Vikings 24 – Carolina Panthers 21
Rhett Davis is buying into both Ponder and Cam Newton: “A battle of the beaten. This fight was a slow beat-down with both team taking blows and trading leads. However, the Vikings came out in the end despite a last minute field goal attempt by the Panthers that missed far left. Ponder looked good in the game and didn’t have any picks and threw for over 200 yards. However, Cam Newton still threw for almost 300 yards and had three TDs despite fumbling the ball twice for two defensive TDs in the first half. Adrian Peterson ran for over 160 yards and also had 2 TDs. With hardly any defense, it only made sense that the Vikings scored as well as they did. Neither of these teams will be contenders this year, but Cam and Ponder could be threats if their teams’ drafts go well.”
While Daniels keeps his focus to Ponder: “It’s pretty clear that the Vikings didn’t know what they had with Christian Ponder, right? Or did they know and they just signed McNabb to take some heat for a couple weeks to lessen the pressure on Ponder. Regardless, I kind of wish this game aired nationally because I’m relatively certain I’m not going to have any real chances to watch either Newton or Ponder this season and it looks like this was a fun game.”
My Take: Ponder is decent, but being propped up by an unsustainable 3rd and long conversion rate. I’m not seeing the huge deal in his leading a far more talented team to victory. The Panthers, meanwhile, do have a real stud, as Cam destroys everyone and every indicator is he’s a star. Peterson was the real difference here, as a big day on the ground and catching took care of one of the worst run and tackling defenses in the league.
