It didn’t take the Minnesota Vikings long to put themselves into a deep whole this week. It took five seconds into the first quarter for Kirk Cousins to commit another turnover, and a little under three minutes later for the Atlanta Falcons to start the scoring. Cousins would go on to throw two more interceptions in a game that featured the 31st worse defense in the National Football League.
The Falcons, on the other hand, looked to be operating on all cylinders with interim Head Coach Raheem Morris calling the shots for the “Dirty Birds.” Offense, defense and special teams looked to be in rare form and was a reminder to the entire league that the Falcons can turn it up at a push of the button. The 2016 NFL MVP, Matt Ryan, completed 75% of his passes and threw for 371 yards and four touchdowns and finished the game with a 136.6 QBR, his highest of the season. Matty Ice had a lot of help in the form of Julio Jones, who returned after missing one game with a hamstring injury. The 2011 first round draft pick would go on to haul in eight of his ten targets for 137 yards. Jones also reached the promised land on two separate occasions.
For the home team Vikings, three first half interceptions by Kirk Cousins was way too much to overcome. On top go that, the Vikings would only go on to run for 32 yards on 13 carries split by Alexander Mattison, Ameer Abdullah and Mike Boone. On the bright side, rookie wide receiver Justin Jefferson easily had the greatest game of his career. The LSU product would go on to haul in nine receptions for 166 yards and scoring two touchdowns on the afternoon. Jefferson has done an amazing job trying to fill in the whole that was voided when Stefon Diggs was dealt to the Buffalo Bills.
With the win, the Falcons finally recorded their first win of the season and are now 1-5. The Falcons, who are still in last place in the NFC South, will be hosting the Detroit Lions next weekend at 1:00 PM.
The Vikings, with yet another loss, still sit in last place and are now 1-5 on the young season and have now lost five straight games in a row at home dating back to last season. Their schedule does not get any easier as they go to Lambeau Field next week to take on MVP front runner Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers in an NFC North matchup that will definitely be a must win game for the Vikes.
