VikesCentric: Vikings block the Panthers' path to victory

The Minnesota Vikings defeated the Carolina Panthers 31-13 at The (frozen) Bank on Sunday, putting Carolina's season on ice, while the Vikings warmed the hearts of their fans with the win.

It was the 7th coldest Vikings home game in team history (which is saying quite a bit), but the Vikings dominated the Panthers early and did enough in the second half to salt away the victory. The offense, (thanks to a very efficient Teddy Bridgewater), the defense (with another solid performance) and special teams (with two touchdowns of their own) all contributed to the win.

Head coach Mike Zimmer said he was looking for a win all week and reiterated that to his players before the game, and they delivered. The Panthers are not world-beaters by any stretch of the imagination, despite still being eligible to win their division, but the Vikings needed a win to show some progress and that's exactly what they did.

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The frigid temps at The Bank on Sunday (12 degrees at game time that felt like below zero), stirred memories of the good old days of dominant Vikings defense and specials teams. And the Vikings play reinforced those memories even more, as they blocked two punts against the Panthers and returned them both for touchdowns--overwhelmingly the key to the Vikings' win.

It has been since 2006 that the Vikings blocked a punt and 1986 since they have returned one for a TD. (They blocked a punt for a safety in 1989.) In fact, only 11 players on the active roster were alive the last time the Vikings returned a blocked punt for a touchdown.

What the Vikings special teams did on Sunday was pretty special. The last time the Vikings blocked two punts in a game was Dec. 11, 1983 versus Chicago--Rick Bell and Randy Holloway blocked the punts. The fact they returned both for touchdowns in one game is certainly unprecedented for the Vikings, but it was only the fourth time it has occurred in NFL history.

Teddy Bridgewater was sick before the game with a temperature over 100, and there was no threat of him overheating at the Bank on Sunday. He had one of his best games as a pro, putting up decent stats, showing requisite poise and demonstrating good decision-making. He ran when he should have, most of his check downs were the right plays (and not habitual) and he hit his receivers in stride—including some deep throws. Bridgewater was 15 of 21 passing for 138 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. His quarterback rating of 120.7 is the highest of his career. On top of that, his throws were void of the high passes that were becoming all too familiar this season.

Bridgewater wasn't under pressure to score a lot of points, thanks to the incredible play of the Vikings special teams, but he had great command in the two scoring drives at the beginning and end of the first half, which led to him being serenaded once again with chants of "Teddy" for the rest of the game. It is the confidence builder that Bridgewater needed for the final month of his rookie season.

Wide receiver Charles Johnson is slowly becoming an integral (or even bigger) part of the of the Vikings offense. Week by week his role has been growing in the Vikings offense, and game by game he has delivered. Against Carolina, he was targeted four times (second to only Greg Jenning's six targets) and he caught two passes—one of them for 24 yards that set up the Vikings first score. He nearly caught a deep pass from Bridgewater that was broken up by borderline pass interference. But the bottom line is that the longer Cordarrelle Patterson sits (see below), the bigger role Johnson will get. And he is making the most of it.

Worth Defending

We are going to give the offensive line decent marks in this game—particularly if you are grading on a scale of all their performances. They kept Bridgewater pretty clean in the first half (one sack), ultimately surrendering two quarterback hits and three sacks in the game. The offensive line's performance is even more remarkable since they adjusted to new personnel, as Mike Harris got his first start for the Vikings, filling in for the injured Phil Loadholt. In addition, Matt Kalil had one of his better games of the season—perhaps he needed his older brother in the game to create some competition.

Rhodes is the Vikings tallest member of the secondary, and should expect this kind of assignment. Against the Chicago Bears, who have two tall receivers, the Vikings saw their opponents picking on the shorter Josh Robinson most of the game. The Panthers did not repeat that, and Rhodes made them pay by being in position all game long and recording three pass defenses. His increasingly good play bodes well for the Vikings defense going forward.

We would like to compliment the Vikings defense in general, as they shut down the Panthers in the first half and helped secure the win. But there were plenty of breakdowns in the second half, and the rushing defense is not were the team needs it to be. They average 118.9 yards per game, but gave 178 to the Panthers. Granted, 49 of those yards went to quarterback Cam Newton and usually occured after a play had been well defensed downfield, but running back Jonathan Stewart ran for 85 yards and had 25 yards receiving. The Vikings were missing Sharrif Floyd and Anthony Barr for parts of the game, but they need to do much better stopping the run.

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Cordarrelle Patterson—one target no catches. Something is amiss with him. He is either so deep in Zimmer's doghouse or else he is injured and can't do what it takes to get on the field. Charles Johnson is getting his snaps and making the most of the opportunity. Zimmer was asked about what Patterson has to do to get back on the field.

"He's really starting to do a lot of better things in practice, so we just have to keep going there," Zimmer told the Star Tribune. "I think Charles Johnson is doing a good job playing the same position; Charles is doing some good things. It's just, continually, first off you have to be at practice, then you have to do stuff when you're there."

The Vikings running game has been sputtering recently. Matt Asiata returned from being out with a concussion and Jerick McKinnon didn't play due to a lower back injury, so they are patching things together. But they have a Joe Banyard who has done well in a limited role, and we are still waiting to see more of Ben Tate. Tate had five carries for 15 yards, which isn't a whole lot of to get excited about, but why not get him going even more. He does have to learn the offense to be fully involved, but the Vikings really need to see what they have in him before the season ends or Adrian Peterson gets back on the field. Give Tate the rock.

Speaking of Adrian Peterson, his appeal will be heard on Tuesday of this week. On the heels of the Ray Rice indefinite suspension being overturned, he may have some traction for things turning around for him. Of course, the Rice decision could cause Roger Goodell to dig in deeper himself and try for a win somewhere else. Whether you think Peterson should be reinstated (as at least one purple No. 28 jersey at today's game read) or not, it will be worth watching the proceedings this week.

Head over to Vikings Journal and check out AJ Mansour's latest coverage on Teddy Bridgewater's progress and then join in the conversation on the Vikings Journal forums, where everything Purple is dissected and discussed.