Vikings Fall to Falcons in Atlanta, 24-14

The Vikings lost 24-14 to the Falcons on Sunday, after failing to initiate a 4th quarter comeback. Click here for full game highlights.

Early in the 1st quarter, the Falcons scored a TD on a 27 yard Matt Ryan touchdown pass, giving the Falcons a 7-0 lead. In the 2nd quarter, Matt Ryan threw a 7 yard touchdown pass, giving the Falcons a 14-0 lead. Later in the 2nd quarter, the Falcons kicked in a 37 yard field goal, giving them a 17-0 halftime lead. Late in the 3rd quarter, Toby Gerhardt ran it in from 1 yard out to make the score 17-7. Early in the 4th quarter, Vikings QB Christian Ponder hooked up with Percy Harvin for a 39 yard touchdown pass, reducing the Falcons lead to 3 points. But the Falcons answered back with a 3 yard touchdown pass, making the Falcons lead 10 points. Following a Percy Harvin 104 yard kickoff return, with less than 5 minutes left in the 4th quarter, facing4th and 1 from the Falcons 1 yard line, VIkings RB Toby Gerhardt ran right into the Falcons defense and was stopped short. The final score was 24-14.

Despite losing, Vikings QB Christian Ponder actually played one of his best games. Ponder went 17/25 on pass attempts for 186 yards and 1 touchdown.

Since Adrian Peterson was hurt, Toby Gerhardt got the start at running back. He ran 17 carries for 44 yards and 1 touchdown.

The Vikings defense recorded 2 sacks for 4 QB hits.

The Vikings certainly have some holes on offense and defense. The Vikings defensive secondary is weak and can't cover receivers well. The Vikings also lack star wide receivers and can't block and protect Christian Ponder. 

Next week the Vikings will host Tim Tebow and the (6-5) Denver Broncos.

FULL HIGHLIGHTS: here

Stats: here