Vikings’ biggest opponent this week isn’t the Chargers, it’s the clock

As Vikings players sat in the locker room after Sunday's disappointing loss to the Eagles, the reality of what lies ahead inevitably started to creep into their minds. They weren't going to have much time to process this defeat, because they have to quickly turn their attention towards preparing to travel west and take on the Chargers on Thursday night.

"Based on our normal game week clock, it's already Wednesday afternoon," right tackle Brian O'Neill said. "This one's gonna be flushed pretty quick."

"Your mind immediately goes to having just four days to turn this one over, which is as tough as it gets in the National Football League, not gonna lie," said quarterback Carson Wentz. "We’ll be all right though."

Playing two games in five days is something NFL teams almost always have to deal with once per season. It's part of what they sign up for, and players know that. But that doesn't mean they have to like it. Getting the short week ahead of Thursday Night Football causes routines to be thrown out the window as the weekly preparation process gets significantly truncated out of necessity.

From a physical standpoint, players began their recovery process immediately following Sunday's game. Wentz said at his postgame press conference that he'd be icing his body as soon as he left the podium. On the mental and strategic side, they watched the film on Sunday night and will discuss it to some extent in meetings on Monday, but the coaching staff had to turn the leaf towards the upcoming opponent much quicker than usual.

"Quite frankly, I’ve never been a huge fan of the Thursday night games for this reason," Wentz said, "but it kind of just is what it is. It’s part of the business."

The good news is that the playing field is an even one. The Chargers are on a short week too, having lost to the Colts on Sunday to fall to 4-3 after a 3-0 start to the season.

The 3-3 Vikings have questions about their quarterback situation and their pass defense after losing to the Eagles. The Chargers are facing plenty of questions of their own. Their last four games include three losses, two of them by multiple touchdowns, and a narrow win over the 1-6 Dolphins. They've been playing without their two star offensive tackles (Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt) and their top two running backs (Omarion Hampton and Najee Harris).

Justin Herbert threw for 420 yards and three touchdowns against the Colts on Sunday, in part because the Chargers fell down 23-3 at halftime. He leads the league in passing yards. But one of the reasons LA lost is that Herbert threw interceptions on consecutive series in the second quarter, bringing his season total to six INTs. Only Tua Tagovailoa, Geno Smith, and Jake Browning have thrown more.

The Chargers are 15th in EPA per play on offense and 19th on defense. They're beatable. But Herbert and his group of pass-catchers are dangerous, so the Vikings' defense will need to quickly figure out what went wrong against Jalen Hurts on Sunday. And offensively, Kevin O'Connell and his players have to find a way to avoid turnovers and finish drives in the red zone.

There's a lot to work on, and precious little time to do it.

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