Five extra points: Sloppy play, third-down woes hamper Vikings in ugly loss to Falcons

Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores spent last week preaching three keys to defending Falcons jump cut extraordinaire Bijan Robinson. “Set the edge, play the cutback, make the tackle,” outside linebacker Dallas Turner said after Sunday night’s 22-6 loss at U.S. Bank Stadium. It took one snap for inside linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. to mess that up. Turner set the left edge, Robinson cut back, and Pace was in the hole at the line of scrimmage. He missed the tackle.

“We just missed some tackles early in the game,” coach Kevin O’Connell said. Heck, they missed two on that first play alone.

Safety Josh Metellus whiffed on Robinson seven yards downfield. “We were all passing the baton in terms of messing up,” Metellus said. Robinson gained 25 yards on that play, 17 on the next one and 143 on 22 carries (6.5). Atlanta’s 218 yards on 39 carries (5.6) were the most allowed by the Vikings since the Philadelphia Eagles bludgeoned them with 259 yards on 48 carries in Week 2 of the 2023 season — Flores’ second game with the Vikings.

The Vikings were 14 plays into a 17-play drive and facing second-and-goal from the 2 when the umpire — the official responsible for spotting the ball and then allowing the defense to match substitutions — stood over the ball as the play clock ticked under five seconds en route to the Vikings being flagged for delay of game. What the heck, KO?

“They told me they saw somebody step off our sideline from very much further back” than where the Vikings normally sub in from, O’Connell said.

O’Connell sounded skeptical but said he would have to watch the film before judging the decision to prevent the Vikings from snapping the ball. O’Connell called that a “critical, critical” moment that could have turned the momentum and helped a defense that was gassed by the end of the game. Instead, the Vikings went on to give up back-to-back sacks before settling for a field goal and a 6-3 deficit.

For the most part, third downs have made McCarthy look like the fuzz-faced 22-year-old with two NFL starts that he is. McCarthy is completing 45.5% of his passes (5-for-11) for 65 yards, a 5.9-yard average per attempt, with two first downs, a touchdown, a pick-six and four sacks. He also has two third-down rushing attempts for 20 yards and a touchdown. His team has converted only 7-of-23 third downs (30.4%), including a 19-yard completion to Adam Thielen on third-and-18 on Sunday.

The Vikings’ much-ballyhooed upgrade in the straight-ahead, short-yardage power department is lacking. They ran 11 plays with fewer than three yards needed for a first down or touchdown. They converted only three times. Atlanta ran eight such plays and converted six times. O’Connell went for it on fourth-and-1 from his 36-yard line just 5½ minutes into the game. McCarthy’s sneak was stuffed when he fumbled the snap. Some of us asked, once again, “Where’s the beefy new running back, Jordan Mason, in that situation?” But even the 230-pound Mason had only four yards and two first downs in four attempts with one or two yards needed for a first down. He was stopped for no gain on third-and-1 and lost a yard on second-and-1. McCarthy sneaks went 1-for-2 on fourth-and-1. And in the KO-probably-got-too-cute department, McCarthy went 0-for-4 passing with a sack while throwing with fewer than three yards needed for a first down or touchdown.

Eight penalties for 50 yards is a lot when you’re running only 46 plays for 198 yards. What would have been the Vikings’ third-longest play of the game — an 18-yard run by Mason — was negated by a holding penalty on third-string left tackle Walter Rouse’s first offensive snap in the NFL. It came late in the third quarter with the Vikings trailing 12-6. Mason had reached the Atlanta 41, which would have been only the third time the Vikings crossed midfield in their first seven possessions. Instead, the drive ended with a punt short of midfield. Rouse, who had played only nine special teams snaps in two games in his two-year NFL career, was thrust into action after Justin Skule suffered a concussion. Center Ryan Kelly had suffered a concussion earlier.

“Obviously, when you got your backup center coming into the game and your third [left] tackle playing a significant amount of snaps, that’s going to be hard,” O’Connell said. “But there’s probably 10 teams that went through similar things today in the NFL.”