Darnold delivers a career-high 347 yards and 5 TDs for the Vikings, beating Falcons, Cousins ​​42-21

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Sam Darnold put aside his stoic demeanor for a moment after realizing he was on the video board and aggressively twirled a towel to further fuel the crowd’s fire after the Minnesota Vikings’ late season draw by Kirk Cousins ​​and the Atlanta Falcons had dropped out of the game.

“I just felt the excitement. It was pure passion, pure joy, man,” Darnold said.

Darnold added another highlight to his brilliant first season with the Vikings when he rushed for 347 yards and five touchdowns, both career highs, in a 42-21 victory over the losing Falcons on Sunday, extending their winning streak to six games.

“It just felt like it was one of those days where you had to put your foot down,” said coach Kevin O’Connell, who enjoyed his team’s first 40-point game in three seasons in charge.

Darnold passed for 250 yards after halftime, helping the Vikings (11-2) to a 21-1 tie early in the fourth quarter and remaining one game behind NFC North leader Detroit heading into a matchup with the Lions in the final week . Jordan Addison had eight catches for 133 yards and three scores and Justin Jefferson collected seven receptions for 132 yards and two touchdowns after going scoreless in the last six games.

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins ​​is sacked by Minnesota Vikings linebacker Jamin Davis, right, during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)

Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS/Bruce Kluckhohn

“This is something we want to do and can do, every single week,” Jefferson said.

Cousins, whose free agency departure to Atlanta led Minnesota to sign Darnold as a bridge to currently injured rookie JJ McCarthy, threw two more interceptions without a touchdown in this unfortunate homecoming after a mixed six-year run with the Vikings.

Cousins ​​and the Falcons were booed as he took the field (6-7), dropping them out of first place in the NFC South with their fourth straight loss and falling one game behind Tampa Bay.

“When you play well, you’re usually not as good as people tell you when they pat you on the back, and when you’re in trouble, you’re usually not as bad as people leave you for dead,” Cousins ​​said. “The reality is usually somewhere in the middle. You just have to keep playing and see where the dust settles in January.”

Cousins ​​went 23 for 37 for 344 yards for the Falcons, who crossed midfield on all nine possessions and finished the game with 496 total yards. He beat Ray-Ray McCloud III on fourth down in the first quarter and the Falcons settled for short field goals just before and just after halftime.

Their fate was sealed when McCloud botched the kickoff at the 32 after the Vikings ran 70 yards in six plays to set up the go-ahead touchdown pass to Addison, who scored again seven plays later.

The Falcons gave the Vikings an earlier touchdown when Kentavious Street was called for defensive action on a field goal attempt late in the second quarter, giving Darnold a new set of downs before he fired a 12-yard laser to Jefferson on one Post route on third down sunk. and-6.

“You just can’t have the self-inflicted wounds and expect to win football games like we did today,” coach Raheem Morris said.

Bijan Robinson had 22 carries for 92 yards and a touchdown and Tyler Allgeier ran nine times for 63 yards and a score for the Falcons against the NFL’s leading run defense.

Cousins, who was subbed four times last week, hesitated as he threw in a first down from the Minnesota 47 on a tied game early in the second quarter and then inexplicably fired a pass directly to Josh Metellus as he sat in a zone before Drake London. Cousins ​​has the most 15 interceptions in the NFL.

Byron Murphy secured the second shot near the goal line for a 35-21 lead with 6:26 left. Darnold, who went 22 for 28 without a turnover despite heavy pressure in the first half, then initiated a seven-play, 98-yard drive to cap the score.

“I think we grew a lot offensively today,” O’Connell said.

Outstanding stats

Addison and Jefferson became the first duo in Vikings history to each have over 100 receiving yards and more than two touchdown catches in the same game. Addison also became the first Vikings player with three receiving touchdowns in a game since Stefon Diggs caught three from Cousins ​​in 2019. Murphy has six interceptions this season, the most for the Vikings since Jimmy Hitchcock had seven in 1998.

Injury report

Falcons: CB Mike Hughes (knee) was back in the lineup after missing two games. Minnesota’s 2018 first-round draft pick threw back an interception for a touchdown against Atlanta in his NFL debut here.

Vikings: CB Stephon Gilmore (hamstring) and reserve OLB Patrick Jones (knee) were sidelined. TE Josh Oliver (wrist/ankle) returned after a two-game absence, and LS Andrew DePaola (hand) and PK Will Reichard (quadriceps) were back from four games on injured reserve.

Next

Both teams play next Monday evening, December 16th: Atlanta visits Las Vegas and Minnesota hosts Chicago.

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