Week 8 of the NFL season kicks off with Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime. The Minnesota Vikings, once again led by Carson Wentz, head to So-Fi Stadium in Los Angeles to take on Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers. Kickoff is set for 8:15 PM ET. Let’s take a look, preview, and make Thursday Night Football picks for the Vikings at the Chargers.
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings enter this game 3-3 as they come off a devastating loss to the Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles. It’s been an up-and-down season for the team as Carson Wentz has been filling in for their injured quarterback, JJ McCarthy. McCarthy is set to miss this game as he is still recovering from his ankle injury. Linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel will miss yet again with his neck injury that has held him out multiple weeks.
Left tackle Christian Darisaw was added to the injury report on Wednesday. He didn’t practice with a knee injury and is now questionable for Thursday night. Aaron Jones Sr’s 21-day window to return from IR was activated, but it’s looking unlikely he’ll play this week.
Los Angeles Chargers
Los Angeles enters the week at 4-3, not having had their bye yet. They are coming off a game where the Indianapolis Colts established dominance early and often against them. LA railed late on the back of a great Justin Herbert performance to keep the score respectable, but it was never close. It’s been a tough stretch after starting 3-0 with that season-opening upset of the Chiefs in Brazil. They lost to the Giants and got smoked by the Commanders. Barely beat a bad Dolphins team, and the Colts’ performance last week.
They’ve been ravaged by injuries in 2025. Omarion Hampton and Najee Harris are, of course, both on the shelf, and now Hassan Haskins has been marked out for Thursday Night. Their defense is riddled with questionable players. Their offensive line is the same. Joe Alt said he plans to return, but that is to be seen as he remains questionable. Trey Pipkins is looking like he may miss another game. Austin Deculus and Jamaree Salyer also remain questionable on the offensive line.
Thursday Night Football Picks, Preview, and Best Bets: Minnesota Vikings at Los Angeles Chargers
Jordan Addison Over 55.5 Receiving Yards
Jordan Addison has been electric in his three games this season. He opened the year with the three-game suspension, but since returning, he’s looked every bit the part of the stud wide receiver we’ve come to know. All three games were with Carson Wentz throwing him the ball, so that rapport seems to be there. Against the Steelers, Addison went for 114 yards. Cleveland did hold him to 41 with their stifling defense, but he backed it up last week against the Philadelphia Eagles. Addison has nine catches for 128 yards in that game. I’ll look for them to find that connection once again this week.
Oronde Gadsden II Over 4.5 Receptions (+115)
Oronde Gadsden II burst onto the scene last week with seven catches on nine targets. He racked up 164 yards in the game, an average of 23.4 yards per catch. Including a long of 53 yards, he also scored a touchdown. But it wasn’t a one-and-done pop-up appearance for the rookie tight end. They began working him in against Denver a few weeks ago, where he was targeted seven times and caught five passes. He had a smaller role in the two losses to Washington and New York. But his big games came in the last two weeks against Miami and Indianapolis.
Against the Dolphins, Gadsden had eight targets, catching seven passes for 68 yards. Then, of course, last week was the massive blow-up game. We’re not likely to see a performance like that on Thursday night, but all we need for this bet is five catches. In the last five games, he’s done that three times. His increasing targets and performances over the last two weeks, and now losing another running back. This should have Herbert turning to his young tight end plenty.
Minnesota Vikings +3.5 (-115)
This is a tough game to pick with two teams that are both good, with great coaching. But have struggled mostly due to injury as of late. We’ve been spoiled lately with great Thursday Night Football games, and this feels like the next one up. I can make a good case for either team in this one, and that’s where you have to side with an underdog that’s catching more than a field goal, in my opinion.
The Chargers rarely have a home-field advantage, and that’s likely the case again this week. Carson Wentz has had his ups and downs, but he’s also kept this team in games. The Chargers are still a little more beat up than I’d like, especially on the offensive line. Dogs have been hot on Thursday night, let’s keep that trend going!
