Mare upset with missed kick

Olindo Mare is kicking himself after failing to kick the game-tying field goal against the Vikings. The Panthers found plenty of other holes with their game, like their run defense, keeping their offense on the field in the second half and consistently stopping Jared Allen.

Olindo Mare was torn up about his missed field goal from 31 yards out with 26 seconds left in Sunday's 24-21 loss to Minnesota.

Mare could have sent the game into overtime but shanked the kick wide left.

"I wish I could have another chance but it's disappointing," Mare said. "We work so hard all week and we got a week off. Everybody did their job and it came down to me toeing it up and I didn't do it. It's disappointing. I let the team down, the coaches down, the fans down, everybody. It's as much of a team sport as much as it is an isolated position as an individual. Throughout the game there were some good and bad things. Obviously I didn't do my job so I'll have to go back and fix it. It's tough. It's difficult when your team puts you in a position to succeed and they do everything they can to win a game and you don't come through. It's disappointing."

Mare had been 13 of 15 on field-goal attempts coming into the game.

The Panthers held the Vikings to 35 yards rushing in the first half, but the flood gates opened in the second half as the visitors finished with 132 yards on the ground.

The run defense has been an Achilles heel for the Panthers all year. They rank 29th in the league against the run.

"That was a challenge to stop (Peterson) and keep him contained," linebacker Dan Connor said. "We started out good, did a good job. They kept grinding out runs in the second half to keep the ball out of our offense's hands. We didn't do a good enough job. We should have caused a turnover or caused a three-and-out early on to let our offense do their thing. Seems like that might be what caused it."

Coach Ron Rivera believes his defense might have gotten fatigued in the second half after the offense went three-and-out on three straight possessions.

"A little bit. We were trying to shuttle guys in and out," Rivera said. "Try to get them as fresh as we can. We were actually pretty thin at a couple positions. We were thin at corner today for an unfortunate situation. When Thomas Williams got dinged, Omar Gaither ended up playing a little bit more than we expected him to have to play. It's unfortunate. When you are next up you have to be ready to go."

Jordan Gross, the Panthers' Pro Bowl left tackle, was upset with himself after the game for allowing Jared Allen to record a sack-fumble that led to a Vikings touchdown that tied the game just before halftime.

Gross otherwise played a great game against Allen, but the one play hurt.

"I got beat and caused the fumble on Cam (Newton) and Jared Allen got it right before the half. That was a huge part in the game," Gross said. "I can't allow that to happen."

NOTES

CB Captain Munnerlyn had a very solid game for the Panthers against Percy Harvin. Munnerlyn wrestled the ball away from Harvin after a reception and also enticed Harvin into committing a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. Munnerlyn is small, but he's extremely physical.

WR Steve Smith now has five 100-yard receiving games in the first half of the season and continues to lead the league in that category.

CB Darius Butler missed Sunday's game to be with his daughter in Hollywood, Fla. His daughter had open heart surgery earlier this week.

QB Cam Newton threw a career-high three touchdown passes on Sunday, but the Panthers still lost. Newton has thrown 11 touchdowns on the season and run for seven.