MINNEAPOLIS — Snippets of the box score told the story.

Atlanta:

• 63 plays
• 326 total yards
• 5.6 yards per rush
• 36:32 time of possession

Minnesota:

• 78 net rushing yards
• 120 net passing yards
• 8 penalties totaling 50 yards
• 2 interceptions and 2 fumbles lost

In the end, a 12-play, 83-yard Falcons touchdown drive put the Vikings on ice on Sunday Night Football, deflating a stadium that was in peak form for a short and sweet honoring of Pro Football Hall of Famer Jared Allen, who rode a custom motorcycle onto the field at halftime before addressing the crowd, and Justin Jefferson doing his thing, tying Larry Fitzgerald as the youngest in history to record 500 receptions.

Minnesota's 2025 home opener started and ended on Atlanta’s terms, unfortunately.

Afterwards, Head Coach Kevin O'Connell shared his perspective: "You can't be a 1-0 team if you're going to allow an 0-1 to change anything about your mindset toward your individual or collective group effort of trying to strive to become the best football team we can this year," he said. "Long journey ahead."

"The good thing," Joshua Metellus noted, "is it's Week 2, and like you guys know, it's rare you go undefeated in this league. So I'm happy to just get that out of the way now, while it's still early."

Ironically, that back-breaking possession netted Atlanta its first touchdown of the contest with 3:25 left.

Sometimes, the numbers don't do the on-field performance justice. But in this case, they are an accurate reflection of the Falcons 22-6 win. The two biggest stats and storylines were an out-of-character run defense and out-of-rhythm offense. Bijan Robinson started with 42 yards rushing on the first two snaps from scrimmage and finished with 143 on 22 attempts (6.5 avg.), and J.J. McCarthy was sacked six times trying to spark a unit that had 10 first downs, the fewest by any team during Sunday's slate of games.

The loss will motivate Minnesota to look itself in the mirror but won't derail its optimism.

"I just want to give kudos to the defense. I thought they played absolutely outstanding," McCarthy said in the monologue portion of his press conference, citing there's many things to improve on. "We've got to do a better job as an offense, just operating, playing one play at a time and everyone executing their job, all 11 of us. Yeah, this is unfortunate, but I know we have a great character, culture [and] locker room that we're gonna respond from this, and we're gonna learn and get better and bounce back next week."

A comeback like Week 1 felt possible down six points with the offense on the field to begin the final frame. During the quarter break, light-up bracelets worn by Purple patrons enveloped a darkened stadium and synchronized their flickering colors with furious music on the loudspeakers. It created the type of environment that has pushed momentum in Minnesota's direction before; the kind of atmosphere O'Connell said makes the loss "sting even more." The rally never amounted, though, as McCarthy fumbled when he was sacked by a free rusher and the Falcons took over at the Vikings 38.

"Against any team in the NFL, if you do some of the things we did tonight you're gonna make it really hard on yourself, you know, even if your guys are fighting and scratching for 60 minutes," O'Connell said. "It was not an effort thing in any one of the three phases; it's just we've got to find out, you know, how we continue to strive to the standard of execution that's required. … Specifically around a young quarterback, too. That's where we've got to try to find it, to elevate that bar and have the cleanest possible execution around him. That's why we put together the group we hope to put around him."

Sacked five times in the first half, McCarthy was seldom safe from pressure. Seven different Falcons defenders were credited with one or more quarterback hits (and six got a piece of Atlanta's six sacks).

"I think everyone on the offensive side could raise their hand that they could have done something better – it was one play here, one play there. And again, that's why it's the greatest team game there is, because you have to have 11 guys on the same page on every single play to have success," Adam Thielen said. "It'll be a great learning moment for us. Obviously losses stink, but if you use it the right way and you learn from it individually, as a group, and you come back, you can really gain a lot of momentum."

There were some passes McCarthy probably nails 9 out of 10 times. For example, he threw too far inside for Nailor on a comeback route that was intercepted (Nailor slipped, for what it's worth, affecting his ability to adjust to it). McCarthy also missed Jefferson low on a third down, and overshot Nailor on a vertical pass with 9:52 to go called on third-and-1 that O'Connell saw as a promising 1-on-1 opportunity.

