There was a heavy police presence outside the Panthers’ stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina after a fifth day of protests prompted by the fatal shooting of a black man, by a black police officer.
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The Vikings normally bring a lot of blitzes and pressure, but on Sunday coach Mike Zimmer backed off some, relying more on his defensive backs to shutdown Carolina’s taller receivers.
As the Star-Spangled Banner played and police in riot-gear looked on, a sea of people took a knee outside of Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte Sunday. “No one else believes, but I think our team believes”. He’s played corner for us, he’s played nickel for us, he’s played safety for us.
SAFETY STREAK: Minnesota defensive end Danielle Hunter’s first-quarter sack on Newton gave the Vikings their first defensive safety in almost five years.
Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton made a statement on the unrest in Charlotte on Sunday by wearing a black T-shirt during pregame warm-ups with a quote from Martin Luther King Jr. emblazoned on the back. How this one plays out is anyone’s guess at this point. The pass was incomplete. He completed only 15 of his next 29, with three interceptions. “And I say that on one voice and also another voice that when you go public or when things happen in the community, it’s not the fact that things are happening, it’s the way they are being treated after they happen”. But, with the roll the Vikings find themselves on, if the offense just does its part and picks it up when it is needed, the Vikings could be heading in the same direction that 2009 Vikings team did.
Meanwhile, Carolina gave up a 54-yard punt return for a touchdown to Marcus Sherels and Graham Gano missed a 54-yard field goal.
Newton seemingly spent most of the second half throwing off his back foot or on the ground. The 62-yarder set up Hunter’s sack and safety, and a 58-yarder in the second quarter pinned Carolina at its own 2 in the second quarter.
Carolina had come in averaging 42 points per game in their last three home games, but could do little after bolting to a 10-0 lead.
“We have to get better”, tight end Greg Olsen said. “That was kind of the story of our day”.
Will the 2-0 Vikings cover as an underdog today when they visit the Panthers at 1:00PM ET? This isn’t totally unusual.
Carolina is on an insane run against the spread in home games, posting a record of 20-7-1 over their last 28 home games dating back three and a half seasons.
But a game that was billed an “extraordinary event” prior to kickoff because of everything the city has been through in the past week turned into a collapse for the Panthers. We feed off of special teams getting us the ball backed up.
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“We can overcome anything, ” Munnerlyn said. But none of that really matters much without some context.
