Panthers-Vikings live updates: Kirk Cousins, Minnesota down Carolina in OT
The Panthers (and their fans) opened the season with three weeks of playoff aspirations.
A 3-0 start. A quarterback who looked Pro Bowl-caliber. A stomping of the Saints. Everything looked on track for Carolina to end its playoff drought.
It’s not that the Panthers are out of the NFL playoff picture two weeks later — they’re still only a game back of Tampa Bay in the NFC South — but the tone has changed after back-to-back losses, setting their record at 3-2, the same mark it was a year ago under coach Matt Rhule.
To make matters worse entering Sunday’s 1 p.m. kickoff against the Minnesota Vikings (2-3), the Panthers placed Christian McCaffrey on injured reserve Saturday, which will sideline him for at least another three weeks.
Carolina is a 2.5-point underdog at home today.
The Observer has five journalists, including beat reporter Jonathan M. Alexander and columnist Scott Fowler, at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte for today’s 1 p.m. kickoff between the Panthers and Vikings. We’ll have live updates on this page throughout the day (refresh for the latest) and expanded coverage at CharlotteObserver.com after the game is over.
What’s the Panthers score right now?
K.J. Osborn TD. Vikings 34, Panthers 28. Final.
Kirk Cousins hit K.J. Osborn on second-and-13 for a 27-yard touchdown pass to win the game in overtime. The Panthers have lost three straight.
Overtime coin toss
Minnesota wins the toss and elects to receive. They’ll go from left to right across your screen.
We’re going to overtime
Kirk Cousins and the Minnesota offense picked Carolina’s defense apart in the two-minute drill to set up a 47-yard field goal by Greg Joseph to win the game, but he pushed it wide right. Time for free football.
Robby Anderson TD. Panthers 28, Vikings 28; 4th quarter
A 96-yard touchdown drive by the Panthers with two fourth-down conversions has this game all tied up with 42 seconds to play. Sam Darnold found Robby Anderson for a 7-yard touchdown pass to get within two. On the conversion try, Darnold connected with Tommy Tremble on a shovel pass to tie the game with 0:42 remaining.
Zane Gonzalez FG. Vikings 28, Panthers 20; 4th quarter.
There’s 4:41 to play in Charlotte and Carolina is down only one possession thanks to Gonzalez’s 23-yard field goal.
Greg Joseph FG. Vikings 28, Panthers 17; 4th quarter
The Panthers face their largest deficit of the game as they fall behind by two scores.
Adam Thielen TD. Vikings 25, Panthers 17; 3rd quarter
After falling behind on the Dalvin Cook touchdown, the Panthers promptly turned the ball over with a DJ Moore fumble. Minnesota answered with a short scoring drive.
Dalvin Cook TD. Vikings 18, Panthers 17; 3rd quarter
Carolina’s momentum swing was short-lived. Minnesota responds with a five-play, 79-yard drive capped by a 16-yard scoring run by Dalvin Cook.
The Vikings didn’t convert the two-point conversion.
Punt block leads to TD. Panthers 17, Vikings 12; 3rd quarter
With Minnesota punting from its own 24-yard line, the Panthers’ Frankie Luvu shot through the middle untouched and blocked the punt off the foot of Jordan Berry. The ball was recovered by Panthers safety Kenny Robinson and returned 4 yards for a touchdown.
Injury update: Terrace Marshall
Panthers rookie receiver Terrace Marshall will miss the rest of the game in concussion protocol. He exited the game late in the second quarter when he took a hard hit across the middle of the field. The Vikings were penalized for hitting a defenseless receiver.
HALFTIME: Vikings 12, Panthers 10
If you’re a Panthers fan, just be grateful for a defense as talented as Carolinas, because this offense is hard to watch. Sam Darnold had a passer rating of 0.0 at one point in the second quarter.
More info on the Panthers’ first-half struggles can be found below.
