Disappointment No. 2
Minnesota's inability to salt the game away on offense
The Vikings had a chance to milk the clock in this game but failed to do so, and that was tough to watch. Minnesota got the ball back with about seven minutes in the fourth quarter but couldn't muster a first down to keep the clock moving.
After picking up nine yards on the first play, the Vikings were stuffed and then threw a questionable pass to Justin Jefferson toward the sidelines that wasn't even catchable. This resulted in the team punting and giving the Panthers a chance to tie the game.
It's frustrating because it makes one wonder where the failure came from. One would think an offensive mastermind like Kevin O'Connell would be able to pick up one yard after getting nine on the first play. Instead, he calls a predictable dive play that was blown up and then a very odd deep pass on third and short.
It would have been nice to see Minnesota insert their will and use this two-headed attack at running back to wear down the Panthers' defensive line and continue to move the chains. Instead, they were forced to punt and put it on their defense to win the game.
Ultimately, the defense rose to the occasion, but to see the strength of this team fail when the game was on the line was head-scratching and definitely disappointing.