NFL Week 8 Vikings vs. Panthers: 5 Second Half Adjustments Carolina Must Make

Welcome to the Cam Newton show, week 8. Coming off the Panthers' second victory of the season, Carolina is facing the lowly Vikings at home, with a chance to move to 3-5. Frankly, I think Ron Rivera & Co. would gladly take that record heading into their Week 9 bye.

The Panthers should make these adjustments to head into their vacation on a positive note.

1. Get After Ponder

Similar to last week when they faced the inexperienced John Beck, the Panthers are up against a QB they should be able to confuse and hurry if they take some risks on defense. Even though the Panthers are only one win better than the Vikings in the win column, they're clearly the better team.

Carolina coaches shouldn't be afraid of the Vikings, especially after what we've seen in the first half. Go ahead and rush the QB. Force Christian Ponder and Minnesota's WRs to beat you one-on-one. Take away the turnovers, and this game would be a blowout.

2. Protect Cam

This is really priority No. 1 all the time. But this week it's even more important. The best way to keep Cam on his feet and healthy for the stretch run is to rely on DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart to relieve the pressure. 

This isn't so much about making big plays as it is keeping the Vikings' lineman from pinning their ears back and teeing off on Newton. If Carolina can chew up some yards (and eat up some clock) on the ground in the second half, the Panthers should head into the bye with another win and a healthy QB.

3. Clean Up the Sloppy Errors

On the very first play of the game, Marcus Sherels took the kickoff return 78 yards against the Panthers. Even though it didn't lead to points, the Panthers were behind the Eight Ball right away.

Two Cam Newton fumbles, a near-disastrous fumble by Kealoha Pilares, and a terrible dropped pass by Jonathan Steward have followed. Is it possible Carolina has overlooked the lowly Vikings? The Panthers are sure playing like they're already thinking about their bye week vacation.

Expect fire and brimstone from Ron Rivera at halftime and a more focused Panthers unit coming out of the locker room.

4. Keep Limiting Adrian Peterson

The game plan is working so far. Carolina has loaded up to stop the run, and Christian Ponder hasn't shown he can win the game by himself. There's no reason to change up the strategy now. If anything, the Carolina defense should intensify its efforts to stuff Peterson. 

Minnesota will HAVE to start throwing the ball downfield in the second half, and that's when we could start seeing some turnovers for the home team.

5. Put the Game Away

For a few weeks now, we've been saying that Carolina is a better team than their record. Today is an opportunity to prove it. Against the bottom-dwelling Vikings, the Panthers need to show their maturity at home, take the lead and keep it.

For a team with a rookie leader, this is more about attitude than strategy.