Asked whether he considered keeping the offense on the field for that ensuing fourth down, O'Connell referenced McCarthy bobbling the ball on a fourth-down QB sneak on the Vikings first series and said he "definitely thought about it," but was hoping for a timely stop by the defense. Instead, the Falcons offense took flight on the 12-play jaunt that was supercharged by Robinson's running mate Tyler Allgeier.

"We've just got to have more plays. We've got to possess the football. 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 assessed, pointing out Minnesota's games have featured fewer than 50 snaps.

Slivers of hope were scattered. With a dozen seconds left until breaking for the locker room, the Vikings executed their first explosive. McCarthy dropped deep in a safe pocket and unleashed a fastball over the middle to Jefferson, who made his 501^st career catch at the bottom of the team's logo at about midfield.

"Jets" did the rest, throttling up all the way to Atlanta's 33. Minnesota dialed a timeout with two ticks remaining in the first 30 minutes and then kicker Will Reichard drilled a 51-yard field goal to make it 9-6.

It was akin to a week ago, when McCarthy connected with Nailor for a big completion before the half, Reichard converted a try and, well, you know the rest – the young quarterback overcame adversity with help from his defense and aced the fourth quarter of his debut with a Player of the Week-caliber effort.

Disappointingly, there was no encore.

Jefferson was mostly quiet on his historic evening, garnering a modest three catches for 81 yards on six targets. Thielen contributed two for 26, and T.J. Hockenson grabbed just one of three looks for 12 yards.

The ground game never took off, either. Jordan Mason was the bell cow but only produced 30 yards on nine rushes. McCarthy, who was 11-for-21 with 158 yards through the air, added 25 on five carries, the majority of which were scrambles. McCarthy threw interceptions in the final four minutes of both halves.

Metellus didn't think the defense's execution was up to snuff. The group did its best to limit Robinson and the Falcons scoring but failed to come up with a truly game-changing play. Bright spots included a "Peanut punch" by Eric Wilson that was recovered by Theo Jackson in the opening quarter, and nice sacks of Falcons quarterback Michael Penix, Jr., by Jonathan Greenard, Jalen Redmond and Dallas Turner.

"They tried to scratch and claw and play their hearts out, but I did think tackling [could have been better]," O'Connell said. "We had some some players [in position to make plays]. I thought Flo' (Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores) was doing everything he could to try to limit some of those runs and doing some things tactically, and we just missed some tackles early on in the game and they were able to kind of sustain some drives from it. I thought it improved as the night went on and then they just fatigued, you know, they were just — we left them out there on the field far too much, I thought."

In-game injuries rubbed salt in the wound.

Already thinned out at the coin toss, missing starters Blake Cashman, Jeff Okudah, Harrison Smith and Andrew Van Ginkel on defense, and left tackle Christian Darrisaw on offense, a rash of injuries swept over the Vikings. Minnesota had to shuffle its o-line, replacing McCarthy's blindside protector Justin Skule with Walter Rouse, and veteran center Ryan Kelly with Michael Jurgens due to concussions. The physicality took its toll on running back Aaron Jones, Sr., and outside linebacker Gabe Murphy, too, as they exited the action with hamstring and knee injuries. Their departures were part of a larger narrative.

Ultimately, Atlanta's play style, its execution, and its capitalizing on opportunities exceeded what Minnesota did. The box score contained the truths of Sunday night – that the Vikings got outplayed.

Dealing with the salty taste of defeat, Metellus discerned a lesson in the loss.

"Nothing in this league is given. Everything you want, you've got to earn and you've got to take. I tell the guys that all the time and we've got to be greedy. Just because we can go out last week and throw up a stinker for three quarters and then pull it out at the end don't mean that's going to happen every week," he emphasized, describing the nature of Sunday's outcome as unacceptable. "I think the message is to just attack every day, every rep, every moment, you know, like it's our last and if we do that with the kind of guys we got in this room and the kind of coaches, there's no reason we shouldn't win every game."

McCarthy held his head high after taking to the chin the first loss of his career.

"It's awesome to be a part of such a great group, where I know we're going to grow together. I know we're going to learn together," the 22-year-old quarterback said. "There's a lot of love in that locker room, and that's what it comes down to. You know, this is a long season. You know, everyone's telling me this is a freaking journey, and I believe them wholeheartedly. 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."

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