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Early Look: Vikings at Chargers

Look back at photos over the course of time featuring games between the Vikings and the Chargers.

EAGAN, Minn. — The Vikings are now the NFL's only unbeaten team at home, and they will wrap up their road schedule in Week 15.

Minnesota earned a 20-7 win over Detroit on Sunday, improving to 6-0 at U.S. Bank Stadium in 2019.

The Vikings are now 9-4 on the season, and remain in the sixth seed in the NFC Playoffs as a Wild Card team. Minnesota is also a game behind the Packers (10-3) in the NFC North.

The Chargers are 5-8 and have been eliminated from the AFC Playoffs, but they are coming off their best win of the season, a 45-10 blowout of the Jaguars.

Here's a look at the Vikings Week 15 matchup against the Chargers:

Passing: Kirk Cousins was his usual efficient self on Sunday, even if it wasn't flashy.

The Vikings quarterback completed 24 of 30 passes (80 percent) for 242 yards with a touchdown or no interceptions. His passer rating was 111.4, marking the ninth time he has recorded a passer rating over 100 in 2019.

Cousins has now completed 272 of 388 passes (70.1 percent) for 3,274 yards with 24 touchdowns and four picks. His passer rating of 112.0 ranks second in the NFL.

Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers was at his best Sunday, and completing 16 of 22 passes for 314 yards and three scores for a passer rating of 154.4.

Rivers, who rested in the fourth quarter, has now completed 304 of 467 passes (65.1 percent) for 3,748 yards with 20 touchdowns and 15 picks. His passer rating is 90.7, and Rivers' 15 interceptions are the third-most in the NFL.

Rushing: Dalvin Cook shrugged off a recent injury and showed plenty of toughness in the ground game.

The running back, who missed most of the second half in Seattle, had 18 carries for 62 yards and a touchdown against the Lions. He only played 34 of Minnesota's 73 offensive snaps, resting most of the second half.

Rookie Alexander Mattison added 46 yards on 14 carries, while Mike Boone had 13 yards on five attempts.

Cook ranks fourth in the NFL with 1,108 rushing yards, and is tied for the league lead with 13 rushing touchdowns.

The Vikings, who ran for 120 total yards against the Lions, rank fourth in the NFL at 135.8 rushing yards per game.

The Chargers rank 22nd with just 97.2 rushing yards per game.

Austin Ekeler led the Chargers with 101 yards on eight carries, while Melvin Gordon had 55 yards and a score on 12 rushes.

Gordon leads Los Angeles with 523 yards on 132 carries and has five touchdowns. Ekeler has 481 yards and three scores on 112 rushes.

Receiving: Stefon Diggs stepped up again Sunday, hauling in six passes for 92 yards. He is just three yards shy of his second-straight 1,000-yard season.

Bisi Johnson had a 9-yard touchdown catch, Laquon Treadwell had two receptions for 42 yards and fullback C.J. Ham had a 25-yard reception.

Kyle Rudolph (two catches for 11 yards), Irv Smith, Jr. (three catches for 21 yards) and Tyler Conklin (three catches for 13 yards) were also involved at the tight end position.

Diggs leads Minnesota with 56 receptions for 997 yards. He also has five scores. Cook has 50 catches for 503 yards.

Rudolph has 35 catches for 312 yards and is tied with Adam Thielen for the team lead with six scores. Thielen, who missed Sunday's game with a hamstring injury, has 27 catches for 391 yards in 2019.

Ekeler had four catches for 112 yards, including an 84-yard touchdown catch against Jacksonville. Keenan Allen had five catches for 83 yards. Mike Williams and Hunter Henry had touchdowns for the Chargers.

Allen leads the team with 81 receptions for 947 yards and has five scores. Ekeler has a team-high eight touchdowns and has 73 receptions for 830 yards. Henry has 43 catches for 536 yards, and Williams has 40 catches for 841 yards.

The Chargers have four players with at least 500 receiving yards, the only team in the NFL to have many players past the half-century mark.

Defense: The Vikings showcased their defense of old Sunday, limiting the Lions to just 231 total yards. Most of Detroit's yards came in the fourth quarter, as the Lions offense didn't pass the 100-yard mark until the fourth quarter.

Danielle Hunter had a trio of sacks to cap off a historic day, as the Vikings defensive end became the youngest player in NFL history to eclipse 50 career sacks.

Everson Griffen and Jaleel Johnson also recorded sacks. Harrison Smith and Andrew Sendejo had interceptions.

Hunter leads the Vikings with 12.5 sacks, while Griffen has 8.0 sacks on the season. Ifeadi Odenigbo is third with 4.0 sacks.

Anthony Harris leads the Vikings with four picks, while Smith and Sendejo have two apiece.

The Vikings are now 14th with 338.5 yards allowed per game, and are seventh in points allowed at 19.2.

Los Angeles has allowed 304.8 yards per game, which ranks fourth. The unit's 19.3 points allowed per game ranks eighth.

The Chiefs allowed 252 total yards Sunday as the Packers converted on four-of-15 tries on third downs.

Joey Bosa had a pair of sacks for the Chargers, as he has a team-high 10.5 sacks. Melvin Ingram has 5.5 sacks.

Rayshawn Jenkins leads Los Angeles with three picks.

Special teams: Vikings kicker Dan Bailey was perfect Sunday, nailing two field goals (27 and 50 yards) and a pair of extra points.

He has made 18 of 20 field goals, and 35 of 38 extra points so far in 2019.

Punter Britton Colquitt averaged 37.0 yards on six punts against Detroit. He's averaging 44.5 yards per punt in 2019.

Chargers kicker Mike Badgely made a 40-yard field goal and all six extra points Sunday. He's made 11 of 14 field goals in 2019, and all 13 extra points.

Punter Ty Long averaged 52.0 yards on two punts against the Jaguars. He is averaging 47.7 yards per punt in 2019.

Desmond King handles punt return duties and has a touchdown return in 2019.

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Almost to double digits

The Vikings are a victory away from 10 wins, which would mark the 20th time in franchise history of getting to at least 10 wins.

Minnesota currently holds the sixth and final playoff spot as a Wild Card team at 9-4. Here is how the NFC playoff picture looks as of Monday morning:

1. San Francisco (11-2)

2. Green Bay (10-3)

3. New Orleans (10-3)

4. Dallas (6-7)

5. Seattle (10-3)

6. Minnesota (9-4)

Los Angeles (8-5) and Chicago (7-6) are still in the playoff race, as is Philadelphia (5-7), which plays on Monday Night Football.

The Bears are at the Packers in Week 15, while the Cowboys host the Rams.

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