INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — With his left shoulder in a brace and his right arm seemingly out of magic, Minnesota Vikings quarterback Carson Wentz gave what he had Thursday night.
In what could be the veteran’s last start before J.J. McCarthy returns from a high ankle sprain, Wentz was unable to get the Vikings into the end zone until late in the third quarter of a 37-10 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.
“It’s still early in the season, but we know where we’re at,” Wentz said after the Vikings dropped to 3-4. “We have an impressive division and we’re kind of in the foxhole, so to speak, with that. But you can’t look at that. You have divisional opponents coming up here and those will be some huge games to get us back on track in our division. Obviously, nobody wants to be 3-4, but there is a lot of football left.”
Wentz completed 15 of 27 passes for 144 yards, with a touchdown and an interception, all while aggravating his existing shoulder injury on multiple occasions, including on a tipped pass with 4:12 remaining in the second quarter.
“As long as the medical team informs me, which they did a couple of times, that he’s no worse than what he came in the game with, you have to give the guy that wants to toe the line, you have to give him the chance to do that,” Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said.
It was far from a first half to remember, with Wentz completing 10 of 16 passes for 99 yards while getting sacked three times.
Minnesota didn’t gain more than 35 yards on any of its five first-half possessions and scored only when Will Reichard made a 54-yard field goal in the second quarter. Reichard missed a 53-yard attempt on the final play before halftime.
Wentz’s rough night only got worse when he overthrew Justin Jefferson early in the fourth quarter and the Chargers’ RJ Mickens came away with the interception. With 6:19 remaining, the Vikings turned the ball over on downs after Wentz was hit from behind by the Chargers’ Troy Dye, and the veteran QB sprinted off the field holding his left arm against his body.
“I did think, on that high throw when Justin was open on the cross, that maybe a healthy Carson Wentz hits that throw,” O’Connell said. “That’s just kind of how the night was.”
Rookie Max Brosmer, making his third career appearance, replaced Wentz with 1:56 remaining and completed 3 of 4 passes for 13 yards.
In a span of five days, Wentz lost against his original team and fell at what was his home stadium during the 2023 season. The Vikings lost 28-22 to the visiting Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, then never were competitive Thursday in the venue Wentz called home when he was a backup for the Los Angeles Rams.
With his fifth team in five seasons, Wentz’s five starts are more than he had with the Rams and Kansas City Chiefs combined over the past two years.
“I’m just trying to do what I can for this team,” Wentz said. “I feel confident, even with the pain, that I can contribute, make plays and spread the ball around. I though we did it OK at times but left plenty of things out there. I thought maybe we had a chance to kind of put something together and I just missed it (on the interception). I have to be better there.”
He is 2-3 as Minnesota’s starter after taking over for McCarthy in Week 3. McCarthy went 1-1 to open the season.
O’Connell had said that if this week’s game was on Sunday, McCarthy might have been able to play. The No. 10 overall draft pick in 2024 could be ready to go when the Vikings visit the Detroit Lions on Nov. 2.
The Vikings long to see what they have in McCarthy after the Michigan product sat out last season with a knee injury as he was being lined up as Sam Darnold’s backup. Named the starter out of training camp this season, McCarthy’s next appearance will be just his third in two seasons.
“We worked out J.J. and he was close,” O’Connell said. “The medical staff kind of didn’t quite feel like he was there yet, but there was a lot of encouragement. … If J.J. is healthy, J.J. will play. That’s been the case since the injury. That’s our mindset and I believe that we are hopefully right around the corner from seeing him.”
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
By DOUG PADILLA
Associated Press
