Carson Wentz is an extremely tough dude.

Nobody would have blamed the 32-year-old backup quarterback for tapping out in Minnesota's 37-10 loss to the Chargers on Thursday Night Football. But he didn't dare. Making his fifth straight start for the organization he grew up idolizing, as starter J.J. McCarthy fully recovers from the high-ankle sprain he suffered in Week 2, the well-traveled Wentz tried his darndest to keep things respectable in Los Angeles.

The reality, though, is it was tough sledding on the West Coast from the jump.

Minnesota was flagged for a holding on the opening kickoff, which nullified an electric 46-yard return by Myles Price, costing 30 yards of field position. On the ensuing snap, the first of a long night far from home, Wentz missed Aaron Jones, Sr., on a gimme throw horizontal to the line of scrimmage. Then, Jones was stopped for zilch on his first rush.

The backwards start was thematic of the Vikings ninth straight road L in non-Thanksgiving Day Thursday games. (Minnesota's winless in that capacity since Oct. 26, 1978 – 46 years, 11 months and 26 days ago.)

The club's second series began with a negative rush by Jordan Mason, who battled to lose only a yard and not potentially 5. An early lack of running room against a Chargers defense that entered Week 8 giving up an average of 123.6 yards per game and 5.1 an attempt, seemed to deter the Vikings from trying to establish it; they ran the ball just five times for 10 yards in the first half, with a long gain of 5.

In 60 minutes, the duo of Mason and Jones totaled 18 yards on nine carries. Zavier Scott also scooted for 16 on two. The offense's 34 rush yards were the franchise's fewest in a game since Week 16 of 2023 (17).

It didn't deter Jones from expressing confidence, though.

"We have everything that we need here," he said afterwards in the visiting locker room. "We haven't played our best ball, so I feel like a lot is ahead of us. Just continue to go to work every day, but be intentional about what we're doing. Home in on the details, do the small stuff 100% right every time."

Jones added this is an opportunity to tighten the brotherhood.

"We just know that the outside world is going to try to kind of tear us down, split us apart, and times like this are when you really need to come together," Jones commented. "The true test is how you respond from this and that's what we've talked about here. We don't say it's adversity because adversity is real-life stuff that people are going through. This is football, this is a just do-your-job (situation)."

That failure to get a push up front, however, made it difficult to launch the passing attack.

It also put Wentz and the offense in a bad spot, one that encouraged the L.A. defense to pin its ears back and search and destroy against an offensive line that was missing right tackle Brian O'Neill (inactive with a knee injury) and lost Christian Darrisaw (who was questionable to begin with as he continues to work through knee injury he suffered last season) after the second series. Justin Skule ultimately flipped sides to protect Wentz's blindside, and Walter Rouse played right tackle most of the game. The Chargers sacked Wentz five times and recorded nine quarterback hits.

"Pain is pain," said Wentz, reflecting on his performance and denying ever feeling close to pulling himself. "I felt like I could still help this team and find a way to go down and score and all that stuff."

In addition to the left, non-throwing shoulder soreness he's dealt with since the Week 5 win in London, Wentz also appeared to ding his throwing hand on a helmet Thursday and in one moment grabbed his left arm with a look of anguish on his face after smartly batting down one of his passes that was tipped.

Wentz said it was "quite possibly" the most extended period of pain he's experienced in a game. To support his left shoulder, Wentz wore a bulky black brace he said was unlike anything he's ever worn. He familiarized himself with it in a walkthrough Wednesday and called it "weird" but not any kind of excuse.

"I'm just trying to do everything I can to help this team," Wentz elaborated. "And I feel confident, even with the pain, that I can help. I can contribute and make plays and spread this ball around."

Head Coach Kevin O'Connell remarked "you have to value" Wentz's competitiveness.

"As long as the medical team informs me, which they did a couple times, that he's no worse than what he came into the game with (in terms of injury), you've got to give a guy that wants to tow the line and go in there, you've got to give him a chance to do that," he said. "Until it becomes: He can't do his job."

On the eve of his two-month anniversary as a Viking, Wentz finished Thursday night 15-for-27 with 144 yards, one touchdown and one interception. The scoring pass was pretty, the giveaway particularly ugly.

O'Connell noted the lone turnover, a shot to feed Justin Jefferson on a high crossing route in a fairly clean pocket, as a throw that "maybe a healthy Carson Wentz hits." The coach concluded, "That's just kind of how the night was – we had an opportunity for a big-time explosive there and we missed it."

Although it was rough to watch, it wasn't purely lowlights in Los Angeles.

Jefferson ended the prime-time action with seven catches for 74 yards. He needed 40 to surpass Vikings Legend Randy Moss as the youngest player in football history to accomplish 8,000 career receiving yards.

Also, Will Reichard (1-for-2) connected from 54 yards in the second quarter for his 13^th career field goal from 50-plus. In doing so, he eclipsed Evan McPherson (2021-22) and Blair Walsh (2012-13) for the second most at that distance through a player's first 20 contests (Brandon Aubrey booted 15 in 2023-24).

Obviously, it's impossible to completely dress up the stain of falling below .500 on the season.

One week after woefully converting 1 of 6 red-zone trips into touchdowns, the Vikings settled for a single appearance inside the Chargers 20, thanks entirely to an interception by Joshua Metellus at the Bolts 26.

Even then, it took every ounce of energy, plus a couple angel-sent gifts.

On the sixth snap after Metellus' takeaway, Reichard sailed another kick through the uprights, except a defensive penalty for too many men on the field turned a fourth-and-14 into a fourth-and-9, and swayed O'Connell to roll the dice. The continuously cruel unfolding of events had Wentz getting sacked on that re-do, but it also included more laundry for illegal contact by the defense, which generated a new set of downs.

In a fleeting moment of precise execution, Wentz then arced a touchdown pass to Jordan Addison, cutting the Chargers lead to 14 points with 4:40 left in the third quarter, despite all of this (try to keep up, because it's a doozy): Minnesota amassed 16 net yards on nine offensive plays in the first quarter; it had almost double that in penalty yardage (four penalties for 29 yards in the first frame, and eight for 66 in the game); the Vikings hurried and missed a field goal as time expired in the first half because they had to burn their final two timeouts after consecutive sacks and rushed Reichard onto the field following a chunk completion on a third-and-18; the Chargers had almost as many first downs (20) at the 10:12 mark in the third as Minnesota had total plays (24); and Wentz was bruised, battered, beaten to a pulp.

As the game winded down, undrafted rookie Max Brosmer relieved Wentz and went 3-for-4 passing with 13 yards. Brosmer was ready to roll whenever, but Wentz "wanted to keep going," O'Connell said. "The confidence we have in Max and the upside we see in Max is real, but you also don't want to send him out there and force a level of figure-it-out-ness that's probably beyond a guy playing for the first time."

Again, aside from five road wins in Turkey Day games, the Vikings haven't won a Thursday roadie since Bud Grant's Vikings played a clean game offensively and forced four turnovers on defense to upset the 1978 NFC Champion Dallas Cowboys on their home turf. Alas, that short-week, away-game curse is alive.

In theory, a mini-bye weekend should help Minnesota heal and prepare for Detroit next Sunday.

"I told our team we're going to find out what we're all about and what this year's team is all about," said O'Connell, harping on a desire for improvement, no matter the outcome. "I've always felt a level of 'compete' from our organization, a level

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