Minnesota Vikings' playoff push leads to hard-luck Chargers

CARSON, Calif. — The Minnesota Vikings realize they can’t stop to take a deep breath in the final three weeks of the regular season — not even at sea level on the sunny West Coast.

With the Green Bay Packers ahead of them in the NFC North and the Los Angeles Rams right on their tails in the wild-card race, the Vikings (9-4) might need to be perfect in their final three games just to make the playoffs.

The next stop on Minnesota’s perilous path to the postseason is a suburban soccer stadium hosting its next-to-last NFL game. The Los Angeles Chargers (5-8) have been eliminated from playoff contention, but they have more than enough talent and motivation to worry the Vikings in their final road game of the regular season.

“It’s the NFL, so you can’t take no team lightly,” Vikings running back Dalvin Cook said.

The Vikings have won seven of nine with an increasingly impressive offense and a playmaking defense, but they realize the Chargers are a danger not indicated by their record.

Los Angeles’ eight losses have all been by seven points or fewer, leaving the Chargers out of the playoff race despite a plus-38 point differential and elite talent on both sides of the ball. The Bolts’ late-game execution has doomed them repeatedly, while the Vikings pulled out a pair of narrow victories last month to kick-start their playoff push.

A loss by the Vikings would greatly benefit the Rams, who will be the Chargers’ stadium roommates next season. That’s not a motivation for the Bolts, who are still fighting for coach Anthony Lynn’s stated goal to rally back to .500.

“We want to win for us,” quarterback Philip Rivers said. “Obviously, it’s been tough with every loss by one score. We’re playing for us, but certainly, there’s a lot on the line for them. The Rams are pulling for us as well. It’ll be a heck of a game.”

Road games on the West Coast long have been tricky for teams in the Central or Eastern time zones, and the Vikings have been no exception.

After losing 37-30 at Seattle two games ago, they’re 1-6 on the road in the Mountain and Pacific time zones in six seasons under coach Mike Zimmer. Their last such win was at Oakland in 2015. Five of those losses were in night games, so the NFL did the Vikings a favor recently by moving this contest out of prime time and into the late afternoon slot.

Another factor that could hinder the Vikings? The natural grass at Dignity Health Sports Park. They’ve won only one of seven games on grass over the last two seasons: at Philadelphia in 2018.

“Good football teams, no matter what comes at them, find a way to still get the job done,” quarterback Kirk Cousins said.

The Chargers haven’t played a home game since Nov. 3, and they have just two left in their temporary stadium south of downtown Los Angeles. While the Vikings are likely to have a serious fan turnout, the Bolts are used to that — and they’re still grateful to be home for the next two weeks believing they can reset their mentality with a regular schedule.