Minnesota Vikings predictions: Week 12 vs. Panthers

Just when you thought the Minnesota Vikings were bound for an improbable playoff run, they reverted back to their old selves and lost to Dallas 31-28 last week.

Well, with the extra wild-card spot this season and the Vikings sitting at 4-6, all hope is not lost. But there is little room for error the rest of the way.

Can Minnesota get back on track and defeat the 4-7 Carolina Panthers?

Here’s this week’s Vikings predictions from around the web:

Barry Wilner of the Associated Press: Vikings 28, Panthers 20. “Minnesota really stuck itself with those Vikings horns last week.”

Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times: Vikings 28, Panthers 23. “The Panthers snapped a five-game losing streak with a good win over Detroit, but they’re still battered. Still, their defense is awful, and Dalvin Cook should have a big day. Will Adam Thielen play?”

Pete Prisco of CBS Sports: Vikings 27, Panthers 21. “The Vikings blew a game last week at home to the Cowboys and now need this game badly to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Panthers should have Teddy Bridgewater back to face his former team. Even so, I think the Vikings will find a way to bounce back with a better showing than last week. Dalvin Cook will have another big day.”

Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com: Panthers 28, Vikings 27. “These teams are evenly matched, with efficient offenses doing their best to cover up holes defensively (especially rushing the passer). The status of Teddy Bridgewater and Christian McCaffrey makes a difference here, but I like that Carolina’s coaching staff puts Teddy Two Gloves in more advantageous situations than Kirk Cousins by throwing more on early downs. In this Thanksgiving week, Teddy winning in Minnesota makes me sentimental.”

Will Brinson of CBS Sports: Panthers 34, Vikings 31. “Would lean towards this over too, because the Vikings can’t stop anyone and the Panthers have legit passing weapons. It’s also a Teddy Bridgewater revenge game. He was a first-round pick for Minny, blew his knee out and they dumped him for Case Keenum. I like the narrative that it “doesn’t matter” but it definitely does! You think Teddy doesn’t care more about this game than the last week? Get out. I bet Joe Brady cooks up a nice scheme for him and I would guess he goes over his passing total. Neither team plays defense despite their reputation, so take the full game over. I’ll take the Panthers with the points too. More importantly though — the free bet of the week, AKA Dalvin Cook over rush yards. He’s hit it the last five weeks and he’s going to hit it here barring injury. I would need to see something in the range of 125 to take the under.”

John Breech of CBS Sports: Vikings 20, Panthers 17.

The Miami Herald’s Greg Cote: Vikings 24, Panthers 16. “Minnesota is only 1-4 at home and is coming off an upset loss to Cowboys, while Carolina is coming off a shutout win and expects QB Teddy Bridgewater back to face his former team. Nevertheless! Liking the Purples to control clock and game behind Dalvin Cook chewing up a Panthers run defense allowing 4.6 yards per carry.”

Vinnie Iyer of the Sporting News: Vikings 31, Panthers 24. “The Vikings’ defense put them in a tough spot again in the loss to the Cowboys. They need to get ahead of the game script and blast Dalvin Cook to a big lead. The Panthers’ run defense is terrible, so you can bet Cook will be fed all day to compensate for the Dallas experience. Teddy Bridgewater, if he returns from his knee injury as expected, has a nice chance for a good “revenge” game, but Cook’s constant chunk running will put this game out of reach in the end.”

Jonathan Jones of CBSSports.com: Panthers. “Call me crazy but I’m going with Carolina. The Vikings seem to have their stuff together but Teddy Bridgewater has been eyeing this game ever since the schedule came out. I like the fight this Carolina team has, and I think they took a step in the right direction last week to fix their third-down woes on defense.”

Bill Bender of the Sporting News: Vikings 27, Panthers 21. “The opportunity for a Teddy Bridgewater revenge game is appealing, but if he can’t play P.J. Walker proved that that offense can still function. Kirk Cousins has more support, and he has thrown just one interception in his last four games. Dalvin Cook will keep the running game going.”

Jordan Dajani of CBSSports.com: Vikings 24, Panthers 21.

Philly Voice’s Jimmy Kempski: Vikings.

Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman: Vikings 31, Panthers 24.

Pro Football Talk’s Michael David Smith and Mike Florio: MDS — Vikings 30, Panthers 13; Vikings 28, Panthers 23.

Oliver Hodgkinson of Pro Football Network: Vikings 26, Panthers 24.

Sportsnaut’s Vincent Frank: Vikings 31, Panthers 23. “Seemingly righting the ship into playoff contention, Minnesota had won three consecutive games heading into a Week 11 outing against the hapless Chargers. Boy, things took a turn in Minneapolis. While Kirk Cousins continued playing great football, his defense let the team down in a big way. That included a game-winning 11-play, 61-yard touchdown-scoring drive engineered by Cowboys quarterback Andy Dalton. Things were going in the opposite direction for a Panthers squad that has lost five consecutive. Teddy Bridgewater and Christian McCaffrey remain banged up in the backfield. Meanwhile, Carolina’s defense has given up a whopping 79 points over the past two games. That changed big time in Week 11 during a shocking 20-0 shutout win over the Lions. However, this could be an exception to the rule given how many injuries Detroit was dealing with on offense. Expect things to return to normalcy here with Minnesota getting a much-needed win.

Three of four analysts at SI.com are picking the Vikings. The only analyst picking the Panthers is Mitch Goldich.

Two of three writers at Athlon Sports picked the Vikings. Ben Weinrib picked the Panthers.

Six of seven PennLive.com writers pick the Vikings to win.