NFL Week 4 Game Recap: Minnesota Vikings 21, Carolina Panthers 13

The Minnesota Vikings took down the Carolina Panthers 21-13 in Week 4 to pick up their first win of the year.

The Panthers led 13-7 at halftime thanks to a pair of Eddy Pineiro field goals and a Sam Franklin Jr. pick-six.

The Vikings responded with a defensive touchdown of their own in the second half, with D.J. Wonnum returning a Bryce Young fumble 51 yards for a touchdown. Then came the second Kirk Cousins-to-Justin Jefferson touchdown of the day to seal the win for the Vikings.

Offensive spotlight: Justin Jefferson might have had just six catches, a low number for him, but he still scored twice, picking up 85 yards in the process. His 9.4 yards per target trailed only Adam Thielen in this game. 

Thielen led the Panthers with 76 receiving yards, but the entire Panthers offense was held out of the end zone in this one.

Defensive spotlight: Vikings safety Harrison Smith finished the game with three sacks, two tackles for loss and a forced fumble. D.J. Wonnum scored the key defensive touchdown, returning the fumble forced by Smith for a score, but he also got a sack and tackle for loss of his own. 

Sam Franklin Jr. and Kamu Gruiger-Hill both came down with interceptions for the Panthers, with Franklin returning his for that score in the first half. Yetur Gross-Matos finished the game with a sack and two tackles for loss.

Rookie spotlight: Bryce Young went 25-for-32 for 204 yards but couldn’t find a way to drive the Panthers into the end zone. He also lost a fumble that was returned for a touchdown the other way. 

Vikings rookie first rookie first-rounder Jordan Addison saw just one target all game and failed to pull in a reception on that target.

Box Score

Passing

Rushing

Receiving