Every hit felt fatal. Every mistake felt world-ending. Every big play felt explosive. In a game where most of the scoring came on the legs of Atlanta and Minnesota’s kickers, there were so many moments that felt enormous in this matchup between two would-be NFC contenders, and so many of them early on felt like they’d go against the Falcons. Atlanta does not win these kinds of games, as a rule, when the defense must step up and the offense can’t get it rolling and things are tight deep in a game.
That requires discipline, execution, and canny play calling, especially when you’re down your top cornerback.
Yet the Falcons did it. They were bloodied and bruised from throwing sharp rocks around with a Vikings team that made far too many mistakes, but the defense, special teams, and ground game stepped up on a night where the explosives were missing and points were hard to come by. They forced J.J. McCarthy into a ton of mistakes, sacked him six times, and managed two interceptions. They held the Vikings returners in check and scooped up a muffed punt late to seal the game. They ran for 200ish yards on a very good Minnesota defense. For all the sacks Michael Penix Jr. took, for all the missed connections and drops and red zone woes, the Falcons simply outclassed Minnesota in the ways that mattered. They won 22-6, and while it was a close one throughout, it got lopsided at the end.
This was the Falcons team we wanted to see for a long time, the one that could deal with adversity and come away with the victory against a good football team. We’re still waiting to see this passing attack get untracked—it feels like that’s not that far away, but nonetheless—and yet the Falcons nearly got their overtime shot in Week 1 and won this one. We’ve been fooled a million times and I don’t want to be fooled again, but for at least this one shining moment, these Falcons feel different.
On to the drive-by-drive recap of the game you just watched.
1st Quarter
The Falcons elected to receive, and took the touchback and got the ball on the 35. Bijan Robinson took the first carry 25 yards to take the Falcons past midfield. He added 16 yards on the next carry, with quality blocking an his own absurd excellence making it happen. Bijan then took it another five yards, but slipped on the second down carry after only a yard. Then the Falcons had to take a timeout after the play clock nearly ran down to zero, with the boisterous Vikings crowd possibly playing a role, and they were then hit with a false start on Bijan. On 3rd and 9, Michael Penix Jr. hit Kyle Pitts for eight yards, falling just short of a first down. Then on fourth and short, the Falcons were hit with a delay of game penalty, forcing Parker Romo on. He just got the 48 yard attempt. 3-0 Falcons.
Vikings were stopped at the 27 on the return. With pressure right in J.J. McCarthy’s face, he hit Jalen Nailor for about five yards on first down. Aaron Jones was drilled by Divine Deablo after a yard. McCarthy then got away from pressure and scrambled, with Jessie Bates tackling him just shy of the first down marker. The Vikings went for it on fourth and inches and got no push for a McCarthy sneak, and the Falcons got the ball back.
Bijan Robinson took it for six yards after getting the corner. Penix had pressure in his face after turning around on the play action but threw a wobbler that Bijan scooped out of the dirt and ran for a first down, but it was ruled incomplete upon a replay review. Penix then hit Pitts again with a step on his defender for a first down. Penix then fired a quick hitter to Robinson for another five yards. The next play, Penix tried to hit Robinson again, but he didn’t come down with it. Penix ran away from pressure and tried to hit Darnell Mooney, but it was low in the end zone and Mooney couldn’t corral it. Romo then hit the 29 yard field goal to make it 6-0 Falcons.
The return was not great and a holding call backed it up 10 yards. Aaron Jones fought through the first tackle attempt but was taken down by a diving tackle after seven yards. Arnold Ebiketie then got the ankle tackle to hold Jones to a yard. James Pearce Jr. then blew in like a bat out of hell for a sack to make it 4th and 11. Punt.
On first down, Penix didn’t seem to have much open and settled for a quick dump off to Tyler Allgeier, but an illegal contact penalty on Byron Murphy gave Atlanta five more yards and a first down. Allgeier hammered it home for five yards, and then he plunged forward for a first down. Then Penix fired one to a leaping Pitts for another first down. Unfortunately, a false start on Pitts on the next play lost the Falcons five yards. Then Penix threw an absolute bullet to Drake London, who snagged it for a big gain…but had it punched out and Minnesota recovered. Turnover.
McCarthy then hit Justin Jefferson for nine yards, but on second down, David Onyemata killed Jordan Mason for a loss of a yard. Mason then took it for a first down.
2nd Quarter
A quick pass to Mason went for two yards before Billy Bowman Jr. got him. McCarthy then decided to start running hoping to open something up and didn’t get it, running for about a yard before going out. Then McCarthy found a leaping Nailor for a first down, who left Leonard Floyd behind. Mason then took it six yards. A false start backed Minnesota up five yards. Mason then bullied his way to a yard short of a first down. Mason then powered through contact for a yard and a first. On the next play, withering pressure got home and Leonard Floyd got the sack. A pass over the middle to T.J. Hockensen fell to the turf because Divine Deablo hit him like a hammer. On third down, a deep shot to Adam Thielen went for a first down. Then McCarthy hit Nailor for another first down to get the Vikings to the cusp of scoring. McCarthy fumbled the snap, picked it up, and threw one too high for Justin Jefferson to get. The Vikings then were hit with a delay of game. Jalon Walker then got the sack, upending McCarthy, and then McCarthy’s third down escape attempt went nowhere. Will Reichard hit the field goal to make it 6-3 Falcons.
