The Vikings gave Carolina quarterback Cam Newton a look that worked for him before.
Safeties Harrison Smith and Andrew Sendejo aligned just inside the numbers, surveying the field from nearly 20 yards back to signal two-deep coverage. So Newton targeted receiver Ted Ginn, who he had found for a 31-yard gain on an earlier go route. This time, cornerback Trae Waynes saw Newton's pass and kept his sprint down the sideline before intercepting the long ball.
The same mistake wasn't made twice, which has been a mantra of a Vikings defense that, through three weeks, stands alone in the NFL as the only group to have not surrendered a 40-yard pass or run. The Vikings might bend, but so far they haven't broken, which is a sign of the discipline and accountability often preached by head coach Mike Zimmer.
"We hope it continues, but that's always the key," Zimmer said. "We gave up the big play right down the sideline on the first drive of the game, which was a bad play."
That play was the 31-yarder to Ginn, when cornerback Xavier Rhodes had a similar assignment to Waynes'. But instead of following Ginn downfield, Rhodes stopped after 5 yards with a dangerous assumption.
"We were in two-deep coverage and [Rhodes] thought he got the guy pushed out of bounds," Zimmer said. "And he didn't get him pushed out."
Newton noticed and immediately targeted Ginn in the open sideline left behind Rhodes and in front of Sendejo at safety. That would serve as a teaching moment, a micro example of the Vikings' in-game defensive adjustments born out of the slightest slip-up or the wrong play call.
After the drive, Zimmer huddled with Rhodes on the sideline to discuss the play that helped set up the Panthers' 48-yard field goal.