Vikings Win Off Panthers Missed Field Goal

First of all, I'd like to apologize for taking so long to write this article! Normally, I write them on Sunday or Monday, but with Halloween and all, it's been a busy week for me!

The game began with a 10 yard run by Percy Harvin, giving the Vikings a 7-0 lead. In the 2nd quarter, Cam Newton threw a 1 yard touchdown pass, making the game tied at 7-7. Later in the 2nd quarter, Cam Newton threw a 39 yard touchdown pass to Greg Olsen, giving the Panthers a 14-7 lead.

However, with just moments to spare, the Vikings answered back on a Christian Ponder 19 yard touchdown pass, tying the game 14-14 at halftime. In the 3rd quarter, the Panthers scored on a 22 yard touchdown pass, giving them a 21-14 lead. Later in the 3rd, the Vikings scored on an Adrian Peterson 9 yard touchdown, once again tying the game. Late in the 4th quarter, Ryan Longwell gave the Vikings a 3 point lead. With less than a minute however, the Panthers were driving down the field and it looked like they would win.

Stopped on 4th down, the Panthers set up to attempt an easy 31 yard field goal to tie the game and sent it into overtime, but the Vikings were lucky and the Panthers missed it, giving the Vikings a narrow 3 point win.

Christian Ponder played a good game, going 18/28 on pass attempts for 236 yards and 1 touchdown. It seemed that the Vikings didn't protect him well as he was often having to run (or get sacked) to escape pressure.

Adrian Peterson ran 21 carries for 86 yards and 1 touchdown. He really didn't get going until the end of the game, as despite playing against one of the worst run defenses in the league (Panthers), they shut him down in the first 3 quarters.

The Vikings defense played well, considering they were playing a very mobile quarterback in Cam Newton. The Vikings defense recorded 3 sacks and 1 QB hit.

MISTAKES:

1. Late in the game, the Vikings had the Panthers right where they wanted them. The Panthers faced 4th and 15 and needed the 1st down for a chance to win the game. The strategy on defense is to not let anything get behind you, because as long as the Panthers got less than 15 yards, the Vikings would get the ball back. However, the Panthers completed a 44 yard pass and set them up to tie or win the game. The Vikings got very lucky to narrowly escape rather than lose.

2. Christian Ponder was running for his life most of the game!

The Vikings have a bye week next week and then come back on Monday Night Football to take on the Packers in Green Bay!