CHARLOTTE, N.C. - In a battle of winless teams entering the day, the Minnesota Vikings came out on top, dropping the Carolina Panthers, 21-13.
Minnesota drove the ball right down the field, totaling 34 yards on the ground. Sam Franklin Jr. was flagged for defensive pass interference on a severely underthrown ball which gifted the Vikings 45 yards. Four plays later, Franklin shut the drive down by intercepting Kirk Cousins' pass at the pylon returning it for a 99-yard touchdown. That trumps Julius Peppers' 94-yard interception return in 2004 vs. Denver as the longest return in franchise history.
Panthers rookie quarterback Bryce Young nearly threw a pick-six himself, or at the very least an interception that would have taken points off the board for Carolina. D.J. Wonnum slipped through the convoy of o-linemen sprinting out to shield a screen and dropped the pick. Eddy Pineiro chipped in a field goal from 26 yards out to give the Panthers a 10-0 lead.
With a sputtering offense, Minnesota head coach Kevin O'Connell rolled the dice by going for a 4th & 2 from his own 44 in an attempt to not let the game slide away early. Cousins hit Justin Jefferson for the first down along the sideline to keep the drive alive. The two connected once again on a 4-yard touchdown, notching their first points of the game.
Cousins found his rhythm for just a second, getting the Vikings on the move, and threatening to take the lead right before the half. A big hit by Yetur Gross-Matos affected a pass intended for Jordan Addison, allowing Kamu Grugier-Hill to pull down the interception and pivot the momentum.
Carolina mishandled the last 46 seconds of the half by not calling one of their two timeouts which wasted about 10-12 seconds of game time. That decision forced Carolina into a 56-yard field goal attempt. Pineiro nailed the kick, marking a new career long.
Late in the third quarter, the Panthers were on the cusp of reaching the red zone but the drive came to a screeching halt as Harrison Smith forced a Bryce Young fumble which would be returned 51 yards by Wonnum for a touchdown to give Minnesota its first lead of the afternoon. Six plays later, Jefferson came down with his second touchdown reception of the day, this time on a 30-yard jump ball, prompted by Shy Tuttle jumping and giving Minnesota a free shot at the end zone.
Bryce Young led the Panthers on a long drive toward the end of the fourth quarter, but once the offense reached the red zone they stalled out. Young was sacked on 2nd down and with three timeouts and under two minutes to go, the Panthers showed little urgency once again and elected to not use a timeout until they had to before getting flagged for a delay of game. Young's pass was incomplete on 3rd down which was followed up by a sack on 4th.
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