On Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings(5-6) struggled at times against the Carolina Panthers(4-8) Minnesota allowed two defensive touchdowns in the third quarter, including two fumble returns for a touchdown by Panthers safety Jeremy Chinn.
As they entered the fourth quarter, Minnesota trailed 21-10. After Justin Jefferson’s touchdown reception cut the lead to 24-21, Minnesota’s Chad Beebe would muff a punt that set up a Panthers’ field goal. However, Beebe would redeem himself with a game-winning 10-yard touchdown reception. Carolina would have one more chance, but kicker Joey Slye missed a 54-yard field goal, and the Vikings hold on to defeat the Panthers 28-27 at U.S. Bank Stadium.
“At the end of the day, a lot of that was on me with those emotions,” Beebe said. “I’d had a dropped punt. It’s funny, though, because things didn’t really get down. I came to the sideline, and everybody was positive, and it’s just having that never-give-up attitude. Our entire team kind of felt that way. We had plenty of time to drive down and score, and that’s exactly what we did.”
While the Vikings did not play their best on Sunday, QB Kirk Cousins, who threw for 307 yards and three touchdowns against Carolina, was happy with the team’s ability to get a win on Sunday.
“May not have been the prettiest game, but ultimately, getting a win is what matters,” Cousins said. “It was great to get one after having some really close losses that were a play away earlier in the year. Really encouraged by us finding a way to win despite us having so many plays we want to have back.
Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer was excited to win, but he was not pleased with his team’s mistakes on Sunday.
“Obviously very pleased to win today,” Zimmer said. “We fought really hard. We made some mistakes – the two turnovers for touchdowns right in the third quarter was not a good thing. And the muffed punt there at the end of the ball game. But we came back – offensively, we came back and did a great job on the 2-minute drill, no timeouts went down and scored. It was nice to see [Chad] Beebe come back with the touchdown after muffing the punt.”
With the victory, the Vikings keep their playoffs hope alive. Minnesota is one game behind Arizona for the final wild-card spot in the NFC, so defeating the Panthers was big for this team.
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