Nod to Weinke at Quarterback

The Minnesota Vikings were supposed to have the polished offense with Daunte Culpepper, not the Carolina Panthers and rookie Chris Weinke.

The Panthers entered the season without much promise at quarterback, but Weinke threw a go-ahead touchdown pass to Muhsin Muhammad midway through the third quarter and ran for a score in the fourth, leading the underdog Panthers to a 24-13 victory over the mistake-prone Vikings.

“He was calm and mature,” said tight end Wesley Walls, who caught three passes for 74 yards after missing the last eight games of 2000 with a knee injury. “He never seemed overwhelmed that we had a chance to beat the Vikings.”

Carolina’s Steve Smith returned the opening kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown, and the Panthers helped by Culpepper’s struggles.

Playing their first regular-season game since the heatstroke death of lineman Korey Stringer in training camp, the Vikings committed four turnovers--three of them were Culpepper’s interceptions.

“It starts with me,” said Culpepper, who was spectacular as a rookie last season. “I should’ve just slowed things down. I have to make better decisions.”

Culpepper threw a touchdown pass to Cris Carter that gave Minnesota its only lead, 13-10, late in the third quarter. Culpepper completed 22 of 38 passes for 236 yards and ran 12 times for 55 yards and a touchdown.

Carter’s touchdown--his 125th--tied him with Walter Payton for fifth place on the career list. But Randy Moss was held to one catch for 28 yards, and Minnesota’s offense never got on track.

“I told our team, if they make a big play in the first quarter or even the first half, we’re in trouble,” said Panther cornerback Jimmy Hitchcock, a former Viking who intercepted a pass from Culpepper in the second quarter.

The Vikings, wearing a No. 77 patch to honor Stringer, will retire his jersey on Nov. 19 against the New York Giants. His death was devastating, but the Vikings still went 4-0 in exhibition games.

“I think the preseason pampered us,” Moss said. “We got a little carried away.”

Weinke, a 29-year-old rookie grew up in Minneapolis and won the Heisman Trophy last season at Florida State, was 13 for 22 for 223 yards and a touchdown with an interception.

“I felt so well-prepared for this game,” Weinke said. “The coaching staff put us in a comfortable situation. I felt more nerves before a lot of college games than this one.”

Carolina Coach George Seifert, who let veteran Steve Beuerlein go last spring and cut anticipated starter Jeff Lewis during training camp, was pleased by Weinke’s poise.

“He was efficient in what we did,” Seifert said.