Ouch. The Vikings were thoroughly beaten on both sides of the ball by the Carolina Panthers Sunday, ending the day with a 35-10 loss that somehow makes the game seem closer than it really was. Those of us on the Matt Cassel bandwagon are going to have to slow their roll, as it would be shocking if Josh Freeman wasn't put into the lineup next week against the 0-6 New York Giants. No matter who is under center though, the Vikings have bigger issues on the defensive side of the ball, as the Panthers were able to get into a groove just a week after they had half as many interceptions as points. To add injury to insult, the Vikings had three key players go down during the game with injuries, and it remains to be seen what the full extent of the damage is to Harrison Smith, Xavier Rhodes and Desmond Bishop. The bottom line was that neither side of the ball played well for the Vikings, who dropped a key game coming off of their bye at home. This team was supposed to build on what they did in 2012. Instead, it seems like they've gone back an extra year and are much closer to the team from 2011. As always, below are the grades for all the positional units for the Vikings. Spoiler alert: they aren't pretty.
Offense: D
The Vikings had their worst offensive performance of the season thus far against the Panthers, as they only scored 10 points, but seven of those came late in the fourth quarter with only a minute left, when the game was well out of reach. The Vikings were only able to muster 290 net yards on the day, and for most of the game they were unable to respond to any of Carolina's scoring drives, which helped make for a lopsided gap in time of possession (36 and a half minutes for the Panthers to 23 and a half for the Vikings). The Vikings had to abandon their run game because they were down significantly in the game in the second half, which is just not how this offense stays successful. The Vikings also turned the ball over twice after holding onto the football against the Steelers, and both turnovers were unforced and led to Panther touchdowns.
Quarterback: D-
A bad Steeler defense that dropped three turnovers may have disguised Matt Cassel's true ability as a quarterback. That is, he's not very good. Cassel finished the game 32/44 for 241 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions, and the number of passing attempts he had shows how much he was asked to do for the Vikings today. The results weren't pretty, as Cassel looked a lot like another starter for the Vikings this year, unable to create big plays in the passing game and scrambling early a few times. Under Cassel, the offense was completely lifeless for almost all of the first half, only scoring a field goal in the two minute drill. Cassel failed to identify blitzes for much of the day too, as three different times he was sacked on a blitz, sometimes when holding onto the ball, meaning he most likely hadn't adjusted his protection correctly.
Running Backs: A
Adrian Peterson would have received this grade regardless of his stats today, as the man overcame plenty of emotion and showed up today, and played with the same heart and determination Vikings' fans have come to expect. Adrian took his ten carries for 62 yards, but his production was limited overall as the Vikings got in an early hole and were unable to come out of it. Regardless of his numbers, Adrian did nothing but earn respect today.
Receivers/Tight Ends: B
Even though overall the Vikings put out a putrid offensive performance, the blame does not fall on the receivers and the tight ends. Nine different Vikings recorded a reception during the game, as seemingly every target on their roster was able to create opportunities in the passing game. The most noteworthy was Kyle Rudolph, who had been having a quiet season overall but recorded nine catches for 97 yards and a touchdown Sunday against the Panthers. The touchdown was in garbage time, but Rudolph still showed plenty of effort on the play, breaking Panther tackles on his way to the end zone. The receiver group had some solid grabs on the day, Greg Jennings had a nice one handed catch in the fourth quarter, but their quarterback simply didn't put them in great places to succeed today.
Offensive Line: C-
The offensive lineup had a tough match-up this week against a good Carolina front, and for the most part Sunday they were unable to properly contain the rush of the Panthers. Adrian Peterson had few good rushing lanes on the day, and half of his yardage total on the day came on one big run in the second half. The line allowed three sacks on Matt Cassel even though overall they look decent (not awful, not great) in pass protection on the day, but three Panther blitzes weren't picked up and got home to the quarterback. The blitzes came from three seperate locations on the defense, and the Vikings did not look at all prepared to block all the different looks up.
Defense: F
The Vikings defense was steamrolled Sunday, surrendering 35 points and 367 total yards. The defense could not find a way off the field, allowing the Panthers to convert on 58% of their third downs and two out of two fourth down attempts. The defense also made the struggling offense's day worse because they forced no turnovers on the day to get their offense back on the field. The defense was unable to stop both the passing game and the running game, as the Panthers were able to find a healthy offensive balance that was hard for them to stop.
Defensive Line: D
After a solid game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the defensive line had a letdown performance against the Panthers, even though Cam Newton was sacked seven times last week against the Cardinals. The defensive line was only able to reach Newton once all game, and outside of that sack they rarely touched him. The line gave up 131 total rushing yards on the ground to the Panthers, 63 of those just in the first quarter, which let the Panthers establish an offensive balance for the rest of the game that kept the defense on their heels.
Linebackers: D
The Vikings' linebackers were worked over by offensive coordinator Mike Shula, as screens and outside runs were called frequently to test the speed of the Vikings linebackers. While the linebackers were able to come up and cause a few negetive plays for the Panthers, there were also times they were late getting to their spot or they were there and got simply run over. The linebackers did nothing to take the Panthers' offense out of their game plan, and they made no big plays to try to turn the game around.
Secondary: F
I recently said it was arguable as to whether Josh Robinson was the worst cornerback in the NFL today. I was wrong, he is the worst. Robinson once again showed almost no coverage skills against the Panthers, being picked on once again, this time for two touchdowns. One of those touchdowns came on a 3rd and long and went for 79 yards, when Robinson inexplicably stopped running with receiver Brandon LaFell even though the call was man coverage. Over players struggled too against the Panthers, as Jamarcus Sanford dropped a Cam Newton interception early in the game. Newton had only six incompletions all game, even though he threw three interceptions just last week. With the front four unable to pressure Newton, he was able to torch their weak secondary through the air.
Coaching: F
This game just goes in the category of "really?" The Vikings were coming off a bye week with a week of rest. You were at home. Your opponent was coming off a big loss and was reeling. The Panthers organization has already been looking into head coaches. You cannot afford to drop this game if you want to be competitive this season. But they did. There was just no energy or emotion emanating form the Vikings' sideline Sunday, and the level of quit in the players was pretty high. This was the team that didn't quit last year, but here they were at week six of the NFL season and already they looked like they just all wanted to go home. This is the kind of game that loses coaches jobs, not just because of the final score, but because of the effort showed by the players in defeat.
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