What were the good, bad, and interesting things from the Minnesota Vikings Week 14 game against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, December 10, 2017?
The Minnesota Vikings entered Week 14 of the 2017 NFL season on a high note. They sat on top of the NFC North and the NFC hoping to win their division with a big victory on the road against a tough opponent.
Hoping to snap the Vikings 8 game winning stream was the Carolina Panthers. Former NFL Most Valuable Player Cam Newton has an agenda of his own as his team is eyeing an NFC South championship and a postseason berth.
Minnesota knew this would be a tough matchup against a team that can beat anyone when they are on the top of their game. Sadly, Minnesota was unable to come away with a win and fell to the Panthers by the score of 24-31.
But more importantly, what were the good, bad, and interesting things from the Minnesota Vikings game against the Panthers? Let’s break them down starting with the things the boys in purple did well.
The positives from Week 14 vs Panthers
- Xavier Rhodes is a monster. He had back-to-back pass breakups while only allowing a couple of catches the entire game. He’s such an important part of this defense and his complimentary pieces do a great job on the rest of the opposing receivers.
- Case Keenum is a magician. I’m not sure how he ducks or maneuvers away from so many situations where he should be sacked. Especially for ducking under a tackle from Captain Munnerlyn, who is three inches shorter than I am!
- Linval Joseph dominating the middle. Since Everson Griffen was double-teamed, it left so many other talented players available on the Minnesota defense. Linval had several plays that put the team in a good position, much like fans have expected from the “Big Goon”.
- Marcus Sherels is a great returner. I know many fans still really miss Cordarrelle Patterson on kickoff returns, but Sherels did an excellent job this week handling both kickoffs and punts and fans should be happy with his performance.
- A solid job of containing Cam. Yes, he got one big run at the end of the game, but for the most part, the Vikings defense did a great job of keeping the Panthers QB from doing damage all game long.
The negatives from Week 14 vs Panthers
- Rolling the dice early. I’m all for taking some calculated chances, but it has to be a calculated gamble. Underthrowing a jump ball to Thielen on the first drive of the game is uncharacteristic for a quarterback who is usually very efficient and makes good decisions.
- A lapse in defense. Let’s be honest, the Vikings defense is known for their discipline but they let Jonathan Stewart make a HUGE 60-yard touchdown run on their opening drive to put Minnesota in a bad spot early in the contest.
- Thielen having an off day. Something’s not right with him when two red zone throws end up being incomplete. Thielen is usually very reliable anywhere on the field, and to see those kind of mistakes from him are uncharacteristic as well.
- Far too many turnovers. Coming into this game, the Panthers were -6 in turnover differential and Minnesota was +4. Watching this game, you’d assume it was the exact opposite that was the trend. Minnesota lost the turnover war and it’s hard to win when that happens.
- The clutch perspective. The Vikings had the chance to stop the Panthers with the game tied near the end as well as an opportunity to tie the game in the final moments. Minnesota couldn’t do either one to make up for their mistakes earlier in the game.
The interesting stuff from Week 14 vs Panthers
- Three facemask calls in the row. While only two of them got accepted, it felt like some of the worst deja vu to hear the refs calling the same thing on three different players on the same drive. I hate to see those calls, especially that many.
- Jim Nantz and Tony Romo. I love this duo calling games. Nantz is excellent with play by play and Romo’s analysis and color commentary make for some of the most interesting television no matter which teams are playing. This makes me happy to see the NFC matchup on FOX.
- Jonathan Stewart. He becomes the first running back to go for 100 yards or more on the ground against the Vikings, with most of them coming on one big run in the first half of the game. An impressive performance by the veteran back.
- Cam’s a good actor. Watching him flop after being pushed by Eric Kendricks was borderline hilarious. He’s not going to win an Emmy for that job, but he definitely sold it by limping around for a little bit afterward. Watch out, Hollywood!
- Vikings couldn’t clinch. Minnesota needed to either beat the Panthers or have the Lions and Packers both lose to win the NFC North and clinch a playoff spot. None of that happened this week since Minnesota lost and both the Lions and Packers won.
Next: TVA Week 14 predictions vs Panthers
Overall impression from Week 14 vs Panthers
As a fan watching the game, it was one of the most frustrating contests watched so far this season. Both the offense and defense made uncharacteristic mistakes and the offense wasn’t clicking like usual, making this an odd feeling game.
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Offensively, Case made some bad throws and bad decisions that we haven’t really seen to this point. Poorly placed passes and questionable decisions hampered the passing game, but he wasn’t helped by receivers who dropped too many passes as well.
On defense, Everson Griffen has been double-teamed all game, making him nearly a non-factor for much of the game. The real surprise is that Danielle Hunter wasn’t able to take advantage of his matchup on the opposite side to have a big day with many pressures or sacks.
Injuries to the offensive line were the scary part of this game. Already being without Remmers, Minnesota lost Reiff as well, forcing Sirles to move from left guard to right tackle and bringing in rookie Danny Isadora. Hopefully, this unit can get healthy for next week.
As a whole, it’s easy to be disappointed by this performance, but it’s hard to complain too much about a Vikings team that is 10-3 on the season and overcoming everything they have to this point. This loss will sting for a bit, but in the end, it will be okay and could be an anomaly.
Next: TVA Week 14 predictions vs Panthers
The Viking Age will be back next week with more Ups and Downs from Week 15 when the Minnesota Vikings finally get back to U.S. Bank Stadium to host the Cincinnati Bengals in a game where they can clinch the NFC North championship.