The Vikings had two golden opportunities to take a late lead over the Chargers on Sunday, but were unable to do so as Los Angeles escaped with a 28-24 victory.
With a lead of four, Chargers head coach Brandon Staley faced a fourth-and-1 from the LA 24 with 1:51 on the clock. The Vikings had no timeouts, so a first down would have effectively ended the game.
But Los Angeles didn’t get it. Fullback Joshua Kelley was whistled for a carry from the fullback position, giving the ball back to the Vikings.
However, Minnesota was unable to take advantage of the field position. Quarterback Kirk Cousins was close to hitting receiver KJ Osborn for a likely touchdown, but narrowly threw him to the ground on the first play of the possession. After Cousins connected with TJ Hockenson over the middle for a 9-yard gain on fourth-and-5, the Vikings decided not to spike the ball and get into the huddle for a play.
The result was a confused play run with 12 seconds remaining in which Cousins threw it to Hockenson in the middle of the end zone. But the ball slipped out of Hockenson’s hands, was tipped again and linebacker Kenneth Murray landed with it in the end zone to intercept it.
The game was finally decided for LA
The Vikings had an opportunity to get into the end zone early in the fourth quarter, but Cousins’ pass to Justin Jefferson on second down fell incomplete with 2:57 remaining. Jefferson was also cited for illegally postponing the play, but this was denied.
Los Angeles lost receiver Mike Williams and safety Darwin James to injuries sustained during the game. But Keenan Allen set a Chargers franchise record with 18 catches on 20 targets. He finished the game with 215 receiving yards and a 49-yard touchdown pass to Williams.
Justin Herbert was 40 of 47 passing for 405 yards with three touchdowns. Before leaving, Williams had seven catches for 121 yards with one touchdown.
Cousins was 32 of 50 passing for 367 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. Jefferson caught seven passes for 149 yards with one TD.
At 1-2, the Chargers will face the Raiders at home in Week 4.
The 0-3 Vikings will face the Panthers next Sunday.