The Chargers are 5-3 after romping past the Vikings with a 37-10 win on Thursday night.

Here are five takeaways from Week 8.

1. A massive response

That's how you respond.

The Chargers got off the mat and delivered their most complete game of the season in primetime, dominating from start to finish in a double-digit win over Minnesota.

"All the wins are big," Khalil Mack said. "But trying to bounce back from that Sunday loss, this is huge.

"We kind of talked about it. But it was time to put the action to it," Mack added.

Tuli Tuipulotu added: "After a loss like last week, we were happy to have a Thursday [game]. We didn't have to wait too long to have another game. We took advantage, we had fun."

The biggest takeaway from a lopsided win?

The Bolts asserted their will up front on both sides of the ball, a formula that you know Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh and his staff appreciated.

The Chargers offense ran for a season-high 207 yards, including four runs of 18 or more yards, as part of a 419-yard output. On the flip side, a Chargers defense that had been leaky against the run stuffed the Vikings to just 34 yards on 11 carries.

The Bolts also produced 29 first downs to only a dozen for the Vikings. And the Bolts possessed the ball for 39-plus minutes.

"Very pleased with the physicality of the team ... [especially] on a short week," Harbaugh said.

The Chargers rolled early against the Vikings, racing out to a 14-0 lead and then a 21-3 halftime advantage. The Bolts continued to pour it on the second half but outscoring Minnesota by a 16-7 margin that felt more lopsided than that.

"It was a big win for us," Justin Herbert said. "A big opportunity for us to go correct some of our mistakes and I felt all three phases did that. It's just good to see a Charger win today."

Now, the Bolts enter a mini bye week at 5-3 and are firmly in the AFC playoff picture at the 2025 season nears the halfway point.

The Chargers showed something Thursday night, both to themselves and perhaps to doubters outside the building.

When the Bolts are on, just as they were in primetime, Harbaugh's squad can compete with anyone.

"We only felt like we were one play away or a few mistakes away," Zion Johnson said. "We finally put a game together we didn't shoot ourselves in the foot. We got the win we needed."

Ladd McConkey added: "The team responded well. It's huge to get rolling like this into the second half of the season."

Harbaugh said postgame that he's giving the Bolts four days off before they will get back to work Tuesday ahead of a Week 9 road game in Tennessee.

After cruising to a win Thursday night, the Vikings certainly earned it.

"Love that drive that our team has," Harbaugh said. "So really happy, really pleased with the way the team responded, the way they played, and it was together when it needed to be.

"That was something we keep building on. It's not perfect yet but keep chipping away at it," Harbaugh added. "But really thought our team did a great job tonight."

2. Herbert, Alt lead the offense

Justin Herbert loves playing the Vikings.

Minnesota dialed up the blitz once again Thursday night — especially in the first half — just as the Vikings did back in Week 3 of the 2023 season.

The Chargers all-world quarterback carved up the unit once again, throwing for 227 yards to go along with another three-touchdown outing, his second straight against Minnesota.

Herbert's mobility also came into play Thursday night as he rushed for 62 yards, the fifth-highest mark of his career.

"Just going out and scrambling and doing whatever we can to convert those third downs I think is most important," Herbert said. "And the offensive line giving me enough time to get the ball off.

"Then if a lane opens up, use my feet and go get the first down," Herbert added.

Johnson said: "He's really versatile and can thrive in any environment and against any defense. We know that so that makes our job easier."

When the Vikings blitzed Herbert in Week 8, he completed 13 of 15 passes for 162 yards and two scores for a passer rating of 123.5.

"He was really doing a tremendous job seeing the field, which he always does," Harbaugh said. "I go back and watch these tapes and it's so rare that he doesn't see it or read it or know the exact coverage and where to go with the ball.

"Then, when it's all covered, he did another great job tonight running and picking up first downs with his athleticism," Harbaugh added. "It's just another stellar performance by Justin Herbert."

Herbert added: "I thought the offensive line did a great job. We had a great protection plan. We were prepared for a lot of the blitzes that they were going to bring."

Of course, the return of left tackle Joe Alt gave the offensive line a 6-foot-8 boost that unit desperately needed.

Alt sustained an ankle injury in Week 3 and had missed the past three games.

Alt's teammates raved about how much his return positively impacted the Bolts.

"It was awesome. We've definitely missed him," Herbert said. "It's tough to replace a guy like that but I think the tackles that we've had the past few weeks have done an incredible job stepping up.

"Just good to see Joe back out there," Herbert added. "Hopefully everything's good and happy to have him back."

McConkey added: "He's a captain of this team for a reason and it was huge to have him back out there. Just seeing him in the huddle, it was great to see him. He's a heck of a player. Lockdown [tackle]."

