The Los Angeles Chargers walloped the Minnesota Vikings 37-10 on Thursday Night Football. It was a rough night for Vikings quarterback Carson Wentz, who put together a 67.5 passer rating and took five sacks while clearly being in pain with a left shoulder injury.
In the fourth quarter, Wentz’s frustration — and pain — boiled over, and the Prime Video broadcast showed him throwing his helmet before looking dejected on the sideline in the final minutes of a blowout.
Prime Video color commentator Kirk Herbstreit wasn’t a fan of the emotion that Wentz displayed.
Kirk Herbstreit on Carson Wentz: “When you’re the captain of the ship, you’re the quarterback, you gotta try to hold some of that emotion in. And I know he’s frustrated, and he’s hurt, but it’s Week 7. There’s a long way to go…” #NFL #TNF pic.twitter.com/rPr0GshjJm
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 24, 2025
“It’s been obviously a rough night, and he hasn’t had a lot of help,” Herbstreit began. “But, to me, when you’re the captain of the ship, you’re the quarterback, you gotta try to hold some of that emotion in. And I know he’s frustrated.”
“And he’s hurt,” Prime Video play-by-play announcer Al Michaels interjected.
“And he’s hurt,” Herbstreit acknowledged. “But it’s Week 7. There’s a long way to go.”
“I think some of that is just raw emotion,” Herbstreit continued. “If (Minnesota Vikings wide receiver) Justin Jefferson does that, it’s probably on SportsCenter, it’s everywhere on social media. ‘What’s wrong with this guy?’ A quarterback does that- to me, it’s worse. Because, like I said, you’re the guy. You’re the leader. You’re the alpha.”
That’s some tough criticism for a quarterback who took a beating all night — behind an offensive line down its starting offensive tackles — and was questionable to even start due to a shoulder injury that only became more problematic as the game went on.
Update (Monday, Oct. 27): Carson Wentz is set for season-ending surgery on his left shoulder, after he “suffered a dislocation that tore his labrum and fractured the socket” during the Minnesota Vikings’ game against the Cleveland Browns on Oct. 5 in London, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. He played 2.5 more games through the injury. So, he was understandably in severe pain during the Vikings’ game against the Chargers.
Details on Carson Wentz: In the first half of the London game, Wentz suffered a dislocation that tore his labrum and fractured the socket, per The Insiders.
He gutted out 2.5 more games for the #Vikings with a big stabilizing brace, while JJ McCarthy (high-ankle) recovered. https://t.co/JseMqJ7fmC
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 27, 2025
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.