The game ended with a final score of 42-21 in favor of the Minnesota Vikings. However, this game was fairly close and even tied at the end of the third quarter before the Vikings scored three touchdowns in the final stanza.
Falcons Start Hot But Fade Quickly
The Falcons started the scoring with a long drive capped off by a rushing TD by Tyler Allgeier. The Vikings responded with one minute left in the first quarter. An underthrown ball by Sam Darnold made it possible for Jordan Addison to get back to it and get a 49-yard TD reception. Kirk Cousins continued to struggle, had quite a few incompletions, and threw a pick to Safety Josh Metellus in the first part of the second quarter.
There was also a controversial holding call against the Falcons on a field goal attempt that gave the Vikings a first down. They brought the offense back onto the field and ended up getting a touchdown pass from Darnold to Justin Jefferson. That was Jefferson’s first TD in almost two months, over six total games.
Falcons Get Stonewalled At Goal Line
The Falcons were moving the ball until there was a holding penalty against their offensive line. Then Cousins got a huge completion to Darnell Mooney for 49 yards. A run from Bijan Robinson to get to the 2-yard line, but then the Vikings stonewalled the Falcons at the 3-yard line for a 1-yard loss. Jalen Redmond then got his hand on a pass to cause an incompletion. The Falcons settled for a FG. The score was 14-10 in favor of the Vikings. The Vikings knelt it and went into halftime with the lead.
Minnesota’s Passing Offense Starts To Gain Traction
There were a couple of big passes from Darnold to TJ Hockenson to keep the chains moving on the Vikings’ first drive on offense in the second half. Aaron Jones was looking better and was running with more confidence. The Vikings ended up settling for a field goal attempt. However, Kicker Will Reichard missed the 47-yard attempt. He had the distance but hit the left upright.
Cousins Continues To Struggle as Falcons Settle For Another FG
Kirk Cousins continued to get pressured, and almost threw another INT. Then he threw a pass that was ruled as a completion. Even though Shaq Griffin appeared to have intercepted the ball before Drake London took possession of the ball from him on the ground. Head Coach Kevin O’Connell threw the red challenge flag but unfortunately, the officials ruled that there was not enough video evidence to overturn the call. Robinson kept the ball moving with a 7-yard run gashing the Vikings run defense. Cousins then completed a pass to Ray-Ray McCloud for 27 yards.
There was an offensive holding call that negated a big run by Bijan Robinson and Andrew Van Ginkel almost picked off a pass he most likely would have returned for a pick-six. The Falcons ended up settling for another field goal attempt after the drive was stalled by the holding penalty. Younghoe Koo was successful on the 29-yard field goal attempt.
Vikings Air Game Takes Off, Falcons Tie the Score
The team got a couple of big passes from Darnold to Jefferson, one for 21 yards and the second one for 52 yards and a TD. The Falcons get a 25-yard run by Tyler Allgeier, and big passes to Drake London and McCloud before a 13-yard TD run by Bijan Robinson. They then went for a two-point conversion and were successful with another Bijan Robinson run. The game was tied at 21 with less than a minute left in the third quarter. The Vikings got a 14-yard pass from Darnold to Hockenson before a 42-yard pass from Darnold to Addison. The drive was capped off by a dime from Darnold to Addison for another TD.
Minnesota’s Defense Forces 2 Turnovers On 2 Drives
Brian Asamoah forced a fumble from McCloud and the Vikings kept things moving on offense. Darnold distributed the ball to Addison and got it down to the 1-yard line. There was an illegal motion penalty on Darnold before he connected with Addison again for his fifth passing TD, third to Addison on the afternoon. The Vikings led 35-21 after a successful extra point by Reichard. The Vikings defense got pressure on Cousins on the next drive as he overthrew his intended target, Kyle Pitts. The pass went right into the hands of Byron Murphy for Cousins’ second interception of the game.
Vikings’ Ground Game Finds Paydirt
Minnesota got the ball on their o-yard line after the initial ruling of a touchback was overturned. The Falcons committed a neutral zone infraction to get the Vikings out of the shadow of their endzone and it gave the Vikings a first down. Cam Akers got a 4-yard gain, 25-yard gain, and 11-yard gain on consecutive runs for the Vikings. Minnesota kept the ball moving with a Falcons’ penalty and a 26-yard pass to TE Josh Oliver. Aaron Jones capped off the drive with a 15-yard TD run. The Vikings led 42-21 after a successful Reichard kick.
Darnold Continues His Ascent While Cousins Continues His Descent
Kirk Cousins has had 9 interceptions and 0 touchdowns over his last five games, while Darnold has had 11 touchdowns and no picks over that same time frame. The Falcons continued to struggle with two false start penalties on their final offensive drive of the game. The Vikings ended the game with a couple of kneeldowns by Nick Mullens to run out the clock. The Minnesota Vikings came out on top with a 42-21 final score. The Vikings improved to 11-2 on the season, while the Atlanta Falcons dropped to 6-7 on the year.
The Vikings stay at home next Monday night to play the 4-8 Chicago Bears. They look to add to their 6-game winning streak against the worst team in the NFC North.
