The Minnesota Vikings have a win. After starting 0-3, the team finally got into the win column after defeating the Carolina Panthers 21-13.

It was not the prettiest win of all time, but the team did enough to walk away with a tough road victory. 

Today, let's take a look at the biggest winners and losers from this Vikings' win. 

Winner: Harrison Smith

Perhaps no one player affected this game more than Smith did. The star safety racked up 14 tackles, three sacks, two tackles for loss, and three quarterback hits. Much had been made about the Vikings’ lack of a pass rush, so the veteran safety went out and did it himself. 

Smith was all over the field on Sunday and showed he still has elite ability. One of the sacks by Smith caused a fumble and resulted in a DJ WOnnum scoop-and-score 51-yard TD. Another of Smith's sacks ended up sealing the game. 

This was easily the best performance of the season for Smith, and probably the best over the last couple seasons. 

Loser: Dean Lowry

Lowry was added this offseason and was expected to be a force on the interior next to Harrison Phillips. Instead, Lowry has played fewer and fewer snaps each week. 

The defensive lineman played 68% of snaps in the opener, 51% in Week 2, 47% last week, and just 31% on Sunday. Lowry has collected just eight tackles and no sacks as a Viking thus far. It appears the veteran will continue to lose snaps to Jaquelin Roy. 

Winner D.J. Wonnum

Wonnum had his best game as a pro on Sunday. The edge rusher scooped up a fumble and rumbled into the end zone for a 51-yard score that totally changed the momentum of the game. 

Wonnum also collected six tackles, one sack, one tackle for loss, one pass defense, and two QB hits. This is exactly the type of performance that the team has been needing from Wonnum. 

If Wonnum can build off of this performance, what once seemed like a weakness for the Vikings could soon become a strength. 

Loser: Kirk Cousins

This feels harsh but it’s technically fair. Cousins had by far his worst game of the season on Sunday. This was the first game in which Cousins not only failed to eclipse 300 passing yards, but the QB didn’t even reach 200. 

Cousins finished the day with just 139 yards with 2 TDs and 2 INTs. Perhaps the key to the Vikings' winning is Cousins having a bad game. 

No, but seriously, I'm not worried about Cousins at all. Nobody can throw for 300+ with 3 TDs every single game. Expect Kirk to bounce back against the Chiefs in Week 5.

Winner: Marcus Davenport

Davenport, for all intents and purposes, saw his first action of the season on Sunday. Technically the pass rusher was active for the Eagles game, but he saw just four snaps. 

Against the Panthers, Davenport showcased why he was worth the $13M given to him this offseason. The veteran collected four tackles and a sack while playing just over half of the defensive snaps. Davenport was likely on a pitch count, but that shouldn't be the case going forward. This was a great debut for the veteran. 

Loser: Mekhi Blackmon

Blackmon was figured to have a big role after impressing this summer. Instead, the rookie has been a very small part of the defensive game plan. Blackmon played just 29% of the defensive snaps on Sunday and didn’t record a statistic. 

It's not encouraging that the rookie can't get on the field, even with the struggles the Vikings' secondary has had. The team has opted to keep Akayleb Evans and Byron Murphy Jr. on the field all game with three safeties instead of turning to Blackmon or Andrew Booth Jr. That says a lot about those players' statuses with the team. 

Winner: Justin Jefferson

Jefferson could just perpetually be included in the winner section. Even though Cousins threw for just 139 yards, 85 of those yards were via Jefferson. The star receiver had six catches for 85 yards with two TDs. 

As long as Jefferson is healthy, he is the best player on the field. Who knows what this game would've looked like if Jefferson wasn't available. 

3 takeaways from the Vikings’ first win of the season

The Vikings broke into the win column on Sunday.

Featured image via © Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports