Minnesota Vikings QB Kirk Cousins in warm-ups prior to game against the LA Chargers, 11/14/21. Reuters photo.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (Reuters) — Kirk Cousins threw for 294 yards and two touchdowns Sunday while Dalvin Cook rushed for 94 yards and the game-clinching first down in the Minnesota Vikings’ 27-20 win over the Los Angeles Chargers in Inglewood, Calif.
Cousins completed 25 of 37 passes for Minnesota (4-5), with Justin Jefferson catching nine passes for 143 yards. Cook scored on a 1-yard run with 9:29 left in the game, giving the Vikings a 27-17 lead.
Los Angeles drew within a possession when Dustin Hopkins converted a 24-yard field goal with 4:36 remaining, but Minnesota kept the ball for the game’s remainder. Cook powered for 4 yards on fourth-and-2 just before the two-minute warning to seal the outcome.
Justin Herbert completed 20 of 34 passes for 195 yards and a touchdown, with an interception, for the Chargers (5-4), who missed a chance to take first place in the AFC West for at least a few hours. Kansas City and Las Vegas were settling that issue later Sunday.
The Vikings carved out a 381-253 advantage in total yards and controlled the ball for more than 36 minutes.
Minnesota initiated scoring 42 seconds into the second quarter when Greg Joseph connected on a 46-yard field goal. Hopkins evened the score less than three minutes later with his own 46-yarder.
Joseph hit from 30 with 6:42 left in the half to make it 6-3 Vikings. They followed with the game’s first touchdown with 3:26 remaining when Cousins and Tyler Conklin hooked up from 5 yards out.
But the Chargers finally found the end zone 90 seconds before halftime when Larry Rountree leaped over the top of the line for a 1-yard touchdown that capped a 75-yard drive. That pulled Los Angeles within 13-10 at intermission.
Austin Ekeler’s 2-yard reception from Herbert gave the Chargers their first lead at 17-13 with 10:40 left in the third quarter, but Minnesota took the lead for good on Cousins’ 4th-and-goal throw to a diving Conklin for a 1-yard touchdown at the 2:33 mark.
–Field Level Media
