5 best Minnesota Vikings road wins of the Mike Zimmer era
By Dustin Baker
5. Carolina Panthers, 2016 (Week 3)
During the third week of the 2016 season, the Vikings toppled the Carolina Panthers by a score of 22-10. However, Panthers wound up being a jumbo-sized disappointment in 2016.
At the time though, neither Minnesota nor the world knew that Carolina was barreling toward a 6-10 win-loss campaign that year. This particular Vikings victory was momentous as the Panthers were the defending NFC champions led by the reigning NFL MVP, Cam Newton.
When this matchup took place, Minnesota was in the midst of (what turned out to be) a five-game winning streak to begin the season.
Newton was abused and stifled by the Vikings staunch defense, mainly by Minnesota’s two defensive ends, Everson Griffen and a 22-year-old Danielle Hunter. Griffen terrorized to the tune of three sacks and four quarterback hits. Hunter chipped in a safety for good measure and the Vikings stunned the Super Bowl 50 runner-up on their home field in North Carolina.
Regrettably, for Mike Zimmer and his reapers, it would be the second-to-last road game Minnesota would win all season. The Vikings 2016 season collapsed after a near-unprecedented and dazzling 5-0 start.