5.) Sam Bradford’s Short Game

The Vikings had 8 yards net passing in the first half. That’s not a typo. 8.

But after quarterback Sam Bradford went 4-of-11 for 26 yards and two sacks, something changed at the start of the third quarter.

Minnesota went to a short passing game, which allowed Bradford to get into a rhythm. His line in the second half: 14-of-17 for 145 yards and a touchdown with no sacks and no passes that went for more than 20 yards.

“We got to some of our quicker stuff, we got to empty a few times, we tried to spread them out,” Bradford said. “As much zone coverage as they were playing we felt like there was some air in there if we could get some space and kind of spread them out.”

Added Panthers defensive end Kawann Short, who has 10 tackles and no sacks in his first three games:

“He adjusts and that’s scary. As a defensive line, you want to see those quarterbacks get scared and move off their spots. That’s one thing we didn’t do.

“As far as up the middle, I take credit for that. We didn’t get enough push and get that guy off his spot. When you see a quarterback back there, poised and looking through his reads, that’s not good for the defense as far as the defensive tackles. We didn’t get a good push.”