Life as a quarterback might be quite a bit simpler when you will have Kevin O’Connell calling performs and are throwing to Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison.
But Sam Darnold nonetheless has to execute the performs, and he was terrific on Sunday within the Vikings 42-21 victory over the Falcons.
Darnold set new single-game profession highs with 347 passing yards and 5 touchdowns within the contest, turning into the primary Vikings quarterback since 2004 to throw a minimum of 5 TDs in a sport.
Three of these touchdowns went to Jordan Addison, who completed the sport with eight catches for 133 yards. The different two went to Justin Jefferson, who caught all seven of his targets for 132 yards.
Jefferson caught his first TD since Week 7 and he had his first multi-touchdown sport since Week 4 of the 2023 season.
Darnold was dominant, hitting a number of deep balls to Addison and Jefferson all through the competition. He linked with Addison for a 49-yard rating within the first quarter and had a 52-yard landing to Jefferson within the third interval.
Darnold ended the sport with a near-perfect 157.9 passer ranking, having accomplished 22 of his 28 throws.
While the Falcons tied the sport at 21 late within the third quarter, the Vikings got here proper again to make it 28-21 with Addison’s 11-yard landing catch. Then Atlanta fumbled the following kickoff, establishing Addison’s 6-yard landing reception to make it 35-21.
Aaron Jones put the sport out of attain along with his 15-yard run within the fourth quarter to cap a seven-play, 98-yard drive off a Kirk Cousins interception.
Cousins’ return to Minnesota didn’t go significantly effectively for the veteran quarterback, as he tossed two extra interceptions and had no landing passes within the loss. Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier every had a speeding landing. But Cousins has now thrown eight interceptions with zero touchdowns in Atlanta’s final 4 video games.
He ended the competition 23-of-37 passing for 344 yards. Darnell Mooney caught six passes for 142 yards. Kyle Pitts had only one catch on six targets for 14 yards.
Now at 11-2, the Vikings will keep residence to face the Bears on Monday evening in Week 15.
The 6-7 Falcons have misplaced 4 in a row and also will play on Monday evening, dealing with the Raiders on the highway.
