Vikings save their season with a miraculous win over the Panthers
By Adam Patrick
The Minnesota Vikings pulled off a shocking win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.
If the Minnesota Vikings were going to keep their sliver of a playoff hope alive this season, they desperately needed to get a win in their Week 12 matchup against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.
Well, the Vikings somehow came away with the victory over the Panthers this week after scoring a go-ahead touchdown with 46 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
Carolina had a chance to win the matchup on a 54-yard field-goal attempt, but Joey Slye missed the kick wide and Minnesota ran off the field with an improved 5-6 record.
Minnesota Vikings still alive in the NFC playoff race with win over the Carolina Panthers
Without Adam Thielen, Irv Smith Jr., or Ezra Cleveland in the lineup, the Vikings needed guys like Kirk Cousins, Dalvin Cook, Bisi Johnson, and Chad Beebe to step up their performance on Sunday.
Cousins ended up having one of the best performances of his career, finishing with 307 passing yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winning score when he connected with Beebe in the fourth quarter.
Speaking of Beebe, his trip to the end zone quickly turned him into the hero after it seemed like he was going to be the scapegoat if Minnesota lost. The Vikings receiver muffed a punt late in the fourth quarter and most felt that would be what led to the Panthers leaving U.S. Bank Stadium with a win.
But Beebe stepped up when Minnesota needed it most and now the team is still in contention to grab one of the seven spots in the NFC playoff bracket this season. Especially since, the Vikings are now just one game behind the final playoff spot in the NFC after the Arizona Cardinals lost on Sunday.
This certainly wasn’t a pretty win by Minnesota. But in the NFL, all victories weigh the same and this is one that could potentially result in the Vikings playing extra football after Week 17.
Minnesota will look to bring their record to 6-6 and stay in the NFC playoff race when they take on the 1-10 Jacksonville Jaguars next week inside U.S. Bank Stadium.