After red zone letdown, Jefferson and Wentz share what needs to change

The Vikings repeatedly failed to make plays in the red zone in Sunday's 28-22 loss to the Eagles.

Oct 19, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson (18) is unable to make a catch during the second half after being blocked by Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Cooper Dejean (33) at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

The Vikings were awful in the red zone in Sunday's 28-22 loss to the Eagles, converting on just one of six chances when inside the 20-yard line. That loss dropped the Vikings back to .500 just ahead of a short week, in which they'll travel to Los Angeles to take on the Chargers on Thursday Night Football. As the team works to figure out what went wrong in Sunday's loss, and how to fix it, the clear focus has been on execution in the red zone.

"There's a couple times we shot ourselves in the foot, with penalties or different things. At the end of the day, it just came down to execution," said QB Carson Wentz Tuesday when asked what went wrong when the Vikings got in the red zone. "I don't think we handled it our best down there."

That one-for-six performance was a significant drop-off from how efficient the team has been in the red zone this season. Heading into the game, the Vikings were 10-for-15 in the red zone. That 66% conversion rate would be among the top 10 in the league.

"Like I said after the game, I thought we've done a pretty good job so far this year, up until last game. Hats off to that defense for making it tough," continued Wentz. "But yeah, it was nothing earthshattering. Just, you know, some simple execution could have been better, made a difference in the game and then the penalties that cost us."

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Coming into the Week 7 game at U.S. Bank Stadium, the Eagles had allowed teams to convert on 9-of-18 red zone attempts. The Vikings' opponent on Thursday night has allowed a similar 50% conversion rate this season through seven weeks. When asked about what the Vikings offense needs to turn things around against the Chargers, star receiver Justin Jefferson said, "Just a little bit of confidence."

"We feel like we're making plays out there and we're dropping the ball. Normally, we're good in the red zone, especially this year. We just got to get back to that," continued Jefferson. "You know, just continue to do the things that work. Continue to feed the guys in space and let us go to work. It's definitely been working. We have plays and the guys out there to make everything float. We just got to do a little bit more and execute our plays throughout the full game."

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Looking back on the loss, Jefferson didn't appear overly concerned about the offensive performance, noting that it was "good to see us moving the ball the way we were" against what he called a "great defense."

"It's just all about finishing our drives and doing what we've always been doing this whole entire season," said Jefferson.

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