Frerotte, big ‘D’ help Vikings beat
Panthers 20-10
Gus Frerotte gave a wobbly passing attack some life with the
kind of calm, poised performance his coach had in mind when he made the switch.
Frerotte couldn’t have helped save Minnesota’s season, however, without another
productive performance by that relentless defense.
Antoine Winfield’s sack of Jake Delhomme and subsequent 19-yard fumble return
for a touchdown right before halftime spurred the Vikings to a 20-10 victory
over Carolina on Sunday to hand the Panthers their first defeat.
“You can’t afford, in this league, to go 0-3,” Winfield said. “We put ourselves
in a tough situation, but I think we battled back today and made a statement.”
Replacing Tarvaris Jackson after a pair of woeful games by the offense, Frerotte
completed 16 of 28 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown to Visanthe Shiancoe—the
first by the Vikings in more than seven quarters...more
Scoring Summary
CAR - MIN
1st Quarter
12:53
CAR
FG
John Kasay kicked a 43-yard field
goal
3 - 0
2nd Quarter
9:55
CAR
TD
Jonathan Stewart rushed to the left
for 2 yard gain (John Kasay made PAT)
10 - 0
1:46
MIN
FG
Ryan Longwell kicked a 28-yard field
goal
10 - 3
1:04
MIN
TD
Jake Delhomme fumbled. Antoine
Winfield recovered fumble and returned for 19 yards
(Ryan Longwell made PAT)
10 - 10
3rd Quarter
12:53
MIN
TD
Gus Frerotte passed to Visanthe
Shiancoe to the right for 34 yard gain (Ryan
Longwell made PAT)
10 - 17
4th Quarter
9:07
MIN
FG
Ryan Longwell kicked a 32-yard field
goal
10 - 20
Team Statistics
CAR
MIN
First Downs
13
17
Passing
9
11
Rushing
3
5
Penalty
1
1
Third Down
Efficiency
3-11
4-12
Fourth Down
Efficiency
0-1
0-1
TOTAL NET YARDS
204
305
Total Plays
54
63
Average Gain Per
Play
3.8
4.8
NET YARDS
RUSHING
47
119
Rushes
20
32
Average Per Rush
2.4
3.7
NET YARDS
PASSING
157
186
Completions-Attempts
17-29
16-28
Yards Per Pass
Play
4.6
6.0
Times Sacked
5
3
Yards Lost to
Sacks
34
18
Had Intercepted
0
1
PUNTS
5
5
Average Punt
39.8
52.6
PENALTIES
12
9
Penalty Yards
67
100
FUMBLES
3
1
Fumbles Lost
2
0
TIME OF
POSSESSION
25:42
34:18
Pregame Previews, Storylines,
and News
Preview:
New Page 1
The Carolina Panthers are ecstatic to be
2-0 to start the season, and now they welcome star receiver Steve Smith back in
the fold. The Minnesota Vikings, meanwhile, have already switched quarterbacks
in an attempt to turn their season around.
Two teams on the opposite side of the emotional scale meet on Sunday when the
Vikings host the Panthers.
After Smith was suspended for the opening two games following his attack on
teammate Ken Lucas during training camp, many felt the Panthers would be lucky
to split their first two contests. Instead, Carolina pulled off a stunning 26-24
win at San Diego in the season opener by scoring a touchdown on the final play,
then rallied to score the final 17 points to beat Chicago 20-17 last Sunday...more
Inside the Game Plans:
Notable:
PANTHERS:
Although WR Steve Smith is back in the lineup, the Panthers still want
to be a running football team. So expect more of the same from Jonathan
Stewart and DeAngelo Williams. Although Stewart got the bulk of carries
last week, this week it might be Williams getting the bulk of carries
since he plays well on turf. But there's no way the Panthers will keep
Stewart on the bench for long - not after last week's performance...FULL
STORY
VIKINGS: The
Vikings offense has produced two touchdowns in two games and must start
getting into the end zone. The five field goals kicked by Ryan Longwell
represented plenty of missed opportunities. Minnesota got a 160-yard
rushing effort out of Adrian Peterson against the Colts and there is no
doubt that establishing the run again will be a primary objective. That
is assuming Peterson isn't slowed by a hamstring injury that limited him
in practice Wednesday...FULL
STORY
Fifteen of Minnesota's 34
regular-season games since the beginning of 2006 have been decided by
six points or less. The Vikings are just 4-11 in those contests
Gus Frerotte has been named starting
quarterback for the Vikes this weekend against Carolina. Frerotte has a
career record of 37-44-1 while playing for seven different NFL teams
Muhsin Muhammad needs just 11
yards against Minnesota on Sunday to move into a tie with Shannon Sharpe
for 28th all-time.
20.0
13.1
