Panthers Recap: Vikings 21- Panthers 13
It was a battle of winless teams, as the Carolina Panthers hosted the Minnesota Vikings at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was also a reunion of sorts, as (Panthers wide receiver) Adam Thielen would play against the team that he spent the first 10 seasons of his NFL career with. However, when all was said & done, it would be the Vikings who had a successful invasion of the Tar Heel State.
On the opening possession, the Vikings had solid runs from (running back) Alexader Mattison. A big play was called, as (quarterback) Kirk Cousins tried to complete a pass to (wide receiver) Jordan Addison, but (Panthers safety) Sam Franklin Jr. was called for a 45-yard pass interference penalty.
A Mattison run got the Vikings to Carolina’s 2-yard line, but the drive would stall there. Cousins thought he threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to (wide receirver) Justin Jefferson, but (tight end) Josh Oliver was called for holding. After a run by Mattison got the Vikings back to the 5-yard line, Cousins tried for a pass on 3rd down, but Franklin Jr. would redeem himself.
He intercepted the pass & ran it back 99 yards for a Panthers touchdown, then Eddy Piñeiro made the extra point. Minnesota’s next possession didn’t go much better, as they only went 7 yards on 3 plays & were forced to punt. For the first time in the first quarter, Carolina’s offense took the field. (Panthers quarterback) Bryce Young completed passes to Thielen, as well as let Thielen, (wide receiver) Laviska Shenault, and (running backs) Chubba Hubbard & Miles Sanders run during the remainder of the quarter. The Viking had 2 chances to stop the drive.
The first time, Hubbard ran for 6 yards on a 4th & 1 from Minnesota’s 47-yard line. The second time, Young threw an incomplete pass to (wide receiver) DJ Chark on a 3rd & goal from the 6-yard line, but (Vikings cornerback) Byron Murphy was called for holding. The Panthers couldn’t get past the 3-yard line on 2 runs from Sanders, then lost 5 yards, when (wide receiver) Terrace Marshall Jr. was called for a false start. On the final play of the quarter, Young threw an incomplete pass to Marshall Jr. on 3rd down.
When the second quarter began, Piñeiro made a 26-yard field goal to give the Panthers a 10-0 lead. The Vikings got on a strong possession with a mix of runs from (running back) Cam Akers and passes to Akers, Jefferson, & (tight end) TJ Hockenson. The Vikings nearly had another red zone turnover at Carolina’s 4-yard line. Cousins fumbled the ball on a 2nd down play, but was able to recover & get back to the line of scrimmage.
On the very next play, he completed a 4-yard touchdown pass to Jefferson, then (kicker) Greg Joseph made the extra point. After both teams traded punts, the Vikings tried to tie the game or take the lead before the end of the first half. Things got off to a bad start, when a 15-yard pass to Hockenson was negated by (center) Austin Schlottmann being an ineligible player downfield.
After a 4-yard run from Mattison, Cousins threw 3 straight passes to (wide receiver) KJ Osborn, Jefferson, & Hockenson to get the Vikings to Carolina’s 21-yard line. However, the drive ended there, as (Panthers linebacker) Kamu Grugier-Hill intercepted Cousins with less than 1 minute remaining. Young completed passes to Thielen & Marshall Jr. to get to Minnesota’s 38-yard line. Just before time expired, Piñeiro made a 56-yard field goal to give the Panthers a 13-7 lead at halftime.
In the third quarter, both teams traded punts to begin the second half. This time, the Panthers would avoid disaster once, but it would get them later in the drive. After Hubbard caught a 12-yard pass, he lost a yard on a run. Then, Marshall Jr. caught a pass, then fumbled the ball. Thankfully, he recovered it for a 13-yard gain. After passes to Theilen & Shenault got the Panthers to Minnesota’s 21-yard line, then their disaster struck.
A 13-yard pass to Shenault was negated, thanks to (offensive lineman) Ickey Ekwonu being an ineligible player downfield. (Running back) Miles Sanders would lose 2 yards on the next play, then the game-changing play happened. (Vikings safety) Harrison Smith sacked Young, causing him to fumble. (Vikings linebacker) DJ Wonnum recovered the ball & ran it 51 yards for a touchdown to give the Vikings the lead for the first time in the game. After Joseph’s 2nd extra point, the Panthers punted after going 3 and out, thanks an 11-yard sack on 3rd down by Wonnum.
The Vikings closed out the quarter in strong fashion. Starting at their 44-yard line, Akers ran into Panthers territory on a 7-yard run, then picked up a 1st down on a 10-yard run. Cousins threw a 9-yard pass to Akers, then forced (defensive lineman) Shy Tuttle to jump offside on 2nd down. Knowing that he had a free play, Cousins took a shot at the end zone & completed a 30-yard touchdown pass to Jefferson, as time expired. Joseph made his 3rd extra point to give the Vikings an 8-point lead.
In the fourth quarter, good runs from Hubbard & Sanders and catches by Marshall Jr. & Sanders got the Panthers to Minnesota’s 35-yard line. However a 9-yard sack by (Vikings linebacker) Marcus Davenport on 3rd down forced the Panthers to punt. The Panthers would come up huge on defense, as they forced the Vikings to punt, after going 3 and out. Sanders ran for 1 yard & caught a 5-yard pass to start the next drive for the Panthers.
Young earned a 1st down with a 4-yard run. Then, he completed 4 consecutive passes. A 6-yard pass to Marshall Jr. & an 18-yard pass to Chark for a 1st down. Then, a 4-yard pass to Thielen & a 14-yard pass to Marshall Jr. earned the Panthers a third 1st down in the possession. Hubbard ran 13 yards on 4 runs, including a 4-yard run on 4th & 1 around the 2-minute warning. It was 1st & goal from Minnesota’s 9-yard line.Young failed to complete a pass to (tight end) Hayden Hurst, then was sacked by Smith for the 2nd time, losing 9 yards.
After another incomplete pass on 3rd down, Smith sealed the game with his 3rd sack of the game. Mattison ran 3 times, forcing the Panthers to use their timeouts. With 2 seconds left & a 4th down play, Cousins just quickly ran and threw the ball away to end the game with a 21-13 Vikings victory.
For the Panthers, Young completed 25 out of 32 passes for 204 yards. Hubbard had 14 carries for 41 yards. Thielen had 7 ctaches for 76 yards. Franklin Jr. & Grugier-Hill had interceptions, with Farnklin Jr.’s setting a record for longest “pick 6” in Panthers history. (Cornerback) Jeremy Chinn & (linebacker) Yetur Gross-Matos had a sack. Next up, the Panthers will visit Detroit to play the Lions (who defeated the Green Bay Packers 34-20 in a Thursday night match in week 4). In a battle of winless teams, the Vikings successfully invade the Carolinas & conquered the Panthers.
