Sportsnaut
Unlike last week, three quarters of ugly offense turned into four quarters of ugly offense on Sunday night for the Minnesota Vikings. It was just enough for the Atlanta Falcons to pull away with a commanding 22-6 victory over the Vikings, evening up these teams’ records at 1-1. While it was a clear win for the Falcons, who were the biggest winners and losers from Sunday night’s game?
The Vikings didn’t have starting left tackle Christian Darrisaw, arguably their best offensive lineman. An already tough day got even tougher when the Vikings lost Darrisaw’s replacement, Justin Skule, and former Pro Bowl center Ryan Kelly after in-game injuries. As a whole, they let-down their 22-year-old rookie quarterback, with the Falcons creating what felt like constant pressure, leading to six sacks.
After finishing with the second-fewest sacks in the NFL a season ago, the Falcons spent two first-round picks on pass-rushers. While they made other personnel changes too, the Falcons’ tweaks led to a six-sack day on Sunday. They didn’t have any games with over five sacks in 2024, so this is a very positive sign, but they were also facing a 22-year-old QB making his second NFL start.
It’s still taking J.J. McCarthy a lot of time to read NFL defenses. His hesitation led to three sacks in his starting debut. He went down six more times on Sunday night. Granted, the Vikings didn’t have Christian Darrisaw and they later lost their replacement right tackle plus center Ryan Kelly to injury too. Still, McCarthy had chances for big plays, and still missed out, like in the fourth quarter with Jalen Nailor running wide open. After completing just 11-of-20 passes for 158 yards, two interceptions, and a lost fumble, McCarthy has some work to do before Week 3’s matchup against the Bengals, who may not have Joe Burrow.
While the Vikings recorded three sacks, including one from 2024 first-round pick Dallas Turner, they also allowed Bijan Robinson to run wild. Robinson went off for 143 yards on 22 carries, but it wasn’t just him. Tyler Allgeier also recorded 76 yards and a touchdown on just 13 carries. Allowing 219 rushing yards is just not acceptable for any defense, especially one led by former and possibly future NFL head coach Brian Flores.
Related: 2025 NFL QB Rankings
Justin Jefferson wishes his name was mentioned here, but after recording 81 yards in a winless effort, it’s clear who the big winner here was. Bijan Robinson had a game to remember in Week 2, averaging 6.5 yards per carry while racking up 143 yards. He also recorded another 25 yards as a receiver. Overall, he was the biggest gamechanger leading to what looked like an easy Falcons win.
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