Zane Gonzalez FG. Vikings 12, Panthers 10; 2nd quarter
Sam Darnold isn’t having a great game, but Robby Anderson isn’t doing him any favors with two bad drops — including on third down this drive.
The Panthers finally got back into Minnesota territory and had to settle for a 47-yard field goal.
Chris Herndon TD. Vikings 12, Panthers 7; 2nd quarter
The Vikings finally found the end zone in their third trip to the red zone as Kirk Cousins found Chris Herndon for a 1-yard touchdown pass. After the play, the Panthers’ Derrick Brown was called for unnecessary roughness. Minnesota elected to accept the penalty on the point-after try and gave the ball to Dalvin Cook on the two-point conversion, but he was tackled from behind by AJ Bouye.
Greg Joseph FG. Panthers 7, Vikings 6; 1st quarter
The Panthers stopped Minnesota again inside the red zone, forcing them to another 25-yard FG by Greg Joseph.
Chubba Hubbard TD. Panthers 7, Vikings 3; 1st quarter
The Panthers now have some points of a turnover of their own. AJ Bouye forced a fumble on a screen pass, jarring the ball loose from Justin Jefferson. It was recovered by Haason Reddick and returned 22 yards to the Minnesota 18.
Two plays later — a 16-yard pass to Shi Smith and a 2-yard Chuba Hubbard scoring run — the Panthers found the end zone to take a 7-3 lead.
Greg Joseph FG. Vikings 3, Panthers 0; 1st quarter
After the Darnold interception, the Panthers limited the Vikings to three points as Greg Joseph kicked a 25-yard field goal to put Minnesota on the board.
On third down, Jeremy Chinn broke up a pass in the end zone intended for Tyler Conklin.
Interception to start the game
On the Panthers’ first play from scrimmage, Sam Darnold had all the time in the world to throw but nobody was open. He tried to force a pass to Robby Anderson that was intercepted at the 30-yard line and returned to the 22.
Darnold has been picked off six times in the past three games.
Coin toss
Minnesota won the toss and elected to defer. The Panthers will receive the opening kickoff and move from left to right across your screen.
Panthers vs Vikings uniform update
The Panthers are wearing their alternate black home jerseys with silver pants. The Vikings are wearing their traditional road white tops and white pants.
Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey won’t play, he’s on IR
McCaffrey will miss his third consecutive game Sunday when the Panthers host the Vikings. He was placed on IR on Saturday.
McCaffrey had missed the previous two games nursing a hamstring he injured without contact in the first half against the Houston Texans on Sept. 23. After the injury, McCaffrey criticized the NFL for scheduling Thursday games, saying had he had more time to prepare his body on a full week’s rest, he could have avoided the injury.
Who’s inactive for the Panthers-Vikings game?
Panthers: LB Shaq Thompson, LB Kamal Martin, CB CJ Henderson, DT Phil Hoskins, DE Darryl Johnson, RB Spencer Brown.
Vikings: DT Michael Pierce, TE Ben Ellefson, QB Kellen Mond, WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette, DE Patrick Jones II, LB Chazz Surratt.
Panthers-Vikings injury report
For a full scouting and injury report of this game, click here.
Panthers: LB Shaq Thompson (foot) OUT, RB Christian McCaffrey (hamstring) OUT
Vikings: DT Michael Pierce (elbow) OUT, TE Ben Ellefson (knee) OUT
HOW TO WATCH VIKINGS VS PANTHERS GAME
Sunday’s 1 p.m. kickoff between the Carolina Panthers and Minnesota Vikings at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte is being broadcast on FOX. If you’re watching in Charlotte, that means WJZY-Fox 46. The Panthers-Vikings game can be streamed online with a subscription to YouTube TV or Hulu+ Live TV, so long as you are viewing from inside the broadcast footprint — a map of which can be found below via 506 Sports.
This story was originally published October 17, 2021 at 11:39 AM with the headline "Panthers-Vikings live updates: Kirk Cousins, Minnesota down Carolina in OT."
