All units on the 2025 Minnesota Vikings have taken turns being liabilities. If the pass defense has been good, the run defense has been leaky. When the run defense has figured things out, receivers have gotten open downfield. The passing offense has been inconsistent, as has the run game.

So maybe it was fitting that every aspect of the Vikings failed in Thursday night’s 37-10 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. A short week was made even shorter with the trip to SoFi Stadium. The truncated week may have been the reason Brian O’Neill missed the game, and Christian Darrisaw was quickly taken out after nine plays.

But the offense wasn’t the only unit that was to blame for the loss. The Chargers averaged 6.0 yards per play, racking up 29 first downs as a result of going 9-of-13 on third down. It felt like the Vikings were never able to recover when an Isaiah Rodgers pick-six was overturned, just for the Chargers to instead march 83 yards in 14 plays.

The loss drops the Vikings to 3-4. They will travel to Detroit to play the Lions on November 2. J.J. McCarthy should be back in the starting lineup, playing in his first game since Week 2. Can he give this team a shot of energy? Or will he be battered and beaten like Carson Wentz?

Here are three instant takeaways from the Vikings’ loss to the Chargers.

The Wentz experience ends with a thud

Wentz, making his fifth straight start, was at the receiving end of one of the more physical beatings a Vikings quarterback has taken in recent memory. He was sacked five times and hit several more times. The hits were taking a toll, especially because Wentz was wearing a sizable sleeve/brace/contraction to help with his left shoulder injury.

His performance wasn’t exactly inspiring, either. Wentz finished 15-of-27 passing for one touchdown and one interception. It feels like McCarthy is going to start against the Lions. Wentz went 2-3 in his five starts for the Vikings, but the last two games have been hard to watch.

Where’s the run game?

Minnesota wasn’t able to take any pressure off of Wentz in the running game. The Vikings ran only 11 times for 34 yards despite getting Aaron Jones back for the first time since Week 3. Was that partially because of Darrisaw and O’Neill being out? Or was it pure negligence by Kevin O’Connell?

Thursday marked the fourth straight game the Vikings failed to reach 100 yards rushing. With McCarthy set to return to the lineup, the Vikings can’t expect their young quarterback to succeed if they can’t provide him with a competent running game. Even if it doesn’t look pretty all the time, the Vikings can’t deviate from it like they did on Thursday.

The defense has lots of issues

The offense, especially on the line, has been dealing with so many injuries this season that they should be given a little grace for some of these performances. But outside of Andrew Van Ginkel and Blake Cashman, the Vikings’ defense has been relatively healthy this season. Minnesota got Cashman back before the Eagles game in Week 7, but allowed Jalen Hurts to throw for 326 yards and three touchdowns en route to a perfect passer rating.

Justin Herbert was almost just as effective on Thursday. He was 18-of-25 passing for 225 yards, throwing three touchdowns. Herbert also torched the Vikings when he ran, rushing seven times for 62 yards. Overall, the Chargers ran 43 times for 207 yards. That’s despite them being down Najee Harris, Omarion Hampton, and Hassan Haskins at running back.

The Vikings now rank 14th in total defense and are tied for 9th-worst in EPA allowed per rush. Veteran acquisitions Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen haven’t lived up to the team’s expectations heading into the season. The secondary as a whole looks a step slow. They need to figure it out quickly with the Lions, Ravens, Bears, and Packers on the horizon.