MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A week after rallying the Vikings to a season-opening win, first-year starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy came down with a thud.
And he brought the rest of the team with him.
Bijan Robinson ran 22 times for 143 yards, Georgia native Parker Romo made five field goals without a miss in his Falcons debut, and Atlanta smothered McCarthy for six sacks and three turnovers in a 22-6 victory over the Vikings on Sunday.
“We’ve got a lot to do, and I’ve got a lot to do personally,” said McCarthy, who threw two interceptions and lost a fumble on a sack.
Tyler Allgeier added 13 carries for 67 yards with a late touchdown run against a Vikings defense that admirably kept the game close all night while the offense crossed midfield just three times and only once got inside the 20.
“For us to be balling like that throughout the whole game, it was pretty cool to see,” said Robinson, who helped the Falcons (1-1) keep the pressure off quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and keep the crowd noise from being a factor after the first quarter.
Penix was 13 for 21 for 135 yards and has yet to commit a turnover this season.
McCarthy, the first-time starter taken two picks after Penix in the 2024 draft whose rookie year was lost to a knee injury, overcame an interception return for a score in his debut at Chicago by leading the team to three fourth-quarter touchdowns. There was no late magic for McCarthy or Minnesota this time in his first game as a father.
“We’ve got a lot to do, and I’ve got a lot to do personally,” said McCarthy, who threw two interceptions and lost a fumble on a sack.
With all of the home-opener hype in the background, highlighted by another prime-time kickoff and a halftime ceremony for newly minted Hall of Fame member Jared Allen, the fans were roaring for McCarthy after his remarkable start.
This time, Penix more got the better of him after McCarthy led Michigan to the national championship over Penix and Washington two seasons ago.
Instead of playing it safe and heading into halftime, Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell showed his faith in McCarthy by calling a dropback that created a 50-yard pass to Justin Jefferson off a slick double move toward the middle of the field. That set up Wil Reichard’s second field goal with a second left and cut it to 9-6 at the break.
But the Vikings kept getting banged up, and the offense just spiraled further after that.
“We’ve got to find a way to stay on the field longer, because it’s an important part of how we need to play as a team, especially against a team like that,” O’Connell said.
With his 9-yard reception in the first quarter, Jefferson matched Larry Fitzgerald Jr., the Minneapolis native and graduate of the Academy of Holy Angels, who played 17 seasons for Arizona, as the youngest players in NFL history (26 years, 90 days) to reach 500 career catches.