The Vikings beat the Panthers, 31-13, on Sunday largely on the strength of two blocked punts returned for touchdowns.

The more interesting stories involved key young offensive players.

Teddy Bridgewater for once was sharp from the start, leading the Vikings on an opening-drive touchdown that concluded with a scoring strike to Kyle Rudolph.

Cordarrelle Patterson barely played on offense in the first half, and dropped the only pass thrown his way. He appeared to give up on at least one route. He was healthy enough t oreturn kickoffs, but didn't attempt to field kickoffs deep into the end zone, which is unusual for him.

On a day when the Vikings' offense, defense and special teams all thrived, perhaps the most talented athlete on the roster was nearly invisible.

I'll be asking questions about that in the postgame lockerroom, and that will probably be the subject of my column tomorrow.

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New podcasts up at Souhanunfiltered.com with Kevin Seifert and Twins assistant general manager Rob Antony, to go with earlier conversations with Paul Molitor, Mark Craig, Michael Russo and Ross Bernstein.

@Souhanstrib