For the second straight week, the Vikings will face an AFC opponent on the road and move from the Baltimore on the east coast to the west coast and the Los Angeles Chargers.
Kickoff is at 3:05 p.m. The game will be televised on Fox, with Kevin Kugler on play-by-play, Mark Sanchez as analyst and Laura Okmin on the sideline.
The teams have played 13 times over the years with the Vikings leading the series 7-6. Five of those games have been played on the west coast, four in San Diego and one in Los Angeles.
Minnesota has won twice over the Chargers on the road, the second one coming 39-10 at StubHub Center in Carson, Calif. on Dec. 15, 2019.
The other win over the Chargers in California was on Oct. 11, 1981, a 33-31 win at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego.
That game was tied 14-14 at halftime. Tommy Kramer threw two TD passes in the first half, 15 yards to Rickey Young and four yards to Ted Brown.
Each team scored 10 points in the third quarter. Kramer threw his third touchdown pass of the game, 26 yards to Terry LeCount and Rick Danmeier kicked a 28-yard field goal as the game was tied 24-24 going to the fourth quarter.
Chuck Muncie scored his second touchdown run of the day, from one yard out to give San Diego a 31-24 lead.
Kramer threw his fourth touchdown pass of the day, 43 yards to Terry LeCount and it looked like the Vikings would pull even. However, Danmeier’s extra point was not wide left, leaving the Vikings with a 31-30 deficit.
Minnesota would recover an onside kick and Danmeier kicked a 38-yard field goal with four seconds remaining to give the Vikings a 33-31 win.
Kramer was 27-for-43 passing for 444 passing yards, which is the fifth-highest single-game total in team history.
The Chargers’ Dan Fouts was 20-38 passes for 310 yards.
Stat of the week
Last week in Baltimore, Vikings safety Camryn Bynum became the fifth player since 2000 to record at least 12 tackles and an interception in their first career start.
The others:
LB Uani Unga, New York Giants, 2015
LB Sean Lee, Dallas, 2011
LB David Hawthorne, Seattle, 2009
DB Marques Anderson, Green Bay, 2002
Notables
RB Dalvin Cook had a 66-yard run last week, the sixth-longest in the NFL this season. He’s had four rushes of 60-plus yards in his career.
Cook rushed for 110 yards vs. the Ravens, putting him in third place for career 100-yard rushing games in team history.
The leaders:
49, Adrian Peterson, 2007-16
29, Robert Smith, 1993-00
18, Dalvin Cook, 2017-21
17, Chuck Foreman, 1973-79
Cook has 4,215 career rushing yards, which is eighth-most in team history.
He’s 16 yards away from Darrin Nelson for seventh place and 105 away from Dave Osborn for sixth place.
The top 10:
Adrian Peterson, 2007-2016, 11747
Robert Smith, 1993-2000, 6818
Chuck Foreman, 1973-1979, 5887
Bill Brown, 1962-1974, 5757
Ted Brown, 1979-1986, 4546
Dave Osborn, 1965-1975, 4320
Darrin Nelson, 1982-1992, 4231
Dalvin Cook, 2017-2021, 4215
Tommy Mason, 1961-1966, 3252
Michael Bennett, 2001-2005, 3174
WR Adam Thielen has caught eight fourth-quarter touchdown passes since 2020, ranking second in the NFL behind Kansas City’s Tyreek Hill’s nine.
The Vikings’ offense has allowed the fewest sacks in the league with 10. Tampa Bay and Buffalo are tied for second with 12.
Scores
The Vikings lead the series with the Chargers 7-6
12-05-1971: San Diego Chargers 30, Minnesota Vikings 14
11-23-1975: Minnesota Vikings 28, San Diego Chargers 13
11-19-1978: San Diego Chargers 13, Minnesota Vikings 7
10-11-1981: Minnesota Vikings 33, San Diego Chargers 31
09-02-1984: San Diego Chargers 42, Minnesota Vikings 13
10-20-1985: Minnesota Vikings 21, San Diego Chargers 17
11-07-1993: San Diego Chargers 30, Minnesota Vikings 17
11-28-1999: Minnesota Vikings 35, San Diego Chargers 27
11-09-2003: San Diego Chargers 42, Minnesota Vikings 28
11-04-2007: Minnesota Vikings 35, San Diego Chargers 17
09-11-2011: San Diego Chargers 24, Minnesota Vikings 17
09-27-2015: Minnesota Vikings 31, San Diego Chargers 14
12-15-2019: Minnesota Vikings 39, Los Angeles Chargers 10
Points scored: Minnesota Vikings 318, Los Angeles Chargers 310