Minnesota Vikings: Studs and duds from thrilling win over Panthers
Minnesota Vikings studs and duds from a thrilling win over the Panthers.
The Minnesota Vikings came into Week 12 of the regular season schedule looking to get back on track and back into the playoff picture in the NFC. Minnesota remained at home to host a few familiar faces featured on an AFC squad at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
In the game on Sunday afternoon, the Vikings hosted former quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and the Carolina Panthers for a cross-conference matchup in Minnesota.
By the end of the contest, Minnesota ended up avoiding falling at home to steal the game late behind an impressive performance drive in the final minutes to pull out a 28-27 win.
To open the game, the Vikings jumped out to a lead in the matchup, scoring seven points early in the first quarter to carry a 7-0 advantage going into the second quarter. The Panthers answered with a touchdown of their own in the second quarter, but Minnesota answered with a field goal right before halftime to carry a 10-7 lead going into the break.
In the second half, Carolina opened things up with a few fumble recoveries for touchdowns, scoring 14 unanswered points in the third quarter alone. In the fourth quarter, Minnesota battled back and put together a solid drive in the final few minutes to take a one-point lead with under a minute to go.
With the win, the Vikings improved to 5-6 overall on the year and are right in the heart of the playoff picture in the NFC. In the loss, the Panthers drop to 4-8 overall on the year and have started to move even farther out of the AFC playoff picture.
Minnesota will return to the field in Week 13 when it remains at home to host the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis. Carolina will head into a bye in Week 13 before it gets back to action in Week 14 against the Denver Broncos in Carolina.
With the contest between the Panthers and Vikings now over with, let’s take a look back some studs and duds from Minnesota in the game.