The Vikings got the ball first in overtime against the Panthers and there won’t be a second possession.
Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins hit wide receiver K.J. Osborn for a 27-yard touchdown to make the Vikings 34-28 winners in Carolina. The win moves both teams to 3-3 on the year, although the Vikings feel better about that than the Panthers given Carolina started 3-0 while the Vikings lost their first two games of the year.
Cousins threw three touchdowns on Sunday, including a strike to Adam Thielen in the third quarter that was part of a 16-0 run that put the Vikings up 28-17 in the fourth quarter. The Panthers passing offense had been abysmal to that point, but they were able to put together a pair of scoring drives that erased all of Minnesota’s lead with under a minute to play. The Vikings got into position for a 47-yard field goal try that Greg Joseph missed to force overtime.
They didn’t need to turn back to the kicker. Dalvin Cook ran for 25 yards and Cousins completed four passes to move the team into position for the scoring strike to Osborn.
It was Cousins’ third touchdown pass of the day and he finished with 373 yards through the air. Cook added 140 yards and a touchdown on the ground in his return from an ankle injury.
Sam Darnold hit Robby Anderson for a touchdown and Tommy Tremble for a two-point conversion to force overtime, but his work throughout the first 50-plus minutes of the game was a big reason why the Panthers had to mount such a furious comeback. He finished the day 17-of-41 for 207 yards while throwing an interception and losing a fumble. That makes seven turnovers for Darnold in three games without Christian McCaffrey in the backfield and they’ll have at least two more games without him before he’s eligible to come off injured reserve.
The first of those games comes against the 1-5 Giants on the road next weekend. The Vikings will have a bye before they try to keep their winning streak going at home against the Dallas in Week Eight.