1) Playing from behind, offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave ran out of the shotgun on 44-of-60 snaps [73%]. Cassel made his second start and proved to be wildly inconsistent, throwing two interceptions and missing numerous open receivers throughout the game. Cassel was the victim of shoddy pass protection, as he would pull the trigger quickly too early at times after getting hit on a previous play. The Vikings tied their season-low with 23:33-of-60:00 time of possession, the same mark they had against the Steelers. However, they ran eight more plays in the limited time frame and produced 24 fewer points and committed two turnovers compared to the win in London. On 22 first-down plays, the Vikings called 14 passes and eight runs. Peterson ran the ball a season-low 10 times, five of which came in the team's first 10 plays before the Panthers scored touchdowns on two of their first three drives.
Peterson struggled finding room to work with as the Panthers stacked the box and did very little to prevent the deep ball. Despite that apparent advantage, Cassel didn't try to stretch the field and reverted back to his check downs, like how former starting quarterback Christian Ponder often got chastised for doing.
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