It would make sense for the Panthers to bring back veteran linebacker Donte Curry. Curry was cut last week when the Panthers activated Steve Smith.

--Steve Smith's return to the football field didn't go exactly as he hoped.

Although Smith caught four passes for 70 yards in his first game back from a two-game suspension Sunday, the Panthers lost for the first time this season 20-10 to the Minnesota Vikings.

"Everyone wants a nice story and all that, but today wasn't the day," Smith said of his return. "We're going to take it and dissect the tape, whether we want to or not, and improve on it. I think we will. After Monday when we watch the film we're going to come in with a new game plan and get to work on a new opponent."

Smith had just one catch for 10 yards in the second half and praised the Vikings defense after the game.

--With Carolina leading 10-3, cornerback Antoine Winfield came around the end on a corner blitz and decked Jake Delhomme, who never saw him coming. Winfield hit Delhomme so hard he jarred the ball loose and then picked it up and went 19 yards for a touchdown to tie the game at 10.

The Vikings seized the momentum after that.

"I did not see him coming," Delhomme said. "Protection-wise we should have been OK there, but it was one of things where they made a play and we did not."

Nick Goings later admitted he should have picked up Winfield but never saw him racing in from the right side untouched until it was too late.

"I thought he was going to release it before I got there," Winfield said. It was a great call on that play sending me on the corner blitz. (Delhomme) never saw me."

Nobody felt worse in the locker room after the game than the soft-spoken Goings.

"It's a mistake on my part," Goings said of not picking up Winfield on the blitz.

It's the second costly mental mistake in as many weeks for Goings, who is considered one of the smarter and more reliable players on the team.

Against Chicago last week Goings failed to pick up a block cleanly on a punt resulting in a blocked punt and a Bears touchdown by Brandon Lloyd.

--The Vikings controlled the line of scrimmage when the Panthers had the ball. Carolina managed just 204 total yards and only 42 on the ground.

"I think our guys knew about their defensive line prior to the game and they showed why they've been to the Pro Bowls that they've been to," Panthers coach John Fox said of the Vikings defensive line.

--Jeff King had another huge miscue Sunday when he was flagged for a block in the back, nullifying a spectacular 87-yard kickoff return by Jonathan Stewart.

Instead of having the ball at the Vikings 13, the Panthers started their first second half drive at their own 7. Two plays later King was flagged for a false start penalty, setting the Panthers back another 5 yards.

King also had his problems against Chicago with false starts and failing to line up correctly on the line of scrimmage resulting in two illegal formations.

--With Steve Smith back on the roster, the Panthers deactivated Dwayne Jarrett. You have to wonder how much action Jarrett will get this season if the Panthers continue to go with four active receivers on game day and how it will affect the young man's confidence as the team moves forward.

--Chris Gamble put a devastating hit on Vikings tight end Visanthe Shiancoe as he attempted to make a catch over the middle. Gamble timed the hit perfectly and dislodged the ball from Shiancoe just moments after it hit his hands.

Later, Gamble came up with an interception of Gus Frerotte, Carolina's turnover of the game.

--Julius Peppers was around the quarterback most of the day and finally got his first sack of the season with 8:40 left in the third quarter. That seemed to fire up Carolina's defense as Charles Johnson registered a sack on the very next play.

But that did nothing to spark the offense, which couldn't take advantage of some great field position.

After the game, Peppers wasn't in the mood to talk about his first sack since Week 11 of last year.

"That's nothing," Peppers said. "It's good for the stat sheet but in the big scheme of things we lost the game. We got to get wins and not sacks."

--In the second half of Sunday's game, Chris Gamble appeared to block a Ryan Longwell field goal but the play was whistled dead after officials said the Panthers called a timeout.

The Panthers thought they had 12 men on the field, but actually had the regulation 11.

"I'm not sure we would have blocked it," Fox said. "(The Vikings) might have paused (after hearing the whistle). On tape it looks like they could have. We almost blocked the one that was live. I know that. We were very close. That's one of those players you never know."