The Panthers continue a brutal final month of the season with a matchup against the 10-2 Minnesota Vikings, a week after losing 31-21 to the New Orleans Saints and perhaps turning them from division champion contender into NFC wild card hopeful. The Vikings bring a Top 3 defense and a Top 5 offense into Charlotte, led by quarterback Case Keenum and cornerback Xavier Rhodes on either side of the ball; before we jump into some analysis, let’s take a look at some numbers heading into Sunday’s game.

Up first, an offensive comparison:

Panthers Statistic Vikings
328.7 Yards/Game 370.4
5.1 Yards/Play 5.59
127.8 Rushing Yards/Game 122.8
4.25 Rushing Yards/Play 3.91
200.9 Passing Yards/Game 247.6
6.26 Passing Yards/Play 7.35
2.86% Interception Rate 1.24%
7.27% Sacks/Pass Attempt 3.47%
20.1 First Downs/Game 21.6
8.2 Punt Return Average 10.2
21.3 Kickoff Return Average 25.2
95.83% Field Goal Percentage 85.71%
43.71% Third Down Percentage 45.96%
33% Fourth Down Percentage 16.67%
54.05% Red Zone Percentage 58.14%
68.42% Goal To Go Percentage 82.61%
32:58 Average Time Of Possession 32:15
22.4 Points/Game 23.8

 

And now, the defense; you’ll notice these numbers have all gone up for the Panthers the past few weeks.

Panthers Statistic Vikings
297.6 Yards/Game 289.1
5.21 Yards/Play 4.79
88.6 Rushing Yards/Game 77.7
4.04 Rushing Yards/Play 3.46
209 Passing Yards/Game 211.4
6.45 Passing Yards/Play 5.97
1.29% Interception Rate 2.12%
8.74% Sacks/Pass Attempt 7.06%
16.4 First Downs/Game 17.8
4.7 Punt Return Average 5.8
21.9 Kickoff Return Average 23.9
35.95% Third Down Percentage 27.21%
31.25% Fourth Down Percentage 57.14%
62.96% Red Zone Percentage 38.71%
73.33% Goal To Go Percentage 46.15%
19.8 Points/Game 17

 

Some Fun Facts….

  • The Panthers defense, after allowing only 264 yards per game the first eight weeks of the season, has allowed 365 in each of the past four contests, including 400 last week to the Saints.
  • The NFC South leads the NFL with 28 total wins.
  • A win for the Vikings on Sunday will clinch the NFC North.
  • Luke Kuechly recovered a fumble in the second quarter of last week’s game against the Saints, his fifth takeaway of the season, which is tied for second-most in the NFL.
  • According to the New York Times Playoff Simulator, if the Panthers win on Sunday, they have a 79% chance of making the playoffs; lose, and that number drops to 53%. A loss to both the Vikings and the Packers drops their chances to 36%.

 

  • The Vikings own the top third down percentage on both offense (46%) and defense (27.2%).
  • Since starting the season 2-2, the Vikings have won eight straight games, with all wins coming after Case Keenum took over for Sam Bradford at quarterback.
  • Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph has 50 receptions this season and zero drops.
Josh Klein on Twitter
Josh Klein
Editor-In-Chief at The Riot Report
Josh Klein is Editor-In-Chief of The Riot Report. His favorite Panther of all time is Chad Cota and he once AIM chatted with Kevin Greene. Follow Josh on Twitter @joshkleinrules.