstances. I love to gamble. Rozier makes $26 million. Him giving people information or taking himself out of games, how much is he going to benefit taking himself out of games to hit unders? He’s making $26 million.”

Smith butted in, as he said Barkley was proving his point. 

“If you’re making $26 million to try to when $50,000, that’s illogical,” Smith said.

Barkley fired back, reiterating his belief that those involved were not gambling addicts, but rather “that’s stupidity.”

“The notion that guys are making all this money and giving information, stop that. That’s got nothing to do with addiction. It’s total stupidity on those two’s parts,” Barkley said.

O’Neal gave his take prior to the Smith and Barkley debate. He said the league gave forums to inform players about the dangers of gambling.

“All these guys knew what was at stake and I’m just ashamed that they put themselves, put their family and put the NBA in this position,” O’Neal said. “You all know the rules, we all know the letter of the law and it’s just unfortunate. Innocent until proven guilty, but usually when the FBI has something, they have you.” 

College basketball analyst Charles Barkley on air before the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Final Four championship game. (Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)

Billups, a Basketball Hall of Famer like the men on the panel, left an Oregon federal courthouse on Thursday, where he didn’t answer questions after being arrested as part of the FBI investigation. Billups was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering, as he was allegedly involved in the rigged poker games investigation. 

Billups was released from custody under the conditions of turning over his passport, not contacting any of the 30-plus co-defendants charged, and not participating in any gambling activity. 

Rozier was allegedly involved in the sports gambling ring, where schemers were allegedly giving non-public information about who would be sitting out future games or when they would be pulling themselves out early for injuries or illnesses. 

New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Rozier faked an injury to leave a March 23, 2023, game between the Charlotte Hornets and New Orleans Pelicans. Rozier was alleged to have told co-defendant Deniro Laster that he would take himself out of the game so Laster could bet on it.

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The NBA cooperated with the investigation and placed Billups and Rozier on an immediate leave of absence. 

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