Minnesota Vikings Rally in 4th Qtr to Defeat Falcons 41-28

The Minnesota Vikings and the Atlanta Falcons were tied 28-28 after three quarters and the Vikings scored 13 points in the final quarter to defeat the Falcons 41-28. Vikings Rookie Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater threw for 317 yards and had a rushing touchdown in his first NFL start. Rookie Running Back Jerick McKinnon rushed for a game-high 135 yards and that was his career-high. Vikings Running Back Matt Asiata rushed for 78 yards and had 3 rushing touchdowns. Vikings Wide Receiver Jarius Wright had 8 catches for 132 yards both were game-highs. Vikings Kicker Blair Walsh made 4 out of 5 field goals and kicked a 55-yard field goal in the fourth-quarter. The Vikings improve to 2-2 and won their first home game of the season.
Falcons Quarterback Matt Ryan passed for 298 yards, 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Running Back Antone Smith led the Falcons with 62 yards rushing and a rushing touchdown. Falcons Wide Receiver Julio Jones led the team with 6 catches for 82 yards. Falcons Wide Receiver Roddy White had 4 catches for 73 yards and a touchdown. Falcons Wide Receiver Devin Hester caught 5 passes for 70 yards and a touchdown. The Falcons are now 2-2 and are tied with the Carolina Panthers for the division lead in the NFC South.

The Falcons were projected to win this game against the Vikings without Running Back Adrian Peterson and a rookie quarterback starting. The Falcons look good one week and the next week a different team shows up. The Falcons did lose three of their starting offensive lineman to injury this game and this will be a huge blow to the team if they aren’t healthy next week. The Falcons go on the road to face the New York Giants for their next game and the Giants are also 2-2. Giants Quarterback Eli Manning has played well the last two games and he is bound to have a bad game soon. The Falcons hope the erratic Eli shows up against them and they can rise up again as a team.

Photo Credit: Anne Heisnefelt/AP