Vikings Struggles Continue In Win To Panthers

In a game it seemed like the Panthers were trying to lose the Vikings, in the final quarter were able to capitalize on Carolina’s poor coaching and time management. The Vikings and head coach Mike Zimmer took the field without All-Pro wide receiver Adam Thielen due to Covid protocols putting all the pressure on Kirk Cousins, Dalvin Cook, and rookie wide out Justin Jefferson and a shaky defense. Speedy tight end Irv Smith Jr. and reliable rookie guard Ezra Cleveland were also out with injury. Last week versus the Cowboys the offense was spectacular, but the defense couldn’t hold up their end of the deal. What I saw today was a team that seemed to be emotionally drained from last week’s performance and falling flat against another team that isn’t very good. Jefferson had a great game with 7 catches for 70 yards and 2 touchdowns. So he didn’t wilt in the spotlight. The difference was that even though they weren’t playing great offensively or defensively Matt Rhule, the Panthers head coach didn’t know enough about clock management to keep the ball out of Kirk Cousins hands so that he could lead the team to a game winning touchdown pass to Chad Beebe, the team’s 4th string wide receiver. To show how bad a loss this was by the Panthers: their offense was pretty successful on 1st and 2nd downs, they scored 2 defensive touchdowns on fumbles in about 10 seconds, Beebe fumbled a punt at the 10 yard line and luckily the defense held them to a field goal, and then Cousins, mainly throwing to Bisi Johnson and Chad Beebe drove the field for the winning touchdown. The Panthers did get back into field goal range to try to tie the game, but the big legged kicker Joey Slye pushed it wide left and the Vikings walked out of US Bank Stadium with the win. (You know how many times I had to rewrite parts of this article?)

Dalvin Cook got his ankle tweaked on his fumble that Jeremy Chin picked up and ran in for a score. Not only was it the Panthers second scoop-and-score, but BOTH were run in by Chin. Cook retuned, but they were protecting him by decreasing his carries. So to put things in perspective Kirk had to go win this game without Thielen, Cook, Smith Jr., Cleveland, with pressure in his face all day. He did it with help from Kyle Rudolph and a few Justin Jefferson catches and leaned heavily on Bisi Johnson and Chad Beebe. Pete Bercich said that he hoped Beebe would be the guy to catch the winning touchdown. The guy that was about to be the scapegoat due to the fumbled punt became the hero as Beebe caught a laser from Cousins in the middle of the end zone. So many doubt Kirk, and this was another example of how he gets more blame for the Vikings losses then he should. Some would say that the Panthers gave up that game with the poor coaching and time management, and that would be hard to argue. However, the Vikings showed how dangerous they can be even with their injuries and loss of players due to Covid.

The defense today was again not playing great. Aside from another spectacular interception by Eric Kendricks and some good coverage by rookie corner back Jeff Gladney along with a kick block by rookie DJ Wonnum they were less than spectacular. However, they held the Panthers to only 2 offensive touchdowns all game and were one bounce away on a tipped pass from a defensive interception for a touchdown. That side of the ball has struggled the most this year due to injuries. The young players that have stepped in have been showing improvement and are flashing at times to show that depth on the team should be good for a few years or that potential starters are already on the team. Wonnum, who is in the running for defensive rookie of the year may be the starter across from Danielle Hunter next year. Are the Vikings a strong playoff team with Super Bowl aspirations? No, they don’t have enough talent to win it all. Give them the credit they deserve today, though as they took what was given to them and came out on top. Ugly or not a “W” is a “W”.