Vikings vs Chargers Free Pick, NFL Free Picks, NFL Predictions 10/23/25
- J.A. Cavalier
- 13 hours ago
- 4 min read
MINNESOTA @ LA CHARGERS (LAC -3.5, 44.5)
NFL ODDS, NFL PREDICTIONS, NFL PREVIEWS
VIKINGS @ CHARGERS 10/23/25
Even though J.J. McCarthy is almost ready to return, it won't be against his college head coach this week.
Tonight in Inglewood, California, Carson Wentz will start at quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings for the fifth consecutive game against the Los Angeles Chargers.
"J.J., the medical staff, and myself, we're all kind of encouraged with where he's at and the progress he's making, but he's just not there," declared Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell. "If this was a Sunday game, maybe it would be a little bit of a different story."
Wentz has had a mixed experience taking McCarthy's place due to a sprained ankle. Despite throwing for 1,072 yards, five touchdowns, and four interceptions, he has won two of his four starts and kept the Vikings (3-3) at .500 of the record he inherited.
In a 28–22 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles last week, Wentz completed a season-low 61.9% of his passes, had no touchdowns, and had two picks. He did, however, throw for 313 yards. Wentz denied considering the possibility that McCarthy would return as early as next week when questioned about it.
"The mindset is to go win this game, at the end of the day," Wentz stated. "I'm concentrating on the present. I don't have much time or energy to consider other options.
The Vikings will take on another prolific passer on Thursday after Jalen Hurts destroyed them for 326 yards and three touchdowns on Sunday. In Sunday's 38-24 road loss to the Indianapolis Colts, quarterback Justin Herbert of the Chargers recorded a career-high 420 yards of passing, three touchdowns, and two interceptions.
Oronde Gadsden II's breakthrough performance is largely responsible for those numbers. The rookie tight end accumulated 164 yards on seven catches on Sunday, more than he had in his first four NFL games combined, and had his first career touchdown catch.
Herbert now leads the league in passing yards (1,913) and is tied for sixth in passing touchdowns (13), despite being hit on an NFL-high 62 dropbacks.
However, despite his strong performance, Los Angeles lost for the third time in four games. The Chargers (4-3) are now tied for second place in the division with the Kansas City Chiefs (4-3), behind the Denver Broncos (5-2), following a 3-0 start that included sweeping their AFC West opponents.
The fact that Herbert will get his left tackle back this week could be good news for Los Angeles. Joe Alt was a limited participant in practice on Tuesday. He switched from right tackle to left when Rashawn Slater suffered a season-ending injury during training camp. Alt missed the last three games due to an ankle injury but is listed as questionable for tonight. Against a Vikings defense that is seventh in pass defense (184.0 yards per game) and gave up more than 200 passing yards for the first time last week, Alt's return would be very beneficial.
The only two Minnesota players who did not practice on Tuesday were offensive tackle Brian O'Neill (knee) and fullback C.J. Ham (hand). Running back Aaron Jones Sr. (hamstring) had a 21-day practice window to make a comeback, and McCarthy, running back Zavier Scott (wrist), and linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel (neck) were all limited. Wentz (left shoulder) participated fully.
Chargers linebacker Troy Dye (thumb), offensive lineman Jamaree Salyer (knee), defensive back Elijah Molden (thumb), offensive tackle Austin Deculus (ankle), and guard/tackle Trey Pipkins III (knee) were also limited on Tuesday in addition to Alt. Defensive lineman Jamaree Caldwell (illness) and running back Hassan Haskins (hamstring) did not practice.
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JUSTIN HERBERT OVER 0.5 INTERCEPTIONS
Herbert has been having some turnover issues lately. He has thrown 6 interceptions in 7 games this season. He’s thrown at least one pick in 4 of his last 5 games. Last season, he only threw interceptions in 4 of 17 games, though he did throw four in the final game of the season. The Vikings defense ranks No. 6 in terms of interception rate. That’s because Minnesota defensive coordinator Brian Flores likes to put a lot of pressure on the quarterback. Herbert had 55 pass attempts last week (2 INTs). Expect more of the same tonight as LA struggles to run the football. With that volume of pass attempts, Herbert is likely to throw at least one interception.