MINNEAPOLIS — The Vikings opened their house Sunday night, but the game was played on the Falcons terms.

Atlanta won the coin toss, Bijan Robinson ripped runs of 25 and 17 yards on the Falcons first two plays, and the visitors managed the flow of the game in a 22-6 win.

Excluding one snap in victory formation, the Falcons rushed 35 times for a whopping 219 yards and never trailed. Robinson led the way with 143 yards on 22 carries, averaging 6.5 per rush.

Staying ahead of the chains allowed the Falcons to lean heavily on a quick passing game to avoid Minnesota's pass rush.

Michael Penix, Jr., was releasing the ball quickly and connecting before coverage was able to take away slants or rushers were able to get "home." He completed 13 of 21 passes for 135 yards and a passer rating of 80.5.

Atlanta's longest pass play, which went for 21 yards, resulted from a quick slant to Drake London and a missed tackle.

The loss dropped the Vikings to 1-1 on the young season. The film will provide opportunities to correct mistakes as Minnesota prepares to host Cincinnati at noon (CT) Sunday in Week 3.

"We've got to start executing a little higher level, and that's as an entire group, and that's me included," Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connell said. "So we will go back to work and attempt to have a really good post-game tomorrow where we all look inward first and try to improve, find the little things here and there throughout the game, even if somebody played fantastic. I'm sure there's going to be some performances where guys did play well, 'Are you playing to a standard that we talked about?' And that's all of us, coaching staff included.

"We've got to clean up our operation and clean up our procedure, as well as our execution, and that's going to be a theme that we will continue to focus on," O'Connell added. "I thought our fans were phenomenal, which obviously makes it sting even more knowing that we had that kind of atmosphere and that and that kind of support from our fan base."

Here are four more observations:

1. Defensive red zone stops keep things closer

The Falcons succeeded in moving the ball on multiple drives, but the Vikings defense bowed up once the ball got to the red zone.

Atlanta quickly zipped from its 35-yard line to the Minnesota 17-yard line on its first four plays.

The crowd elevated its noise heading into a third-and-4, forcing a timeout by the Falcons that was followed by a false start. The crowd noise helped lead to a delay of game penalty on fourth-and-2 and prompted Atlanta to settle on a 38-yard field goal.

Atlanta capitalized on advantageous starting field position following Minnesota's decision to try a QB push on fourth-and-1 from its 36.

The Falcons reached the Vikings 10 but again settled for a short field goal and a 6-0 lead with 6:48 remaining in the first.

Atlanta added two more field goals through the third quarter after drives stalled.

Former Viking Parker Romo kicked all five field goals for Atlanta's first 15 points, and Tyler Allgeier added a 5-yard run in the fourth quarter when the Vikings defense pulled up to try to get the ball back.

2. Jefferson hits milestone

Justin Jefferson recorded his 500^th career reception, tying Larry Fitzgerald as the NFL's youngest to the milestone (26 years and 90 days).

Jefferson also ripped a 50-yard reception just before halftime to set up a 51-yard field goal by Will Reichard to end the first half at 12-6.

Unlike Week 1, however, when Minnesota got a field goal just before the break, the Vikings were unable to build momentum in the second half.

Jefferson led the Vikings with 81 yards on three receptions.

3. Miscues mounted

The Vikings were aggressive early, opting for the push play well into field goal range. The play was over before it got going. The exchange between center Ryan Kelly and J.J. McCarthy was unclean. McCarthy went down to scoop the ball but had no chance at regaining any forward momentum.

It was a microcosm of a night that O'Connell classified as taking one step forward and two steps back on offense.

The Vikings protection struggled to stymie a feisty bunch of pass rushers who totaled six sacks and 11 QB hits of McCarthy.

McCarthy finished 11-of-21 passing for 158 yards. He was intercepted twice and finished with a passer rating of 37.5.

The first-year starter also suffered a fumble lost during a sack by Zach Harrison, who screamed off the edge unblocked.

The Vikings lost the turnover battle 4-1.

Eric Wilson forced a fumble by London that was recovered by Theo Jackson late in the first quarter.

Minnesota's ensuing drive showed promise, with the Vikings converting third-and-6 with a 12-yard pass to Jalen Nailor, third-and-1 with a run by Jordan Mason and even a third-and-18 with a 19-yard pass to Adam Thielen that moved the ball to the Atlanta 19.

A 17-yard completion to Nailor on the next snap put the ball at the 2, but on first-and-goal, the ball slipped out of McCarthy's hand. He recovered and threw an incompletion to prevent a yardage loss, but the Vikings took a delay of game on second-and-goal at the 2 and surrendered a 7-yard sack on second-and-seven and a 1-yard sack on third-and-14 to set up a 33-yard field goal. Instead of surging for a lead, the Vikings cut the margin to 6-3.

McCarthy, who took ownership of missing Nailor deep on a third-and-1 call, emphasized his confidence in the Vikings locker room being built to move past the miscues.

"It's awesome to be a part of such a great group, where I know we're going to grow together," McCarthy said. "I know we're going to learn together. There's a lot of love in that locker room, and that's what it comes down to.

"This is a long season. Everyone's telling me this is a freaking journey, and I believe them wholeheartedly," McCarthy added. "So it's just about getting back to the drawing board and working on just getting better at the little things and executing some things better."

4. Injuries pile up, too

The Vikings entered the game without defensive starters Blake Cashman, Harrison Smith and Andrew Van Ginkel, as well as veteran Jeff Okudah.

Minnesota also was missing left tackle Christian Darrisaw, who is working back from a knee injury suffered in Week 8 of 2024.

Justin Skule started in place of Darrisaw but left the game in the third quarter in concussion protocol. He was replaced by Walter Rouse. Kelly also left the game in concussion protocol. He was replaced by Michael Jurgens.

Outside linebacker Gabriel Murphy suffered a knee injury in the fourth quarter and did not return. O'Connell said his MCL will be evaluated.

Aaron Jones, Sr., also left the game with hamstring injury and will be evaluated.

Outside linebacker Jonathan Greenard briefly left the game with an oblique injury but returned and "battled and played his heart out, fighting through that," O'Connell said.

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