Falcons earn first win of season with 22-6 victory over Vikings

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There was no fourth-quarter magic for J.J. McCarthy in his second NFL begin, because the Atlanta Falcons dealt with the Minnesota Vikings on the highway to win their first sport of the season, 22-6.

McCarthy stole a victory in Chicago final Monday after orchestrating an exciting fourth quarter in opposition to the Bears. However the Falcons had all of the solutions for the younger quarterback on "Sunday Night time Soccer" to get within the win column.

McCarthy went 11-of-21 by means of the air for 158 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions in a sport the place he had some probabilities for giant performs, however he simply didn’t have the appropriate contact on his passes. With the dearth of a profitable run sport, the Falcons have been sending all forms of stress and McCarthy went down for six sacks.

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Michael Penix Jr. of the Atlanta Falcons passes in opposition to the Minnesota Vikings in the course of the second quarter within the sport at U.S. Financial institution Stadium on Sept. 14, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Pictures)

But McCarthy’s opponent , Michael Penix Jr., wasn’t having the perfect of video games on the quarterback place both. Penix was simply 13-of-21 for 135 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. He additionally missed some throws that might’ve led to a landing sooner than Tyler Allgeier’s late fourth-quarter rating, which was the dagger for the Falcons.

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Allgeier’s five-yard rush was the one landing for both crew on this sport, because it was a area purpose battle all through with each groups struggling to transform on purple zone probabilities. Parker Romo, the Falcons’ new kicker as Younghoe Koo was benched after a tough week 1 efficiency, was up for the problem as he knocked in all 5 of his area purpose makes an attempt, together with his longest from 54 yards out.

J.J. McCarthy of the Minnesota Vikings warms up in opposition to the Atlanta Falcons earlier than the sport at U.S. Financial institution Stadium on Sept. 14, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Pictures)

Although the go sport wasn’t environment friendly for Atlanta, star operating again Bijan Robinson picked up the slack with 143 dashing yards on 22 carries to guide the sport in that class. Drake London was the main receiver for the Falcons with 49 yards on three receptions.

For the Vikings, Justin Jefferson had 81 yards, although he caught simply three passes. After McCarthy’s second interception of the sport on the Vikings’ last drive, Jefferson was noticeably pissed off on the sideline, however who wouldn’t be when the offense really clicked within the fourth quarter this previous week?

McCarthy and the Vikings will hope to be extra constant from begin to end subsequent week once they face the Cincinnati Bengals, who're anticipated to be with out quarterback Joe Burrow after he suffered a toe harm on Sunday.

Bijan Robinson of the Atlanta Falcons rushes in opposition to the Minnesota Vikings in the course of the first quarter within the sport at U.S. Financial institution Stadium on Sept. 14, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Pictures)

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In the meantime, the Falcons hit the highway once more, however in opposition to an NFC South rival within the Carolina Panthers subsequent Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.