The Minnesota Vikings finally broke into the win column on Sunday. For the first time this season, we get to do a recap that isn't mostly negative!

There were a lot of good takeaways from this game. The defense played great for the most part, the offense made plays when it needed to, and there were no egregious coaching decisions. 

Without further ado, let's get into the latest edition of "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly." 

The Good: The defense

The defense had its best performance of the season, just one week after having its worst. The Viking defense allowed Bryce Young to accumulate just 204 yards with zero touchdown passes. Additionally, the team collected five sacks, which is equal to the combined amount the team had for the first three weeks. 

Granted, the Panthers aren't the scariest passing attack, but a solid performance like this will only build confidence for a young secondary. 

A key turning point in this game was a Harrison Smith sack that resulted in a fumble which DJ Wonnum took for a 51-yard score. This changed the momentum of the game and the Panthers' offense never regrouped. The team still has just one INT on the season, so the forced fumble was an encouraging sign. 

The Bad: The offense

The offense looked totally out of sync for a large portion of the day on Sunday. Cousins had his worst day in a long time, finishing with just 139 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Cousins also fumbled, but the Vikings were able to maintain possession. 

Once again, Cousins was sacked multiple times. Jordan Addison, KJ Osborn, and TJ Hockenson combined for just three catches for 40 yards. Alexander Mattison did a nice job on the ground, as did Cam Akers. Justin Jefferson, of course, had another huge day. Other than those three, the offense was bad against Carolina. 

The Ugly: Turnovers

Once again, the Vikes had a negative turnover differential. And once again, it was Kirk Cousins who was responsible for said turnovers.

We've already talked about how this was Cousins' worst game of the season. The team may be able to get away with turning the ball over multiple times against a team like Carolina, but it won't be so lucky against better teams. The red zone struggles are especially concerning, with the Vikes only getting one red zone TD on Sunday. 

The Vikings still have just one interception on the season, which is not good enough, especially when the offense keeps turning it over. 

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