5 Bold Predictions: Vikings vs. Chargers – Week 15
By Chris Schad
The Minnesota Vikings are on the verge of a showdown for the NFC North title, but they must first get past a pesky Los Angeles Chargers team.
If there is an AFC spirit animal for the Minnesota Vikings, it has to be the Los Angeles Chargers. Much like how the Vikings have struggled to find their way back to the Super Bowl since 1976, the Chargers have only reached the game once in their franchise’s history. But the kicker here is that both teams have found every way imaginable to lose a big game.
The Vikings were obliterated in their previous four Super Bowl appearances by an average over 15 points, but the Chargers were destroyed by Steve Young to the tune of six touchdown passes in Super Bowl XXIX. And since I mentioned kickers, Minnesota’s two big misses from Blair Walsh and Gary Anderson look really similar to several misses from former Chargers kicker Nate Kaeding, who happens to currently be the Vikings’ kicking coach.
More recently, Los Angeles has continued their tradition of botching everything possible. After a lengthy holdout that resulted in running back Melvin Gordon missing the first month of the season, the Chargers have tried to steer the ship with Austin Ekeler.
Los Angeles’ offensive line has suffered a slew of injuries and the defense even lost safety Derwin James for a majority of the 2019 season. All of this doesn’t even mention Phillip Rivers, who may be having the worst year of his career.
Despite all the turmoil, the Chargers represent a tough matchup for the Vikings on Sunday as all eight of their losses this season have occurred within seven points or less. As the Green Bay Packers can attest, heading into L.A. is not an easy task and if Minnesota isn’t careful, they could be walking into a buzzsaw of a team with nothing to lose.