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

2RYJXG8 Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson catches a touchdown pass in front of Carolina Panthers defensive tackle LaBryan Ray during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 1, 2023, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Rusty Jones)

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
Minnesota Vikings
Player Fantasy Comp/Att Yds YPA TD Int Sacks Rtg
Kirk Cousins 11.6 12 / 19 139 7.3 2 2 2 80.7
Carolina Panthers
Player Fantasy Comp/Att Yds YPA TD Int Sacks Rtg
Bryce Young 8.2 25 / 32 204 6.4 0 0 5 93.2
Rushing
Minnesota Vikings
Player Fantasy Car Yds YPC TD Long Fum Lost
Kirk Cousins 11.6 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
Alexander Mattison 10.8 17 95 5.6 0 17 0
Cam Akers 7.1 5 40 8.0 0 10 0
Carolina Panthers
Player Fantasy Car Yds YPC TD Long Fum Lost
Adam Thielen 15.2 1 6 6.0 0 6 0
Bryce Young 8.2 2 10 5.0 0 6 1
Chuba Hubbard 7.3 14 41 2.9 0 7 0
Miles Sanders 6.2 13 19 1.5 0 6 0
Laviska Shenault Jr. 2.9 1 7 7.0 0 7 0
Receiving
Minnesota Vikings
Player Fantasy Tgt Rec Yds YPT YPR TD
Justin Jefferson 26.5 9 6 85 9.4 14.2 2
Alexander Mattison 10.8 1 1 3 3.0 3.0 0
Cam Akers 7.1 2 2 11 5.5 5.5 0
T.J. Hockenson 4.4 3 2 24 8.0 12.0 0
K.J. Osborn 2.6 2 1 16 8.0 16.0 0
Jordan Addison 0.0 1 0 0 0.0 0.0 0
Carolina Panthers
Player Fantasy Tgt Rec Yds YPT YPR TD
Adam Thielen 15.2 8 7 76 9.5 10.9 0
Terrace Marshall Jr. 14.6 10 9 56 5.6 6.2 0
Chuba Hubbard 7.3 2 2 12 6.0 6.0 0
Miles Sanders 6.2 3 3 13 4.3 4.3 0
DJ Chark Jr. 4.8 3 2 28 9.3 14.0 0
Laviska Shenault Jr. 2.9 1 1 12 12.0 12.0 0
Hayden Hurst 1.7 3 1 7 2.3 7.0 0
Ian Thomas 0.0 1 0 0 0.0 0.0 0
Safety worth way more than 2 points. Help protect your family with fast, free will.
Sponsor
NFL Featured Tools
Subscriptions

Unlock the 2024 Fantasy Draft Kit, with Live Draft Assistant, Fantasy Mock Draft Sim, Rankings & PFF Grades

$24.99/mo
OR
$119.99/yr