Justin Herbert *BEATS* the Vikings *BLITZ* [Week 3 vs LA Chargers]

Video Description

How many more 150-yard Justin Jefferson games *can* the Vikings squander? Oh the season is young, my friend. After going 11-0 in one-score games last season, Minnesota have now lost four such games in a row. This time it came at the hands of Justin Herbert and Keenan Allen. Herbert passed for 405 yards and three touchdowns and the Chargers kept Kirk Cousins out of the end zone twice in the last three minutes to preserve a wild 28-24 victory over the winless Vikings on Sunday. Chargers Head Coach Brandon Staley made a predictable dumb decision to go for a game-sealing 4th-and-1 from the Los Angeles 24 yard line, but Kenneth Murray Jr. made the game-sealing interception in the end zone with 7 seconds left, snagging a ball that bounced off of tight end T.J. Hockenson's overpaid hand. If the Vikings don't fumble in or near the red zone, they can't convert and crumble in short-yardage situations. On Minnesota's second-to-last possession, Michael Davis knocked down Cousins' fourth-down throw to Justin Jefferson at the goal line (which was, of course, short of the sticks—oh, and there was a Minnesota penalty in there, too). After Chargers RB Joshua Kelley was stuffed by Jonathan Bullard on that 4th-and-1 the Vikings had the ball with 1:47 left, but they stumbled through six messy plays, aided by an illegal use of hands penalty on Davis, before a fourth-down pass to Hockenson gave them first-and-goal at the 6. With no timeouts left, Cousins had trouble hearing the play call and 29 seconds ticked off the clock until the next snap instead of the Vikings opting for a spike. Cousins' seemingly safe throw to Hockenson's outside shoulder away from the defenders still got picked off, the type of bad break that rarely went against the Vikings in 2022. For the Vikings, the road looks rough. Only four teams since 1990 have made the playoffs after an 0-3 start. But hey, at least it was only cramps that took JJ out of that final drive for a minute. Dodged a bullet there. #nfl #minnesotavikings #losangeleschargers