Fresh off a pulse-pounding finish against the Carolina Panthers, the Minnesota Vikings got back to .500 after a terrific comeback win on Sunday. Kirk Cousins was clutch for them and Dalvin cook had another strong rushing performance to pave the way for Minnesota's exciting finish against Carolina in Week 6.

Looking to follow-up with another big win during their Week 8 match-up against the Dallas Cowboys, the Minnesota Vikings will have a ton of work to do during their upcoming bye week. As they look to turn things around and climb the ranks of the NFC North, let's now discuss the two biggest takeaway from their down-to-the-wire win against the Panthers this weekend.

Vikings Takeaways From Panthers Game

The Vikings offense is still capable of putting up big numbers 

With big games from Cousins, Cook, Adam Thielen, Justin Jefferson, K.J. Osborn, and Tyler Conklin, the Vikings have shown that they still possess an explosive offense when they are all clicking and on the same page. In a game that they very easily could've lost today, the Vikings showed that they have the perseverance and talent to overcome the odds and come away with a quality win.

After showcasing their versatile offense and handing the Panthers their third straight loss of the season, the Vikings are on to big things and will need to continually put on big performances like this if they want to come away with more wins throughout the season and keep pace in the NFC wild card race.

Minnesota's defense made some critical stops against the Panthers 

During their wild finish against the Panthers on Sunday, Harrison Smith, Xavier Woods, and Mackensie Alexander all had highly productive games while leading the charge for Minnesota on defense. With 16 tackles between them, this dominant trio of high-IQ defensive studs were doing it all for the Vikings in Week 6 as they came away with a much-needed win while continuing their pursuit to catch the Green Bay Packers and beat them out for the top spot in the NFC North.

Aiming to follow-up with another big defensive showing during their primetime showdown with the Cowboys, the Vikings will have to step up their game if they want to slow down Dallas' high-powered offensive attack. This weekend the Vikings put in the work defensively to fend off the Panthers in their quest to get over .500 and climb the ranks of the NFC. Given all they've dealt with and everything that they've got going on at the moment, the Vikings definitely have the depth and talent to keep this up throughout the season.

Now that they've dug themselves out of a hole and don't possess a losing record, at least for the moment, the Vikings could up their status to dark horse title contender if they can turns things around and come away with a few more quality wins in the coming weeks. After their thrilling finish against Carolina, the Vikings have proven that they can come through in big moments. So keep an eye out for this deep and multi-talented Vikings squad to make some noise and keep the chains moving against the Cowboys in Week 8.