Chargers vs Vikings Odds: This Game Of Winless Teams Is Too Close to Call
Chargers Defense Stinking it Up! Worst in NFL Through First Two weeks...
Minnesota Looks to Cover Against Chargers for Sixth Consecutive Contest
The Los Angeles Chargers and the Minnesota Vikings go after their first win of the 2023 NFL season. The Chargers vs Vikings odds have the game currently listed as a Pick’em.
The Chargers are last in the NFL in total defense and that has led to losses to the Miami Dolphins and Tennessee Titans.
Minnesota has lost to Tampa Bay and Philadelphia by a total of nine points.
When looking at the NFL standings, both the Chargers and Vikings are 0-2 against the NFL odds this season.
Minnesota has covered in each of the last five meetings against the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Chargers are priced at +2800 in the NFL odds to win the Super Bowl and that ranks seventh among AFC teams. Minnesota (+7000) is 10th among NFC teams in the championship odds.
Chargers vs Vikings 
Day/Time:
Location: U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, MN
Streaming: FOX
Line: Pick’em
Total: 54
Time to Get Defensive
It’s never a good sign for a team when the top two tacklers are defensive backs. That is the case with the Chargers with safeties Alohi Gilman and Derwin James each having 17 tackles in the first two games. That could play a role in the Chargers vs Vikings odds.
The offense for the Chargers, even with an injury to star running back Austin Ekeler, has done enough for the Chargers to be 2-0 and it will be a test for the Chargers to get off the field on third down and not having to win offensive shootouts to get into the win column.
Both of the Chargers’ first two games finished over the total.
The total has gone over in four of the last five games played by the Chargers.
Some Balance Would Be a Nice Start
In the first two games of the season, the Minnesota Vikings have thrown the ball 88 times and run the ball on only 26 occasions as Minnesota is last in the NFL in rushing yards. It is tough to win in the NFL with that sort of one-dimensional offense.
With Dalvin Cook now with the New York Jets, Alexander Mattison is the top running option. However, the offense runs through star receiver Justin Jefferson as he has 20 catches on 25 targets for an NFL-leading 309 yards. He will play a huge part in the Chargers vs Vikings odds.
Three of the next four games come against winless teams so there is no time like the present for the Vikings to start to figure things out.
Minnesota is 1-6-1 against the spread in its last eight games.
Last Meeting
The Vikings topped the Chargers 27-20 on Nov. 14, 2021, as 3.5-point underdogs on the road with the game finishing under the 53.5-point total as Kirk Cousins threw for 294 yards with a pair of touchdowns.
It was the second straight time that Minnesota won outright and against the spread on the road in the series.
The last time the teams played in Minnesota, the Vikings won 31-14 as a two-point favorite on Sept. 27, 2015. The game finished just under the total of 45.5.
Chargers vs Vikings Injury Update
The biggest issue is with Ekeler as he is dealing with an ankle injury that caused him to miss the last game and it is uncertain when he will return to action for the Chargers leaving Los Angeles without one of the best and most versatile running backs in the NFL. Linebackers Daiyan Henley, Mike Rumph and Eric Kendricks are questionable.
For the Vikings, center Garrett Bradbury and safety Josh Metellus are questionable. Offensive lineman Olisaemeka Udoh is on injured reserve with a quadriceps injury.
Chargers vs Vikings Betting Preview
The 54-point total is the highest among games between the Chargers and Vikings. Keep that in mind, especially with eight of the last 10 games for the Vikings going over the total. That total is the highest among the Week 3 NFL games.
Minnesota was 12-1 against the spread as a favorite in 2022 with the Chargers posting a 9-3 record ATS as the favorite. Keep that in mind in the event that the line moves between now and the opening kickoff.
The total has gone over in five of the last six home games for the Vikings.
When it comes to NFL scores, each of Minnesota’s last four games have been decided by three points or less.
The Vikings have not scored in the first quarter in the first two games and that has left Minnesota needing to play from behind.
Minnesota led the NFL with 12 games going over the total during the 2022 season while just seven of the games played by the Chargers went over the total.
The Chargers were 7-3 against the spread as the road team in 2022 with the Vikings covering in just four of their 10 home contests last season.
The Chargers are just 2-5 in their last seven road games. However, they have covered in nine of the last 13 matchups versus NFC teams. Minnesota has won its last seven games against AFC teams.
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