Kevin O’Connell shoulders blame for Vikings’ blowout loss to Chargers: ‘I did not have our team prepared’
The Minnesota Vikings got run out of Los Angeles, getting demolished on both sides of the ball, falling 37-10 to the Chargers on Thursday night.
“Nothing much to say,” coach Kevin O’Connell said, via the team’s official website. “We got out-played. We got out-coached. There are no excuses. Injuries, short week, whatever. It is not in any way, shape or form our standard of what we want to put on the field.”
The Vikings offense couldn’t function with a slew of backup offensive linemen and an injured Carson Wentz under center, and a defense that has been wholly disappointing had the bottom fall out against Justin Herbert.
O’Connell shouldered the blame for the poor outing on a short week.
“We’ve got an opportunity in front of us where we need to own this,” he said. “This is not a ‘bury the tape’ kind of time for our organization. This is a ‘watch it, view it, own it’. Every coach, every player. And it starts with me. I did not have our team prepared to play.”
With injuries mounting up front, the Vikings’ offseason plan to bolster the interior of the O-line has been waylaid. A struggling Blake Brandel made another start under center. Right tackle Brian O’Neill was out with injury. Star left tackle Christian Darrisaw played just nine snaps before being ruled out. The Vikings’ O-line allowed 16 pressures Thursday night, per Next Gen Stats.
Wentz struggled to see the field and, with a banged-up shoulder, played like a player battling injury. He finished 15-of-27 passing for 144 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Wentz’s inability to keep the Vikings on schedule was magnified by an offense that couldn’t run the ball. Prior to the final drive of the blowout, the Vikes generated 18 rushing yards on nine carries.
With 10 days until they face the Detroit Lions in Week 9, J.J. McCarthy could be in the lineup the next time Minnesota takes the field.
“We worked out J.J. and he was close,” O’Connell said. “The medical staff kind of didn’t quite feel like he was there yet, but there was a lot of encouragement. … If J.J. is healthy, J.J. will play. That’s been the case since the injury. That’s our mindset, and I believe that we are hopefully right around the corner from seeing him.”
