The Vikings arrived at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday, primed for a night when they would welcome back Adam Thielen, honor Jared Allen and showcase their new quarterback fresh off a fourth-quarter comeback in his first start.
Instead, they finished the game with the stands mostly empty, as boos turned to beat-the-traffic resignation in their worst home opener loss in more than a decade.
The last time they suffered a defeat in a home opener worse than Sunday night’s 22-6 loss to the Atlanta Falcons was the second game of the 2014 season, when the New England Patriots beat them 30-7 with Adrian Peterson sitting out two days after his indictment on child injury charges. That was their first game in their temporary home with U.S. Bank Stadium under construction; Sunday’s defeat was in a nationally televised game they hoped would be a celebration.
Instead, Bijan Robinson helped deflate the crowd early, posting 47 of his 143 yards rushing on the game’s first three plays, and the Falcons held the ball for more than 36 minutes. Myles Price fumbled a punt for the Vikings’ fourth turnover of the night, and Michael Penix Jr. kneeled out the clock.
J.J. McCarthy completed 11 of his 21 passes for 158 yards with two interceptions while fumbling once, and the Vikings finished with just 198 yards in the game.
Why it happened
Though the Vikings defense tightened up after the first quarter, allowing 103 combined yards in the second and third after giving up 123 in the first, their turnovers staked the Falcons to too many short fields. Three of Atlanta’s five field goals were on drives that started inside the Vikings 40. Only two Falcons drives all night were longer than 50 yards, but between McCarthy’s interception, fumble and botched exchange that short-circuited his QB sneak on a fourth down, the Vikings put Atlanta in positions to kick field goals that felt as weighty as three-run homers given how much their offense struggled to sustain drives. After running 49 plays against the Chicago Bears, the Vikings ran just 46 against Atlanta.
What it means
The Vikings are 1-1 and will have a raft of injury questions to sort through before their second home game of the season next Sunday against Cincinnati. The biggest ones might be on the offensive line, where they finished the game with third-string left tackle Walter Rouse and backup center Michael Jurgens. If the Vikings decide to bring Christian Darrisaw back at left tackle, it would undoubtedly boost their offensive line, but they seem unlikely to let football circumstances dictate their decision with the recovery of one of their most important players.
Play of the game
With two minutes left in the first half, McCarthy tried to connect with Jalen Nailor on an out-breaking route but left the ball on the wide receiver’s inside shoulder. Billy Bowman Jr. broke on the pass and plucked it off Nailor’s back for an interception that set up Parker Romo’s third field goal of the game.
