Offensive Player of the Game
Justin Jefferson, WR
Even in the most difficult games, Justin Jefferson often shines.
7 catches
74 yards
Carson Wentz played his worst game in his five games as the Vikings starter. His accuracy was hit-and-miss, mostly miss. Jefferson was routinely open. So were Jordan Addison, T.J. Hockenson, and the rest of the Vikings pass catchers. Wentz either couldn’t hit them or find them. It was a rough game. It wasn’t all on Wentz. A depleted offensive line allowed some easy rush lanes for a modest Chargers front.
Defensive Players of the Game
Jonathan Greenard, OLB
Jalen Redmond, DL
Josh Metellus
The Chargers moved the ball with ease all night so there weren’t a lot of Vikings defensive standouts. It’s a stretch to anoint any with superlatives. However, I did like the play of the above three players. Like Justin Jefferson, Jonathan Greenard is always an impact player. He’s relentless. Chargers excellent, young offensive tackle John Alt returned from injury for this game. Greenard gave him fits. A sack and three tackles for loss were the standout plays. Alt often relied on holding to slow Greenard. It was rarely called. Jonathan Greenard was relentless all game and has been all season.
Jalen Redmond is an emerging defensive line star. I believe he tipped the pass that Josh Metellus intercepted. Metellus makes the list for his first interception of the season.
Special Teams Player of the Game
Myles Price, Returner
Four losses in seven games is the most annoying aspect of the Vikings season. The next most annoying aspect is the silly number of special teams penalties. Is it coaching? Is it simply mind-numbing decisions by the players? Who knows? It must stop. Myles Price opened the game with a 46-yard return. Tyler Batty was called for holding. Instead of starting the game at the 46-yard line, the Vikings started the game at their own 16-yard line. A 30-yard loss. With the Chargers scoring so often, Price had five return opportunities without penalties. He returned those five kicks for 135 yards. A 27-yard average. I’m convinced that Price will return a kick or punt for a score this season. Hopefully, more than one. He’s been one of the bright spots in a wildly inconsistent start to the season.
***
It’s easy to come out of this game with a sour attitude. This isn’t about a single game. Thursday night games are a horrible idea. Three days, two days if one is a travel day, simply isn’t enough time for players to recover from the previous game and get ready for the next game. I don’t care about the massaged injury data the league uses to support these games. The quick turnaround is a tough deal for healthy players. It’s nearly impossible for players dealing with injuries. If Thursday’s game against the Chargers was a Sunday game, Vikings left tackle Christian Darrisaw would’ve played the entire game rather than nine plays. Right tackle Brian O’Neill would’ve played. Both players are navigating knee injuries. It’s manageable with a normal week of recovery. It isn’t on two days. The league’s ridiculous infatuation with Thursday night games and clear greed helped decide this game before it started. There’s so much proof that the league values money over the health, present and long term, of the players. Thursday night games are easily the most obvious examples.
If the league really wants to create a competitive balance in these ridiculous Thursday night games, maybe they should have the home team travel the week before. While the Vikings had to spend one of their three recovery days traveling halfway across the country, the Chargers had been comfortably sitting at home since October 12. 11 days of ease.
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