The Worksheet, a comprehensive fantasy football preview by Rich Hribar, breaks down everything you need to know about the Week 3 matchup between the Vikings and Chargers.
Find a breakdown of every Week 3 NFL game in our Worksheet Hub.
| LA Chargers | Rank | @ | Minnesota | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -1.0 | Spread | 1.0 | ||
| 27.5 | Implied Total | 26.5 | ||
| 29.0 | 6 | Points/Gm | 22.5 | 18 |
| 31.5 | 30 | Points All./Gm | 27.0 | 25 |
| 70.5 | 6 | Plays/Gm | 59.0 | 25 |
| 64.0 | 14 | Opp. Plays/Gm | 71.5 | 27 |
| 5.5 | 6 | Off. Yards/Play | 6.3 | 3 |
| 6.9 | 32 | Def. Yards/Play | 4.7 | 9 |
| 43.26% | 15 | Rush% | 22.03% | 32 |
| 56.74% | 18 | Pass% | 77.97% | 1 |
| 42.19% | 15 | Opp. Rush % | 56.64% | 32 |
| 57.81% | 18 | Opp. Pass % | 43.36% | 1 |
- 90.7% of the Minnesota yardage has come via passing, the highest rate in the league.
- The Chargers are allowing a league-high 9.0 yards per passing play.
- Since Brandon Staley joined the Chargers, Los Angeles is 27th in receptions allowed to gain 20 or more yards (118), last in receptions for 30 or more yards (55), and 29th in receptions to gain 40 or more yards (25).
- The Chargers have allowed a league-high 21 plays of 15 or more yards to opponents through two weeks.
- The Chargers have allowed 41.9 yards per opponent drive through two weeks, 30th in the NFL.
- The Chargers have averaged 37.5 yards per drive themselves on offense, fifth in the league.
- Los Angeles is allowing a league-high 9.0 yards per play on first down through two weeks.
- The Chargers are averaging 6.3 yards per play on early downs (fourth in the league) but just 2.1 yards per play on third downs (30th).
- Minnesota is averaging a league-high 9.6 yards per play on third downs.
- The Vikings are the only team in the league without a run of 10 or more yards through two weeks.
Trust = spike production for that player
Quarterback
Justin Herbert: Herbert has opened the season with QB4 (20.9 points) and QB10 (22.2 points) scoring weeks.
He is coming off 305 passing yards against Tennessee last week with a pair of touchdowns.
Without Austin Ekeler in the lineup, Herbert depth of target enthusiasts finally got what they were looking for from Herbert attacking downfield.
Herbert’s 10.8 air yards per pass attempt were the third-highest rate in his career.
Just 9.8% of his attempts were at or behind the line of scrimmage (the third-lowest rate of his career) while he targeted running backs fewer than 10% of the time for just the third time in his career.
If we get no Ekeler again this week, that opens the door for Herbert to keep pressing the ball down the field.
Brian Flores may have something to say about that as Minnesota has sold out so far this season to prevent downfield passing.
Minnesota has played zone coverage on a league-high 91.9% of opponent passing plays while playing a league-high rate of Cover-2 (35.5%) on those snaps.
Through two games, Minnesota has allowed just six completions on throws 10 yards or further downfield, although two of those are touchdowns.
The Vikings are still blitzing a ton (a league-high 49.3% rate) but are 23rd in pressure rate on blitzes (35.3%).
When opponents have zone-blitzed Herbert but not gotten home, Herbert is averaging 8.5 yards per pass attempt for his career with a 73.8% completion percentage.
My only pull back in preventing Herbert from an elite runout for fantasy would be if Flores invites the Chargers and Kellen Moore to run the ball like Miami did in Week 1. That said, in the most appealing competitive game with a high point total, Herbert is a strong QB1 option.
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