All fired up
Falcons beat Vikings, break into win column
MINNEAPOLIS — With a fresh start and little to lose, the Atlanta Falcons played like it from start to finish.
The Minnesota Vikings made a big mistake on their very first offensive play and simply never recovered.
Julio Jones returned from injury to catch two of Matt Ryan’s four touchdown passes as the Falcons beat the Vikings 40-23 on Sunday for their first victory of the season — one week after the firing of head coach Dan Quinn and general manager Thomas Dimitroff.
The Falcons (1-5) turned three interceptions into 17 points and built a 20-0 halftime lead that proved to be solid enough — even for a team that has displayed remarkable difficulty maintaining substantial advantages, no matter how little time remains on the clock.
Quinn, popular with his players but unable to right a sinking ship with apparent talent, might have found himself wondering just why this team hadn’t played like this yet this year.
“I can’t worry about where it’s been. I’ve just got to worry about where it’s going,” said interim coach Raheem Morris, who was given the game ball afterward.
Kirk Cousins was picked off three times in the first half for the first time in his career, and the depleted Vikings (1-5) surrendered 40-plus points for the second time this year after going five straight seasons without any such games. Two of Minnesota’s past three games were one-point losses to still undefeated teams, lending confidence for a turnaround.
“It’s hard for me to figure out how we can continue to get better and play like we did a week ago and then play as poorly as we did this week,” Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said. “We didn’t do very many things right, and we’ve got to get it fixed.”
After another injury left Minnesota with only rookies available at cornerback for more than half of the game, Ryan completed 30 of 40 passes for 371 yards to rebound from a three-week stretch during which he found the end zone only once.
“It shows what we’re capable of doing,” the veteran starter said. “We just need to find a way to be at that level week in and week out.”
Jones, who missed all but one half of the previous three games because of a hamstring injury, had eight catches for 137 yards. Hayden Hurst and Calvin Ridley each chipped in a touchdown catch, and Younghoe Koo kicked four field goals for the Falcons, who held leads of 15 points over the Dallas Cowboys and 16 points on the Chicago Bears past the midpoint of the fourth quarter earlier this season. Several players remain from the team that reached Super Bowl LI in February 2017, when the Falcons blew a 28-3 advantage and lost to the New England Patriots in overtime to cap Quinn’s second season.
“We’re a real tough team. We always have been. No matter what, we just don’t fold,” said linebacker Deion Jones, who picked off a dangerous pass that was intended for Justin Jefferson but thrown into a crowd by Cousins on Minnesota’s first play from scrimmage.
A. J. Terrell later snagged his first career interception, also intended for Jefferson, and Foyesade Oluokun got one, too, as Atlanta shut out an opponent for the first half for the first time since Nov. 17, 2019, at Carolina.
From the opening kickoff in Minnesota’s empty stadium, the Falcons played with an obvious energy embodying the upbeat Morris. Linebackers coach Jeff Ulbrich was promoted to fill the defensive coordinator role Morris held under Quinn, and the strategy was superb for a group that entered the game in the bottom five in the league in most of the major statistical categories.
Said Morris: “The guys really did a good job of dictating terms and showing disguise and coming out and really confusing them a little bit to get themselves in position to make great plays.”
Cousins, who who finished 24-for-36 for 343 yards and three touchdowns, became the first Minnesota quarterback with three first-half interceptions since Daunte Culpepper on Dec. 1, 2002, also against Atlanta.
“The first one was the worst one, if you will,” said the 30-yearold Cousins, who is in his third season in Minnesota and ninth in the NFL. “That’s a mistake I may have made in year one.”