Top 6 plays and highlights: Minnesota Vikings vs Panthers in Week 14

Check out the top plays and highlights from the Minnesota Vikings Week 14 game against the Carolina Panthers including touchdowns from Thielen and Rudolph!

The Minnesota Vikings entered week 14 of the NFL season in the unique position where they could win their game against the Panthers and clinch an NFC North championship as well as a spot in playoffs.

Sadly, the game didn’t go that way. Carolina came out and forced the Vikings to make a lot of uncharacteristic mistakes that forced them into a 24-31 loss that left Minnesota fans stunned and dropped their record to 10-3.

Thankfully, there were many reasons to be excited about the game as well. Several interesting things happened during the game, both big plays and highlights, that should have had fans excited despite the final outcome.

Let’s count down the 6 best highlights or big plays from the Minnesota Vikings in Week 14 starting with the team’s head coach showing some emotion on the sidelines!

Mike Zimmer gets animated on the sidelines

Sure, the play that most people are talking about from the end of the first half is the catch/non-catch from Adam Thielen in the endzone, but who wants to watch highlights of things that weren’t good for the Vikings.

Instead, fans should focus on the sidelines where Mike Zimmer’s reaction to the call was more priceless than just about anything that happened during this game because it is the most Zimmer thing ever!

As you can see from the gif, Zimmer had some colorful things to yell, with many of them being not suitable for airing on television unless it is on HBO’s Hard Knocks or something a little less family friendly.

Big hit on Bersin

Sometimes it isn’t scoring plays or even cursing coaches that make for some of the most interesting highlights of the week from a game. This time, it is an amazing catch by Panthers wide receiver Breston Bersin that makes the list.

Sure, the grab is amazing, but the fact he holds onto it after absorbing a big hit from Andrew Sendejo that flips him in the air and lands him right on his head was both a scary and intense moment for fans of both teams.

Thankfully, Bersin wasn’t injured on the play. While it was a Panthers highlight, the way that Sendejo throws his body around for the team is something you don’t see from a lot of players in the NFL, and it’s really what makes him unique.

Keenum is the magic man

This season, Keenum has had some magical escapes. While he’s been known for accurate throws and a high completion percentage this year, the should also be getting a lot of recognition for his ability to move with the ball in his hands.

He has already shown a number of times that he can scramble to pick up yards when left alone by defenders, but what makes watching Keenum even more interesting is how he can evade defenders going for the sack.

Ducking under Captain Munnerlyn is quite a feat. That’s something that I’m not sure even some of the best limbo champions in the world could do. Yet, he makes it look so easy on plays like this each week!

Guess what? It’s Andrew Sendejo again! This time, he didn’t have to put as much of his body on the line to make a big play in hopes a ball would pop loose because it kind of just came right to him!

Sendejo was in the right place at the right time on this play, with a pass from quarterback Cam Newton being tipped up in the air. With a lot of awareness, Sendejo concentrated on the ball and hauled in the interception with the Vikings trailing by 3 in the 4th quarter.

This interception led to a Minnesota field goal that tied the game, putting Minnesota back in a position for an opportunity to come away with a win.

Kyle Rudolph TD catch

Who doesn’t love touchdowns! Rudolph’s size and route running are some of the things that make him a fantastic target in the red zone and Case Keenum isn’t afraid to throw the ball in his direction in those situations.

After throwing an interception on the opening drive, Keenum took the second drive down the field while trailing 7-0 in the first quarter. At the 18 yard line, he took the snap from center Nick Easton and dropped back for the pass.

After surveying the field for a moment, he unleashed a rocket of a pass for Rudolph with a few defenders around him, but the ball was placed well and Rudolph was in a position to haul in the score to tie the contest.

Adam Thielen to the house!

By now, fans have come to expect big plays from Adam Thielen on a regular basis, but he struggled in this game at times, having two passes that could have been scored fail to be reeled in by the Minnesota native.

However, the most explosive play of the game was a big 52-yard catch and run by Thielen that Minnesota needed in order to hope to keep pace with the Panthers during the game.

The pass only traveled about 13 yards in the air and was placed nicely between a group of Panthers. Afterward, the work was done by the feet of Adam Thielen, weaving through traffic and brushing off traffic to find the end zone.

Full highlights from Week 14 vs Carolina

There were quite a few great plays from the Minnesota Vikings in Week 14 of the 2017 NFL season that didn’t quite get individual attention in this list of top plays and highlights against the Carolina Panthers.

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Whether it is great plays like a sack from defensive tackle Linval Joseph, back-to-back pass breakups by Xavier Rhodes, or a nifty 2-point conversion catch from tight end Blake Bell, there were quite a few positive things for fans to be happy about.

While the Vikings still lost the game because of uncharacteristic mistakes, there should still be enough from this game against the Panthers for Vikings fans to feel okay about the performance left on the field.

Plus, Minnesota is still 10-3 on the season and still in control of their own destiny when it comes to the NFC North or even earning a first-round bye in the playoffs. All they need to do is shake off this loss and get healthy.

Next: Week 14 Ups and Downs vs Panthers

The big plays and highlights from the Minnesota Vikings will be back in Week 15 when the team hosts the Cincinnati Bengals. If they win, they clinch the NFC North as well as a playoff spot, so expect to see some passionate football from U.S. Bank Stadium next week!