Have the Minnesota Vikings Peaked?

Can't blame Brett Favre. This pathetically flat performance was a team effort. 

The Minnesota Vikings sleep-walked through their Sunday night game at Carolina, unaware that they couldn't just show up and win in the NFL, and lost 26-7.

While they entered the fourth quarter with the lead, that evaporated in seconds when the Panthers hit Steve Smith for a 42-yard touchdown on 3rd-and-26.

It only got worse from there.

The Vikings missed tackles time and again throughout the rest of game, helping Jonathan Stewart rush for 109 yards, the first time Minnesota has allowed a 100-yard rusher in 36 games. Antoine Winfield looked rusty, Ben Leber looked lost, and Matt Moore looked like Johnny U.

Matt freakin' Moore, with the career 56.6 percent completion percentage and 67.9 quarterback rating.

Moore ended the game 21-33, with 299 yards, three touchdowns, and no picks.

Most of Moore, Stewart, and Smith's damage was done in the fourth quarter though. Twenty unanswered points can happen in the fourth quarter when the opposition is gassed, and Minnesota was gassed. 

Carolina had the ball for 37:59 of the game, compared to Minnesota with 22:01, and that discrepancy helped the Panthers dominate the last quarter. The Vikings defense was worn down, beaten, and fatigued. They started to miss tackles and were unable to get any pressure on the quarterback and that was that.

Like any game, there were some missed plays that might have changed the outcome.

If pass interference had been called on Steve Smith on that 3rd-and-26 touchdown, that would have made some difference; not saying it should have been called, but officials have thrown the flag for less.

Or if Sidney Rice doesn't fumble the ball on the Panthers' 36-yard line when the Vikings had the lead and some semblance of offensive momentum in the third quarter; or if Leber was able to recover a fumble in the first quarter deep in Carolina territory when the game was scoreless; or if Visanthe Shiancoe can hang onto a third-down pass after Favre somehow escaped Julius Peppers' grasp.

Really, though, nothing would have changed this outcome. Not with the way the Vikings offensive line played, letting Panthers linebackers plug every gap and allowing Peppers to live in the backfield.

Steve Hutchinson said, "It was an embarrassment." Bryant McKinnie was benched after being humiliated by Peppers. Then Peppers proceeded to humiliate Artis Hicks. Favre was sacked four times and hit 10 times in total.

Most disturbing of all is that it is officially official: The Vikings cannot run the ball with the best running back in football.

Minnesota's offensive line is not creating enough lanes, getting to the next level, sealing the outside, or doing much of anything for Adrian Peterson.

The aforementioned McKinnie has been lackadaisical all year. Hutchinson has played nowhere near his All-Pro level and John Sullivan is routinely pushed into the backfield.  

As for Peterson, he has five straight games with less than four yards a carry and less than 100 rushing yards. Peterson is contributing in the passing game, but that won't cut it. 

The inability to run with Peterson, to drain the clock, and control the game, puts too much pressure on Favre and the defense.

The inability to run makes Minnesota look more like a playoff also-ran than a Super Bowl contender. 

For the Vikings to have any chance in January, they need to straighten out the offensive line and Peterson needs to produce. If that means running out of passing formations, on passing downs, establishing the pass early to get the opposition off-guard, bringing in the fullback more, or just giving Peterson the ball 40 times, who knows. 

But something needs to change and coach Brad Childress, of the recent four-year contract extension, needs to figure out what changes those are.

At this moment, it looks like the Vikings might not even be one of the two best teams in the NFC, not after losing two of their last three (two straight in prime time) and with the Philadelphia Eagles breathing down their neck.

The Vikings have a slim-to-none chance for home field advantage and are now only one game up on Philly for the second seed—with Philly owning the tiebreaker. 

Minnesota's back is against the wall.

How they respond remains to be seen.

Luckily for them, they don't have any more Sunday night games.