Vikings top Carolina 34-28 in overtime on 27-yard pass from Kirk Cousins to K.J. Osborn
Oct. 17—CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Once again, the Vikings blew a double-digit lead late in regulation but came back to win. But this time the script was different.
Kirk Cousins threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to K.J. Osborn with 5:48 left in overtime to give the Vikings a 34-28 victory over Carolina on Sunday at Bank of America Stadium. That came after Minnesota had lost a 28-17 lead with less than five minutes left in regulation, and after Minnesota's Greg Joseph had missed a 47-yard field goal wide right with one second left in regulation.
On Oct. 10, Joseph had kicked a 54-yard field goal on the final play of regulation to give Minnesota a 19-17 win over Detroit. That came after the Vikings had blown a 16-6 lead with less than three minutes left.
The Panthers, who trailed 28-18 with under five minutes left in regulation, had forced overtime in dramatic fashion. They took over at their own 4 with 2:09 left and scored on a seven-yard touchdown pass from Sam Darnold to Robby Anderson and a Darnold two-point conversion pass to Tommy Tremble with 42 seconds left. They converted two fourth-down passes on the drive, a 41-yarder to Ian Thomas to the Panthers 45 on fourth-and-10 and a 25-yarder to D.J. Moore to the Minnesota on 7 on fourth-and-6..
The Panthers had trailed 28-17 before Zane Gonzalez cut it to 28-20 on a 23-yard field goal with 4:41 left.
Before Carolina's dramatic comeback, the Vikings had finally got their offense rolling in a second half.
The Vikings went into Sunday's game having not scored an offensive touchdown in the second half since Week 1 at Cincinnati. But they got two in a span of 1:26 in the third quarter to take the lead.
Minnesota looked to be in trouble after falling behind 17-12 with 6:49 left in the third quarter when Carolina's Frankie Luvu blocked a punt and Kenny Robinson ran it from four yards out for a touchdown.
But the Vikings came right back. They scored on a 16-yard touchdown run by Dalvin Cook to take the lead for good at 18-17 with four minutes left in the quarter. Than, after the Panthers lost fumble at their 39, Cousins threw a five-yard touchdown pass to Adam Thielen for a 25-17 lead with 2:24 left in the quarter.
It marked the second straight win for the Vikings and sends them into their bye week at 3-3. The schedule then gets rough, with games against Dallas, Baltimore, the Los Angeles Chargers, Green Bay and San Francisco.
Cook returned from an ankle injury after missing two of the past three games, including the previous game against Detroit. He looked good, carrying 29 times for 140 yards.
The Vikings made a change at left tackle, inserting rookie Christian Darrisaw in place of Rashod Hill. The move had been expected after Darrisaw had looked good while rotating with Hill against Detroit, and the rookie played every offensive snap.
Prior to the two third-quarter drives, Minnesota's offense had been uneven. In the first half, the Vikings settled for 25-yard field goals by Joseph twice after bogging down inside the 10. But they did get a 1-yard touchdown pass from Cousins to tight end Chris Herndon, his first catch with Minnesota.
The Vikings led 12-10 at halftime as they mostly held Carolina's offense in check. The Panthers (3-3) did get a two-yard touchdown run by Chuba Hubbard for a 7-3 lead in the first quarter but that was set up by a lost Justin Jefferson fumble at the Minnesota 18.
Cousins completed 33 of 48 passes for 373 yards with three touchdowns. His favorite target was Thielen, who caught 11 passes for 126 yards.
