Vikings Embarrassed by Falcons: McCarthy Overwhelmed, O-Line Collapses, and O’Connell’s Conservative Play-Calling Costs Big
The Minnesota Vikings entered Week 2 hoping to build momentum after narrowly escaping with a comeback win in their season opener. Instead, they delivered one of their most lifeless performances in recent memory. From the opening whistle to the final muffed punt, the Vikings were thoroughly outclassed by the
Vikings offense stalls in ugly defeat
The Vikings fell 22-6 to the Falcons, undone by a defense that smothered them from start to finish. Atlanta held Minnesota to just 198 total yards, forced four turnovers, and never allowed the Vikings to find the end zone. Vikings QB
Unlike last week’s narrow loss to the Bears, there was no late surge, no rally, no spark here. Vikings fans only saw mistakes that mounted with every drive. A muffed punt in the final moments summed up a night filled with wasted opportunities. Now, the Vikings face urgent questions about how to steady a season already teetering off course.
Here we’ll try to look at and discuss the Minnesota Vikings most to blame for Week 2 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
McCarthy looks overwhelmed under pressure
McCarthy’s stat line was
To be fair, not all of the struggles were his fault. Still, McCarthy must protect the ball better and make smarter decisions. Through two games, he’s completing under 60 percent of his passes and has thrown more interceptions than touchdowns. Recall that the Vikings drafted him to be the answer at quarterback. So far, though, he looks like a player still adjusting to the speed and complexity of the NFL. This is perhaps why veteran Carson Wentz has
Skule struggles badly on the left side
Injuries on the offensive line didn’t help McCarthy’s cause. That said, Justin Skule’s play at left tackle has been particularly glaring. Tasked with filling in for the injured Christian Darrisaw, Skule has looked out of his depth. Against Atlanta, he provided little resistance against edge rushers and repeatedly allowing pressure that derailed drives before they began.
Skule isn’t the only problem, though. Minnesota’s entire line has underperformed. Still, he stands out as the weakest link. If Darrisaw remains sidelined next week against Cincinnati, the Vikings must consider shuffling their line rather than trotting Skule back out as McCarthy’s blindside protector. Continuity matters, sure. However, production matters more. Right now, Skule isn’t providing it.
Run defense gets shredded by Falcons
On the other side of the ball, Minnesota’s defense looked equally vulnerable. With linebacker Blake Cashman sidelined, the Falcons ran the ball at will. They piled up over 200 rushing yards at an average of 5.6 yards per carry. Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier repeatedly gashed the Vikings up the middle. They exploited easy lanes and took pressure off young quarterback Michael Penix Jr.
The defensive line just failed to control the trenches. Atlanta dictated the game with its ground attack, and Minnesota had no answer. Without adjustments, the Vikings’ run defense risks becoming a weekly liability that opposing coordinators can exploit.
O’Connell’s decisions add to the frustration
Yes, players shoulder much of the blame. That said, head coach Kevin O’Connell deserves his share as well. His game management and play-calling raised eyebrows throughout the night. On multiple occasions, the Vikings stalled in short-yardage situations. A failed quarterback sneak on fourth-and-short in the opening quarter set the tone. Later drives fizzled when O’Connell opted for conservative field goals or punts instead of trusting his offense.
The most frustrating sequence came late in the fourth quarter, when the Vikings faced 2nd-and-2 near midfield. After two failed plays, O’Connell punted on 4th-and-1. They effectively surrendered any chance at a comeback. In a game where McCarthy never found rhythm and the run game struggled, O’Connell needed to show more creativity and conviction. Instead, his conservative approach only compounded Minnesota’s problems.
A team searching for answers
Two weeks into the season, the Vikings already look like a team in crisis. Their young quarterback is struggling, their offensive line is patchwork, and their run defense is porous.
This loss was quite alarming. The Vikings weren’t competitive, weren’t opportunistic, and weren’t prepared.
Dak Prescott Back to Elite Form Dominating NFL Rankings
Obviously, there are concerns for the Cowboys with the team sitting at 1-1 after two weeks, needing a 64-yard last-second kick from Brandon Aubrey and an overtime to get past the lowly Giants at home. Offensive line, defensive line, defensive backs–there’s a lot to worry about here.
But if there’s onhttps://static.clubs.nfl.com/image/upload/t_new_photo_album_2x/f_auto/cowboys/y2p8snsx1c18p5sxnhhd.jpge thing that is encouraging, it’s that after a forgettable 2024 season that was cut in half because of a hamstring injury, quarterback Dak Prescott is back to looking like Dak Prescott again. And the numbers are there to show it.
Through two weeks, Prescott has 549 yards passing with two touchdowns and an interception, a completion rate of 68.6% and a passer rating of 88.8. In the vaunted grades handed out by Pro Football Focus, Prescott currently has a grade of 89.9, which is just off of his career high, 90.0 in 2023.
As things stand, after he was rated No. 30 out of 42 quarterbacks in 2024, Prescott is the second highest rated quarterback in the NFL, behind only Matthew Stafford of the Rams.
Dak Prescott Returning to the Deep Ball
Prescott current leads the league in completions at 59, and he’s done that despite the Cowboys’ receivers already tagged with three dropped passes. He’s also gone back to one of his strengths as a quarterback–looking for deep balls. Deep passes (20-plus yards) have accounted for 15.1% of the Cowboys’ pass plays and though Prescott is 4-for-13 on those shots, he’s gotten a 90.3 on those throws. He has gone 10-for-11 on passes in the 11-to-19-yard range.
Last year, Prescott was excellent on deep throws, but the Cowboys only used them 11.9% of their pass plays. Prescott also struggled with mid-range passes of 11-to-19 yards, completing 51.9% of them, with four touchdowns and six interceptions.
It’s early but Prescott’s numbers evoke his 2023 season, in which he was a second-team All-Pro and an MVP runner-up. Prescott’s deep-pass grade that year was 95.3 and his mid-range grade was 91.3, with 26 touchdowns and three interceptions combined.
Cowboys Offseason Changes Yielding Payoffs for the Offense
For Prescott, the two major changes that have paid off thus far have been the addition of George Pickens, the talented if enigmatic wide receiver the team got from Pittsburgh, and new coach Brian Schottenheimer.
CeeDee Lamb has been back to his usual self (222 yards on 16 catches) but the addition of Pickens (eight catches and 98 yards) gives the Cowboys one of the best WR2s in the NFL.
And Schottenheimer has Prescott back in his comfort zone under center. Prescott has been very complimentary about him.
“That game was an epitome of him and his coaching style and just the resiliency that he has and the way he carries himself and the way he coaches,” Prescott said. “The standard is the standard, and at the end of the day, that’s winning.”
