MINNEAPOLIS -- Bye-bye first place.
The Falcons relinquished first place in the NFC South as they could not overcome their penalties and turnovers. The Vikings ran them off the field in the fourth quarter on their way to a 42-21 victory on Sunday at raucous U.S. Bank Stadium.
“You just can’t have the self-inflicted wounds (that we had today) and expect to win football games,” Falcons coach Raheem Morris said. “Whether it be the penalty that we got to give them opportunity in the redzone to score. Or whether it be turning the ball over on the kickoff to give them a short field.”
The Vikings improved to 11-2 behind five touchdown passes from quarterback Sam Darnold, an NFL journeyman who’s with his fourth team. The Falcons, who have lost four in a row, dropped to 6-7 on the season.
“That’s how it is in this league in games in December,” Falcons safety Jessie Bates III said. “The margin of error is just so slim when you are playing against good teams. Playing these critical games like this, it’s tough.”
Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins had another pedestrian outing, which included two interceptions and no touchdown passes.
With a win over the Raiders, the Bucs improved to 7-6 and are now in sole possession of first place in the NFC South with four games to play.
The Falcons couldn’t overcome 12 penalties for 127 yards and three turnovers against one of the elite teams in the NFC.
Now, Cousins, who the Falcons signed to a four-year, $180 million contract, has not thrown a touchdown pass in four games and has had eight interceptions over that stretch. He leads the league with 15.
“Disappointing day, today,” Cousins said. “Left plays out there. Made mistakes at times. It’s never going to be a perfect game. …now, we have to look forward to what we have in front of us.”
Darnold completed 22 of 28 passes for 347 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions. He had a passer rating of 157.9.
Cousins was 23 of 37 for 344 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions. He finished with a passer rating of 70.1.
“Kirk Cousins is our quarterback,” Morris said. “We’ll have the ability to watch this tape just like we do every single week. If Kirk played significantly better than he did the week before.”
The Falcons were hanging tough as the score was tied 21-21 going into the fourth quarter. But after Darnold tossed his fourth touchdown pass, Falcons kickoff returner Ray-Ray McCloud fumbled, and the Vikings’ C.J. Ham recovered at the 32.
Darnold tossed his fifth touchdown pass, a 6-yarder to wide receiver Jordan Addison with 8:23 to play to make it 35-21.
“Unfortunately, they scored twice before we got it back,” Falcons left tackle Jake Matthews said.
The Falcons were in scramble mode down two scores and Cousins tossed his second interception to Byron Murphy Jr. as he overthrew tight end Kyle Pitts with 6:26 to play.
The locals starting blasting Prince’s “1999″ because the game was essentially over and it was time to party.
The Falcons jumped out to a fast start, but then old problems – an interception, near interceptions and penalties - started to pop up as the Vikings built a 14-10 halftime lead.
The Falcons came out strong. On the fourth play of the game, Cousins connected with wide receiver Darnell Mooney for 28 yards and two plays later tossed a 16-yard pass to wide receiver Drake London to move down to the Vikings’ 17-yard line.
Four plays later, the Falcons converted on a fourth down-and-1. On first down-and-goal from the 6, Tyler Allgeier slammed into the end zone following a lane created by blocks from right guard Chris Lindstrom and tight end Charlie Woerner.
The defense, with back-to-back sacks from Eddie Goldman and Arnold Ebiketie, stopped the Vikings’ opening drive. The defense finished with four sacks and seven quarterback hits.
The offense went back on the move, but the drive stalled when they failed to convert a fourth down-and-5 from the Vikings’ 36.
The Vikings threw a swing pass out to running back Aaron Jones that picked up 15 yards and then tossed a 49-yard bomb to Jordan Addison for a touchdown.
Cousins tossed his 14th interception of the season on the Falcons’ next possession. Linebacker Joshua Metellus was in the passing lane.
The Falcons’ defense forced a three-and-out, but the offense stalled behind two penalties.
The Vikings capitalized on a 47-yard defensive pass interference call on Mike Hughes and a special team’s penalty on a field goal attempt by Kentavious Street. The latter penalty took points off the board and kept the drive alive. Darnold tossed a 12-yard touchdown pass to Justin Jefferson to make it 14-10 with 1:56 left in the second quarter.
“It was a play that we practiced all week,” Street said. “We had spoken to the referees prior to even installing that play. The way we executed it today, that’s exactly what they said they would not call. For them to call it... we’re all humans. There was some error there. I accept the fault... the penalty was called at the end of the day. It’s just something that we have to be better on.”
The Falcons Dcame two holding penalties as they drove down to the Vikings’ 2-yard line. Mooney had a 49-yard reception on the drive, but when the Falcons couldn’t punch it in, they settled for a 20-yard field goal from kicker Younghoe Koo.
Mooney wishes he’d scored on the play.
“I tried to stiff-arm him, but he kind of grabbed my feet,” Mooney said. “I kind of beat myself about it. …I wish I could have got in there.”
The Vikings had the ball to start the third quarter, but kicker Will Reichard’s 47-yard field goal attempt hit the left upright and was no good.
The Falcons with the help of a contested catch by London, moved to the Vikings’ 13, but a holding penalty on center Drew Dalman set them back to the 21. After Cousins’ screen pass intended for McCloud was nearly intercepted by linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel, the Falcons just ran the ball and settled for a 29-yard field goal to make it 14-13.
The Falcons’ defense made another blunder on third down-and-8 from Minnesota’s 48. Darnold was under pressure, scrambled free and found Jefferson for a touchdown. The extra point made it 21-13 with 3:25 left in the third quarter.
The Falcons started with a 25-yard run by Allgeier. It finished with a 13-yard touchdown run by Robinson with :39 second left in the quarter. Robinson scored on the two-point conversion to make it 21-21.
The fourth quarter happened. The Vikings went on a 21-0 run to win going away.
The Falcons are set to play at the Raiders (2-11) on Monday Night Football at 8:30 p.m. on Dec. 13 in Las Vegas. Former quarterback Desmond Ridder finished the Raiders’ game against the Bucs after Aidan O’Connell suffered a knee injury.
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