Week 8 has started with a blowout.

The Los Angeles Chargers crushed the Minnesota Vikings 37-10 at home in a game where Justin Herbert threw three touchdowns to continue adding to his collection of solid individual outings.

Minnesota once again called upon Carson Wentz to try to keep the team above .500, but the veteran quarterback offered very little in an easy game for the LA defense.

The result moved Los Angeles to 5-3 following some disappointing losses, and the return of left tackle Joe Alt provided a boost to the running game that has recently lacked without Omarion Hampton and Najee Harris.

On the other hand, the Vikings dropped to 3-4 in a tough NFC North division that isn’t leaving much margin for error. Even when J.J. McCarthy returns, there aren’t any guarantees he’s good enough to get the team back into playoff contention.

Let’s analyze the Thursday Night Football game further with winners and losers:

WINNER: Justin Herbert, Chargers

The Chargers will only go as far as Herbert can take them. The last few weeks served as tough watches even though Herbert put up numbers on the stat sheet, but tonight was a better showing against a robust Brian Flores-led defense.

Herbert threw for 227 yards, three touchdowns and a pick on 18 of 25 completions to go with 62 rushing yards on seven carries, playing brilliantly when being blitzed.

Justin Herbert finished 13 of 15 for 162 yards, 2 TDs & INT against the Vikings’ blitz, his fourth-most yards against the blitz in his career.

The last time Herbert faced the Vikings (Week 3, 2023), Herbert was 32 of 38, 301 yards & 3 TDs against the blitz.

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Next up for Herbert and Co. is a trip to Tennessee to take on the lowly Titans.

LOSER: Vikings’ run game

Wentz predictably struggled, going just 15 of 27 for 144 yards, one touchdown and a pick on a night where he was just never going to find a rhythm.

But matters worsened due to Minnesota’s lackluster run game. Aaron Jones Sr. made his return from injury, but didn’t pick up a full workload. He rushed only five times for 15 yards. Jordan Mason logged just three rushing yards on four carries.

All in all, Minnesota had 34 rushing yards in a game where LA recorded 207. More on that later.

The complementary football has to improve for Kevin O’Connell’s side.

WINNER: Oronde Gadsden II, Chargers

The Chargers have a break-out product at tight end. Oronde Gadsden II, a fifth-round rookie out of Syracuse, shined once again.

After going for 164 yards on nine catches and a touchdown last time out, he put up 77 yards with five catches on five targets and a score.

The 6-foot-5 target man is more of a wide receiver playing tight end, but the Chargers won’t care if he’s producing the way he is given their offensive injuries.

LOSER: Justin Jefferson, Vikings

There’s no doubting Jefferson’s quality, but he’s becoming more like his college teammate and Cincinnati Bengal Ja’Marr Chase — a star wideout being wasted on a team with QB issues.

Jefferson had seven catches on 11 targets for 74 yards and no touchdowns. It might not look bad, but those aren’t numbers of Jefferson’s quality and capability.

Wentz won’t improve, so Minnesota will need to hope McCarthy really is its franchise QB1 to prevent Jefferson from possibly asking out. With a brutal schedule ahead, things may get interesting in the offseason.

WINNER: Kimani Vidal, Chargers

With Hampton and Harris out, LA has turned to 2024 sixth-rounder Vidal to step up and lead the charge from the backfield.

He’s been spotty, rushing for 18 yards on four carries vs. Washington, then exploding for 124 yards on 18 carries at Miami before getting shut down vs. Indianapolis with 20 yards on nine carries.

Today flipped back to a good game, as Vidal went for 117 yards on 23 carries and the aforementioned touchdown highlight.

If the Chargers can extract more consistency out of him, they’ll have a good pairing once Hampton is back in the fold. Harris’ torn Achilles will sideline him for the season, but he’s back to unrestricted free agency in March.

Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh shares why Omarion Hampton’s talent—and character—make him proud to have him on his team.