I’ll admit it; I was looking forward to seeing Brett Favre put on a show, but it was Carolina’s Matt Moore who did the entertaining, throwing for 201 second-half yards and three touchdowns in the Panthers’ improbable 26-7 win over the Minnesota Vikings.

Making his third straight start this season, Moore looked comfortable and confident, finishing the contest with career highs in yards (299) and touchdowns (3) thrown in a game.

After unimpressive performances against Tampa Bay and New England, there’s no doubt this game helped Moore’s argument that he should be considered as a part of this team’s future, but it’s one game….he’s got to build on this effort in the remaining two.

Overall, this was the type game that gave a glimpse of what the ’09 Panthers could’ve been. The team exploded for 21 points in the fourth quarter against one of the NFL’s best defenses.

With nothing to play for but pride, Carolina showed up in a big way, unlike last week’s debacle against the Patriots. Beyond Moore, a lot of credit goes to a Carolina defense that completely shut down the Vikings (11-3), who went scoreless in the second half.

Carolina was all over Favre. When he wasn’t being sacked (4), the Panthers were constantly in his face. The sleeping giant that is Julius Peppers was alive and leading the way with a sack and three hits on the future Hall of Fame quarterback, who ended up with no touchdowns and a pick.

Vikings running back Adrian Peterson faired no better. He scored a touchdown, but Carolina rendered him ineffective with 2.9 yards a carry. Meanwhile, Panthers back-up running back Jonathan Stewart was great, eclipsing the century mark and scoring a couple of touchdowns.

Where do the Panthers go from here? We’ll see next Sunday when they take on the Giants.

Damon Ford is a public relations professional who has worked in the public and private sectors in Charlotte. He is 7-7 in predicting Panthers games.

Sign up for our Weekly Email Newsletter Email: For Email Marketing you can trust

Other Ways to Share Twitter Del.icio.us MySpace

Discussions and Submission Agreement