INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Nothing went the Vikings way on the West Coast.

Minnesota's defense spent a grueling 39-plus minutes on the field Thursday night and allowed the Chargers to run away with the game 37-10.

The team recognizes there really aren't any justifications.

"Nothing much to say," Head Coach Kevin O'Connell said postgame. "We got out-played. We got out-coached.

"There are no excuses. Injuries, short week, whatever," he added. "It is not in any way, shape or form our standard of what we want to put on the field."

On a short week and coming off a difficult loss to the Eagles, the Vikings defense struggled across the board.

Justin Herbert made plays with his arm and legs alike, evading much of Minnesota's pressure and racking up 62 rushing yards. The Chargers QB was 18-of-25 passing for three touchdowns and one interception with a 122.8 passer rating. Jonathan Greenard and Jonathan Allen did record a sack apiece of Herbert, but the Vikings couldn't fully rattle him.

"We've got to figure out how to get these mobile quarterbacks, these running quarterbacks, on the ground [so they] stop extending plays," Joshua Metellus said. "We can have the best play [called] and we can play it exactly how we're supposed to play it, but if the play extends and things get uncovered that you can't prepare for, things like that happen.

"This is what the league is," he added. "If you look at our schedule, we're going to play two of the best mobile quarterbacks at some point this year. So, we'll have to figure out what we do well."

Isaiah Rodgers got his hands on a Herbert pass on L.A.'s second offensive snap of the game and returned it to the end zone, initially looking to be an early momentum boost, but officials reviewed the play and deemed it instead an incomplete pass.

The short-lived excitement foreshadowed the rest of Minnesota's evening.

Metellus did intercept Herbert midway through the third quarter, and a bizarre ensuing series (including Minnesota opting to deny a made Will Reichard field goal to go for it on a fourth down shortened by a Chargers penalty, and a second flag giving the Vikings life after a fourth-down sack of Carson Wentz) ended with a Jordan Addison touchdown.

It was too little, too late, however. Minnesota simply couldn't gain back any ground.

And on the flip side, the Chargers did just that.

L.A. running back Kimani Vidal racked up 117 yards on a career-high 23 carries. He also scored his first career touchdown. Vidal had explosive plays of 18-, 18- and 20-yard runs, averaging 5.1 yards per attempt.

In the receiving game, Ladd McConkey led the way with six catches for 88 yards, followed closely by Oronde Gadsden II with five catches for 77 yards. Veteran wideout Keenan Allen added 44 yards on four receptions.

The Vikings allowed the Chargers to convert nine of 13 third-down attempts, including a third-and-13 in the first quarter where Minnesota had L.A. backed up immediately after the interception by Rodgers was deemed an imcompletion. Herbert found Allen for a 17-yard gain to continue a drive eventually capped by a Gadsden touchdown.

"Sloppy," Blake Cashman called it. "We've got to be better in a lot of areas. That wasn't our brand of football."

Metellus echoed Cashman's sentiments, deeming the performance unacceptable.

"If we're not all 11 [executing] on every play, you end up with results like this," he said. "Definitely something we have to look in the mirror and, as a team, figure out how we … execute on a high level like we're supposed to be doing.

"I think we've got the right guys in this building, the right coaches, right staff," Metellus added. "Everybody in the building is bought in. But we've got to buy in a little more and figure out how to get it done."

Asked if there's something that needs to be communicated, either teammate-to-teammate or coach-to-player, Metellus reiterated they certainly can't ignore the situation.

"I mean, if you leave things unsaid, you're just beating around the bush," he explained. "We're all grown men, we're all understanding what's at task and what our job is.

"We get paid to win football games," Metellus added. "We don't get paid to just be out here and lose and give up performances like that. So yeah, there will be things said. Nobody has thin skin over here. Everybody's bought into the process. Everybody wants to win."

Metellus and Cashman both emphasized that despite a deeply disappointing performance, the locker room connection is strong — which is imperative in trying to right the ship.

"We believe in this group," Cashman said. "We don't have a bunch of individuals. We have a very connected team that will hold each other accountable and believes in one another.

"That's what's really important," he added. "We're gonna cut up this tape, and there's guys — I'm sure a lot of us aren't going to be proud of the performance we see out of each of us individually. But I know each man next to each other in the locker room is going to believe he's going to get it right."

The belief is there. So is the urgency.

Now sitting at 3-4 and with a road division game in Detroit up next, Cashman didn't mince words but also isn't giving up.

"You look at a competitive division, competitive conference, you have a decision to make," Cashman said. "I feel like [we're in a tough place], but we can't panic. Got to stay connected and continue to go back to work."

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