12 Snap Reactions after Falcons at Vikings

Matt Krohn-Imagn Pictures.

Every week, we provide a “snap reactions” piece detailing ideas and evaluation after the most recent Minnesota Vikings recreation.

12 Snap Reactions after Falcons at Vikings

This will likely be off-the-cuff, a wee bit random, and hopefully insightful.

The Vikings received at residence on Sunday afternoon over the Atlanta Falcons 42-21 and are homeowners of an 11-2 by means of 14 weeks.

Matt Krohn-Imagn Pictures.

1 — The Vikings scored 40 factors in a recreation for the primary time in 5 years. Conveniently and poetically, it occurred in opposition to Kirk Cousins’ staff.

2 — This was probably the most enjoyable Vikings win in a very long time. The membership has fired off higher wins, however this one was quite a lot of enjoyable. Plain and easy. It felt like a flashback to the 2002-2005 groups the place splashy performs on offense had been commonplace whereas the protection was a little bit suspect.

3 — The sport went from a 21-21 tie that felt very a lot within the steadiness — to a quasi-blowout … in about 10 minutes of real-life time.

Matt Krohn-Imagn Pictures

4 — Anytime, we repeat — anytime — a Vikings quarterback throws the ball in Jordan Addison’s path, good issues occur. The man is such a reliable playmaker. He additionally all the time handles himself like he completely anticipated to interrupt off an enormous play. He by no means reacts as if his transaction was shocking. Man’s a spark plug.

5—Had Minnesota misplaced this recreation, it really wouldn’t have been the top of the world. There’s no disgrace in a 10-3 report. Nevertheless, defeating Kirk Cousins’ staff was very important as a result of it proved the group made the sensible resolution to maneuver on 9 months in the past. The symbolism was heavy.

Matt Krohn-Imagn Pictures

6 — Have we ever seen a defensive again like Byron Murphy intercept a go with one hand — and never even trouble cradling it with the opposite hand? What a baller transfer. Large receivers do it, nevertheless it’s sometimes not a cornerback attribute.

7— Minnesota procured a 4-for-4 (touchdowns) stat line within the redzone on offense. Man, oh man — does that make all of the distinction on the planet. The squad ranked within the NFL’s backside third earlier than Sunday’s recreation per the metric. It flipped the script in opposition to Atlanta.

8 — The Vikings additionally didn’t create any giveaways. They’re sometimes good for not less than one interception or fumble. Kevin O’Connell’s males can beat any staff within the enterprise with 100% redzone effectivity and nil turnovers. Write that down.

9 — The magic quantity is 1. If Minnesota wins subsequent week or the Los Angeles Rams lose, it’s within the playoff dance. It’s going to occur.

Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Pictures.

10 — The offensive line was getting pummeled within the 1st Half. Any person mounted it — and it received the ball recreation. The second Darnold acquired ample safety, he started taking part in playground soccer with all of his buddies.

11 — Jalen Redmond is a beast. He must play not less than half of all defensive snaps — perhaps extra — on Sundays. He deserves it. The person had 2 tackles for loss and a pair of passes defended this weekend. All he does is make performs.

12— We posted this stat a couple of month in the past on the X app, and Darnold is as soon as once more authoring a memorable December.

Sam Darnold, TD | INT,by Month in His Profession:

Sep: 25 TD | 13 INTOct: 22 TD | 24 INTNov: 15 TD | 16 INTDec: 23 TD | 6 INTJan: 8 TD | 7 INT

We mainly have the whole and utter reverse of Kirk Cousins by month right here.

— Dustin Baker (@DustBaker) November 16, 2024

Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the College of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his day by day YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The present options friends, evaluation, and opinion on all issues associated to the purple staff, with 4-7 episodes per week. His MIN obsession dates again to 1996. Listed responsible pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doorways (the band). He follows the NBA as carefully because the NFL. 

All statistics supplied by Professional Soccer Reference / Stathead; all contractual data supplied by OverTheCap.com.