MINNEAPOLIS — Bijan Robinson rushed for 143 yards and Parker Romo made all five of his field-goal tries in his Atlanta debut, and the Falcons smothered J.J. McCarthy for six sacks and three turnovers in a 22-6 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday night.
Tyler Allgeier added 13 carries for 67 yards and had a late touchdown run against a Vikings defense that didn’t have much left after it admirably kept the game close all night while the offense crossed midfield just three times and only once got inside the 20-yard line.
Robinson and Allgeier helped the Falcons (1-1) rush 38 times for 219 yards to keep the pressure off Michael Penix Jr. and keep the crowd noise from being a factor after the first quarter, putting together a 12-play, 83-yard drive to seal it down the stretch. Penix, who went 13-for-21 for 135 yards, 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, has four turnovers so far. The LaGrange Park native overcame an interception return for a score in his debut in Chicago by leading the team to three fourth-quarter touchdowns, but there was no late magic for McCarthy or the Vikings this time in his first game as a father.
Billy Bowman Jr. had a diving interception late in the second quarter to set up one of the kicks by Romo, who had a four-game stint with the Vikings last year while Will Reichard was injured.
Instead of playing it safe and heading into halftime, Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell showed his faith in McCarthy by calling a drop-back that resulted a 50-yard pass to Justin Jefferson. That set up Reichard’s second field goal with 1 second left to cut the deficit to just 9-6 at the break.
But the Vikings kept getting banged up, and the offense just spiraled further after that.
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 Famer Jared Allen, the fans were roaring for McCarthy after his remarkable start.
This time, Penix got the better of him after McCarthy led Michigan to the national championship over Penix and Washington two seasons ago.
Pass-rushing rookies
First-round draft picks Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr. each contributed to the Falcons’ five first-half sacks, as an offseason priority to ramp up the pass rush came to fruition. The Falcons hadn’t had that many sacks in a half in any game since 2009 against Washington.
Jefferson joins another club
With his 9-yard reception in the first quarter, Jefferson matched Larry Fitzgerald Jr., the Minneapolis native who played 17 seasons for the Arizona Cardinals, as the youngest players in NFL history (26 years, 90 days) to reach 500 career catches.
Injury report
- Falcons: CB A.J. Terrell Jr. limped off with a left hamstring injury late in the second quarter, one play before Jefferson broke free. He didn’t return.
- Vikings: C Ryan Kelly (second quarter) and LT Justin Skule (third quarter) each left with concussions. Skule had started his second straight game for recovering standout Christian Darrisaw (knee). … RB Aaron Jones (hamstring) was injured in the third quarter and didn’t return. … OLB Gabe Murphy (knee) was hurt in the fourth quarter and didn’t return. … With S Harrison Smith held out again, three key starters were missing on defense with LB Blake Cashman (hamstring) and OLB Andrew Van Ginkel (concussion) the others.
Up next
The Falcons play at Carolina on Sunday, when the Vikings play host to the Cincinnati Bengals.