Dee Alford muffed the kickoff, but was able to recover it and take it past the 20. Bijan Robinson took it seven yards, and then went for two more yards. Allgeier then plunged ahead for three yards and a first down. On first down, Penix looked for an open man, couldn’t find one, and then couldn’t get away from three rushers before Dallas Turner brought him down. Penix then tried to hit Ray-Ray McCloud over the middle, but it fell incomplete and he absorbed a good shove afterwards. A short pass to Bijan then went for about 15 yards, but it wasn’t enough for a first down. A nice punt by Bradley Pinion and a nice tackle by Mike Ford had Minnesota at their 14 yard line.
Aaron Jones bullied his way for seven yards on first down. Pressure came in, but McCarthy fired one over the middle to Thielen for a first down. On the next play, McCarthy tried to zip a sideline ball that was intercepted by Billy Bowman Jr.
Bijan took it for three yards on first down. On second down, Jonathan Greenard went offside hilariously early, but a holding call on the Falcons made those penalties offset. Bijan then cut it upfield for six yards to make it 3rd and 1. Allgeier then took it in a short yardage situation and picked up about eight yards. Penix then hit Allgeier for four yards. Penix then just threw it well short of Mooney on second down with pressure coming. Penix then tried to hit McCloud in the end zone but did not get there. Romo then hit his third field goal to make it 9-3 Falcons.
The return was brought down at about the 20. Then Brandon Dorlus sacked McCarthy on first down, but A.J. Terrell was hurt on the play. McCarthy then hit Justin Jefferson for a huge gain over the middle to put the Vikings within field goal range. Reichard banged it home from 51 yards out to make it 9-6 Falcons at halftime.
3rd Quarter
The return went to the 20, and then Aaron Jones took it about eight yards on first down. McCarthy then took a deep shot to Adam Thielen that fell incomplete. On the next play, what looked like another Billy Bowman Jr. interception was declared an incomplete, and the Vikings elected to punt. Natrone Brooks caught it at the 20.
Bijan took it nine yards, rumbling and rolling through contract and showing impressive balance. Bijan then picked up the first down. Then the Falcons were hit with a false start on Elijah Wilkinson. Then Penix missed on a ball to Drake London. Robinson then took the second down carry for a nifty 11 yard gain. Then Penix found Darnell Mooney for a first down over the middle. Tyler Allgeier was then swallowed up on first down for no gain. Penix went back to Mooney for about eight yards on the next play. Allgeier’s plunged picked up two yards a first down. Robinson then picked up 18 yards and surpassed 100 yards on the ground on the day, with a nice block by Charlie Woerner springing him. No gain gave way to Penix finding Bijan for a sideline ball that picked up eight yards, and then Allgeier was stuffed. Romo hit yet another field goal to put the Falcons up 12-6.
The Vikings got back to the 30, but Jordan Mason was hit after a one yard gain on first down. A quick pass to Mason was stopped short of a first down by Dee Alford. The Falcons then stonewalled Mason again, with Kaden Elliss leading the charge. The Vikings then went for it on fourth down and just got barely got it. Mason then took a carry for almost 20 yards on first down after the first tackle attempt was missed, but a holding call wiped it out. A screen to Aaron Jones was dropped. A McCarthy scramble then picked up 15 yards to make it 3rd and 4, but a false start moved the Vikings back five yards again. On third down and 9, the Vikings pass to Jefferson fell incomplete. Punt.
With the fair catch around the 20, Bijan took it three yards on first down. Penix was teed off on for the next play as Greenard sacked him cold. Then the pass to Pitts was broken up. Punt, and the Vikings got it on their own 47.
4th Quarter
OH MY GOD THE FALCONS DEFENSE DID IT. Ahem. Zach Harrison sacked J.J. McCarthy, popping the ball loose, and Divine Deablo fell on it. Falcons ball.
Bijan took it eight yards on first down, and then powered through a lot of contact for a first down. He slipped on the next carry and couldn’t get out of trouble, losing a couple of yards. Penix was then sacked for a huge loss. He hit Pitts for a small gain, setting up a 54 yard field goal try for Parker Romo. He nailed it with a little room to spare to make it 15-6 Falcons.
The kick return went nowhere as the Falcons ate him up. Mason picked up six and then two on his first two carries. Then McCarthy simply missed on a deep ball. Punt, and Brooks handled the fair catch.
Bijan took it two yards, and then turned on the jets for five yards. Penix then hit London for a first down. Unfortunately, on the next play Jake Matthews was hit with a holding call. On the next play, though, Penix found London and London managed some nifty moves with some nice blocking to pick up a first down. Allgeier then took it four yards, and then he got the edge and took it for 12 and a first down. Then Allgeier slipped a tackle and picked up yet another first down. On the next first down, he picked up a couple of yards. Bijan slipped through the line to pick up three yards, and then Robinson somehow evaded three tackles to almost pick up a first down. The Falcons then put a guy in motion to try to get the Vikings to jump, and they did it. Allgeier went for maybe a yard on first down, and then got nice blocking and rolled almost untouched into the end zone. That made it 22-6 Falcons.
Under considerable pressure, McCarthy threw it away. Then he hit Hockensen, who managed to stiff arm a Falcons defender and get out of bounds. McCarthy then escaped and found Jefferson for close to 20 yards and a first down. McCarthy threw it deep and Xavier Watts intercepted it, effectively ending the game
Allgeier took it six yards, then a couple, then a yard. On the Bradley Pinion punt, the returner muffed it and Mike Ford picked it up, ending the game.
