LA Chargers vs Minnesota Vikings Prediction, Odds, Best Bets NFL Week 3

• Two winless teams will be desperate for a W on Sunday when the LA Chargers visit the Minnesota Vikings
• Running back Austin Ekeler is out for the Chargers, while edge rusher Joey Bosa is questionable
• See the latest Chargers vs Vikings odds, picks, and predictions

Two teams already in desperation mode meet in Week 3 as the Los Angeles Chargers (0-2, 0-1 away, 0-2 ATS) visit the Minnesota Vikings (0-2, 0-1 home, 0-1-1 ATS) at US Bank Stadium at 1:00 pm ET on Sunday.

The Chargers are already suffering from significant injuries on both sides of the ball after two weeks, but oddsmakers are still labeling this a veritable toss-up.

Chargers vs Vikings Odds

The LAC vs MIN odds currently situate the Vikings as slight -115 home favorites with the Chargers coming back at -105. That’s flipped from the opening Week 3 odds which established LA as slight -112 road chalk. The game total has been bet up a full 2.5 points, which is massive movement for an NFL game. It opened at 51.5 and is now at 54 even.

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Both teams have seen their NFL win totals drop a full game. The Chargers opened at 9.5 and are now sitting at 8.5. The Vikings opened at 8.5 and are now at 7.5

Chargers Dealing with Key Injuries Heading into Week 3

Despite only having two games under their belt, the Chargers are already dealing with key injuries on both offense and defense. On the offensive side, do-everything back Austin Ekeler is out with an ankle injury. After leading the team with 116 rushing yards (plus another 47 receiving yards) in Week 1’s razor-tight loss to Miami (36-34), he missed LAC’s Week 2 loss to Tennessee (27-24) and then was unable to practice Wednesday through Friday.

Here's the play where .@chargers RB Austin Ekeler appeared to injure his right ankle

His chances of playing in Week 2: https://t.co/kqHSC9Uk7J#NFL #FantasyFootball pic.twitter.com/BHjMZSs8N5

— Sports Injury Central (@SICscore) September 13, 2023

The Chargers only managed 61 rushing yards against the Titans with Josh Kelly getting the bulk of the carries.

One of the main positives coming out of LAC’s Week 2 loss was the performance of the pass rush. After failing to register a sack against Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins in Week 1 – despite Tua throwing 45 passes – LAC’s front seven registered five against Ryan Tannehill and the Titans, even though Tannehill only had 24 pass attempts on the day.

On defense, linebacker Eric Kendricks will also miss his second straight game. The 31-year-old led the Vikings in tackles last season before signing with LA as a free agent.  Making matters worse, Joey Bosa – who had two of the team’s five sacks last week – is questionable with a hamstring injury. Bosa was limited at Wednesday’s practice, was a DNP on Thursday, and then was back to limited on Friday.

Vikings Comparatively Healthy and Rested

The only key absence for the Vikings this Sunday is likely to be edge rusher Marcus Davenport. Though he’s just 27 years old and one year removed from a nine-sack season, injuries are clearly catching up with the former New Orleans Saint. He only registered half a sack and 29 tackles in 15 games last year, and has only managed to play four snaps this season due to an ankle injury.

Center Garrett Bradbury, who missed Week 2’s loss to the Eagles (34-28), is listed as questionable but clearly trending towards playing after practicing both Thursday and Friday.

Herbert, Cousins Not the Issue

Both teams’ quarterbacks have played decently over the first two weeks, despite neither winning a game.

Minnesota’s Kirk Cousins is 64 of 88 (72.7 completion percentage) for an eye-popping 708 yards through two games with six TD passes and just one interception. His favorite target, Justin Jefferson, leads the league in receiving yards with 309. Jefferson edged Tyreek Hill for most receiving yards in the NFL last season with 1,809 and has put up at least 1,400 during each of his first three years in the league. The NFL player props for Week 3 list his over/under receiving yards at a massive 102.5.

#Vikings WR Justin Jefferson could become the first player in NFL history to start a season with three consecutive games of 150+ receiving yards when the Vikings play the Chargers on Sunday.

Jefferson had 150 yards in Week 1 and 159 yards in Week 2. pic.twitter.com/xwluFeYAW7

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 22, 2023

LA’s Justin Herbert is 50-74 (67.6 completion percentage) for 534 yards with three touchdowns and no picks. His top-two receivers are both putting up decent numbers so far: Keenan Allen has racked up 187 yards and two TDs on 14 catches through two games while Mike Williams has 128 yards on 12 receptions.

Both quarterbacks have seen their NFL MVP odds fade in the early going due to the winless records. Herbert, who started the year among the top-five favorites at +950, is nearly twice as long now at +1750. Cousins hasn’t fallen as significantly, but also started out with much longer odds; the Viking signal caller was sitting at +5000 prior to Week 1 and is +5500 heading into Week 3.

Chargers vs Vikings Prediction

Healthier and at home, the Vikings are deserving favorites in the Week 3 NFL odds. Minnesota is 13-4 at US Bank Stadium over the past two seasons and the atmosphere in the stadium should reflect the desperation of their 0-2 situation.

Minnesota’s play over the first two weeks also grades out significantly better than the Chargers, according to both Pro Football Focus and Aaron Schatz’s DVOA rankings. In the latter, Minnesota is 16th in the NFL while the Chargers are 22nd. In the former, Minnesota is 17th and LAC is again 22nd.

Chargers vs Vikings Pick: Vikings moneyline (-115)