Mack said: "I don't think anybody on that side touched [Herbert] all night. He's a warrior, man. He's a special player. He's young, but he's tough and he's a dog."

3. Plenty of pressure on Wentz

Mack was fired up Monday afternoon when he spoke to media members ahead of Week 8.

Mack, who returned in Week 7 from an elbow injury, only played 12 snaps Sunday but said he was ready for more in primetime.

"From top to bottom, they trust me to go out there and play dominant football," Mack said Thursday night.

Mack had a sack against Carson Wentz, one of five times the Bolts got to the Vikings quarterback.

"We had a great plan," Mack said. "But, ultimately, it was a decision that we made as a group and as a defensive line.

"We knew what we wanted to do," Mack added. "Not talk about it but be about it and actually put some pressure on this guy."

Justin Eboigbe led the Chargers with a pair of sacks while Tuipulotu and Odafe Oweh each had a sack, too.

Tuipulotu said Mack's words and actions led the way both the past few days and on the field Thursday night.

"We got after the quarterback. I think we did a good job getting after the quarterback," Tuipulotu said. "That's a shoutout to K-Mack's leadership, he led us out there.

"We talked a lot throughout the couple of days that we had and we had a good third-down gameplan and we went out there and executed," Tuipulotu said.

As mentioned above, the Chargers run defense showed up and showed out against the Vikings. A big lead obviously flipped the game script

And they did it without safety Derwin James, Jr., who sustained an ankle injury early in the first quarter.

But it was Mack and others who rose up after a tough loss and produced one of the best defensive efforts of the year.

"The only way you can get that taste out your mouth is settle in and get back to work, get back to the fundamentals, into what made us," Eboigbe said. "Just the infectiousness, communication, block destruction, effort, angles.

"We feel like we had to challenge ourselves, everybody had to step up and I feel like we responded," Eboigbe added.

4. Vidal excels again

Kimani Vidal made an interesting point after Thursday's game.

"I feel like teams don't expect us to run the ball because we're out our top two backs. Top three, actually," Vidal said.

Perhaps opposing defenses should start paying attention.

The Chargers are obviously down first-round rookie Omarion Hampton, who is on Injured Reserve with an ankle injury. Najee Harris is out for the season with an Achilles injury. And Hassan Haskins, the third back, missed Thursday's game with a hamstring issue.

No worries for Vidal, who rushed for 117 yards and his first NFL rushing touchdown against the Vikings.

"We're really lucky to have him," Herbert said of Vidal. "To lose [three] backs like that, that are as good as they get, it's tough to replace them.

"I think Kimani's done such a good job of stepping up and making plays. The past couple of weeks he's done an awesome job, whether it's catching or running out of the back field," Herbert added. "He is a true leader, great teammate on this team and glad to have him."

Vidal's 117-yard outing comes after his 124-yard performance in Miami in Week 6.

The 5-foot-8, 215-pound back has shown some juice, too, as he broke multiple tackles on his touchdown run and invited contact against Vikings defenders.

"I feel good," Vidal said. "Beginning of the season, I was fresh so my body felt good. We had a great plan and the O-line did great."

With the 2025 trade deadline looming on November 4, Vidal has now put together a pair of 100-yard performances in the past three games.

That means he could potentially be an option to pair with Hampton once the rookie returns from IR.

"Guys getting their opportunity, you know? They're getting their opportunity and they're capitalizing and making the most of it," Harbaugh said.

Perhaps none more than Vidal.

5. Secondary limits Vikings WRs

The Bolts knew the challenge that waited them Thursday night with Minnesota's three-headed wide receiver group of Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and Adam Thielen.

It turned out to be a quiet night for that group.

Sure, Jefferson had seven catches for 74 yards, but it seemed as if he was never really a threat when the Vikings offense was on the field.

And while Addison caught a touchdown, he was limited to 26 yards on three receptions. Thielen had zero catches on a pair of targets.

Kudos to Chargers second-year cornerback Cam Hart, who shadowed Jefferson for most of the night and had a team-high three passes defensed.

"We played two great receivers in Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison," Hart said. "That was the emphasis all week, don't let their playmakers hurt us.

"That's something I take pride in if there is a guy on their offense that we know we have to stop, make sure we handle our business versus them," Hart added. "Then be 100 percent on the things, be 100 percent on running to the ball, be 100 percent on your effort, be 100 percent on your discipline and eyes. It leads to great things."

It led an all-around convincing performance from a Bolts defense that, as Chargers Defensive Coordinator Jesse Minter said earlier this week, was looking to "reclaim our identity."

The Chargers allowed a season-low 164 yards Thursday night, and only 135 when Wentz was in at quarterback.

"It was special, man. But it's a testament to, you know, all 11 guys working hard together," Mack said. "Make plays and dominate the football game."