Week 8 would be a week that the Minnesota Vikings would like to forget and never mention again the rest of the 2025 campaign.
The Vikings traveled to Los Angeles to play the Chargers on a short week, and while they were on the field physically, it felt more like they didn't even show up mentally. Los Angeles took it to them from the beginning as the Chargers picked up an easy 37-10 win over the Vikings.
It's a devastating loss for the Vikings, who fall under .500 for the first time this season, sitting at 3-4. What made it worse was the poor play by both units, despite a ton of talent.
One of those talents on defense, linebacker Blake Cashman, just came back from his hamstring injury that kept him out for about a month. Cashman returned in Week 7 against the Philadelphia Eagles as the Vikings also lost that game 28-22.
For Cashman, his team is at a crossroads, trying to figure out how to get back on track without letting the season go too far off the rails. It brought him to speak the truth about the situation the Vikings are currently in.
"At 3-4, when you look at a competitive division, competitive conference, we have a decision to make. I feel like you're staring down the barrel, but you can't panic. You got to stay connected and continue to go back to work and just improve on the simple things."
As to what decision does the team need to make?
"Doing the simple things better. For lack of a better term, nut up. That's what we got to do."
Minnesota Vikings have some tough decisions to make after the mini bye week
While not exactly the most elegant way to put it, Cashman's comments echo a lot of truth. Over the last two games, the Vikings' defense has allowed over 28 points in each loss, whereas before the bye, they allowed no more than 24 points in a single game.
The secondary has been exposed by poor performances from Isaiah Rodgers against the Eagles and Jeff Okudah against the Chargers. That lack of consistency has taken away from what the defense does best.
Not everything is on the defense, though, as the offense deserves its fair share of the blame. All fingers will point towards a broken offensive line with half the starters out with injuries.
It doesn't help that there hasn't been a consistent running game with Carson Wentz getting beaten up in the pocket pass after pass.
The longer break for the Vikings couldn't be coming at a better time, as the team, like Cashman, has some big decisions to make. Will Minnesota head coach Kevin O'Connell make lineup changes, or will the players find it in themselves to clean up their mistakes?