CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Anthony Herrera led the Minnesota Vikings onto the field Sunday evening raising his arms and seemingly skipping as he came down the tunnel at Bank of America Stadium. The right guard and his teammates had good reason to be upbeat.
The Vikings had just found out they had clinched a second consecutive NFC North title before their game against the Carolina Panthers even started. That came courtesy of the Pittsburgh's last-second victory over Green Bay at Heinz Field.
Then the Panthers beat the Vikings 26-7 after scoring three fourth-quarter touchdowns.
Matt Moore hit Steve Smith with a 42-yard touchdown pass on the second play of the quarter. The play came on third-and-26 when defender Antoine Winfield fell near the goal line covering Smith, who had a touchdown reception two plays earlier nullified because of a holding penalty. The Panthers, leading 12-7, failed on the two-point conversion.
Jonathan Stewart added a 3-yard scoring run on the Panthers' next possession to make it 19-7.
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The Vikings certainly had their chances to have a much bigger lead after the first 30 minutes but could not take advantage. The average starting field position for the Vikings' first-half possessions was midfield.
And yet the Vikings only mustered a touchdown in the second quarter on a possession that started at the Carolina 41. Running back Adrian Peterson completed the six-play drive with a 4-yard touchdown run in which he broke free from Carolina safety Chris Harris after he appeared to be wrapped up.
That touchdown gave the Vikings the lead because the Panthers John Kasay had his point-after attempt blocked following Moore's 1-yard touchdown pass to fullback Brad Hoover early in the second quarter.
Vikings kicker Ryan Longwell missed only his second field-goal of the season, hitting the right upright on a 39-yard attempt in the first quarter. The Vikings' other drives ended at the 50 and the Panthers 37- and 44-yard lines.
In the third quarter, Brett Favre hit Sidney Rice for a 23-yard gain to the Carolina 37. Rice, though, was hit by Panthers safety Charles Godfrey and fumbled. Harris recovered the ball for Carolina.
The Panthers also had their offensive issues in the quarter. Smith made a nice 26-yard catch in the end zone against Vikings cornerback Cedric Griffin for what appeared to be a touchdown, but guard Keydrick Vincent was called for holding Kevin Williams.
The Vikings had 34 yards rushing, including 28 from Peterson, and 49 yards passing from Favre in the first half. The Panthers, who entered the game with the NFL's fourth-best rushing offense, had only 38 yards on 18 first-half carries against a Vikings' run defense that also was ranked fourth in the NFL.
Favre completes six of seven passes in the first half for 49 yards. He was sacked three times through three quarters, including once in the first quarter when Carolina rookie Everette Brown beat Bryant McKinnie, and in the third when Julius Peppers got around the big left tackle.
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Game statistics are in Scoreboard on Page A8.
