Darnold threw for a career-high 347 yards and 5 touchdowns for the Vikings, defeating Cousins, Falcons 42-21

MINNEAPOLIS – Sam Darnold threw for 347 yards and five touchdowns, both career highs, and the Minnesota Vikings topped Kirk Cousins ​​and the Atlanta Falcons 42-21 on Sunday for their sixth straight win.

Darnold added another highlight to his brilliant first season in Minnesota after Cousins ​​left for Atlanta in free agency, with a 22-for-28 performance and no turnover-worthy plays despite heavy pressure in the first half.

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.

Cousins ​​threw two more interceptions without a touchdown in his return to Minnesota, was greeted with loud boos and left Atlanta with its fourth straight loss, falling out of first place in the NFC South and falling one game behind Tampa Bay.

Cousins ​​had eight interceptions and no pass marks for the Falcons (6-7) during their four-game losing streak, which was extended by a variety of errors beyond the 35-year-old quarterback, who is returning from surgery this season He had to repair a torn Achilles tendon midway through last season that ended his six-year tenure with the Vikings.

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

Their fate was sealed when McCloud fouled the kickoff after the Vikings ran 70 yards in six plays to set up the go-ahead touchdown pass to Addison and gave the ball to Darnold at the 32 to give Addison another score to give. The Falcons also gave the Vikings another touchdown when Kentavious Street was called for a defensive hold on a field goal attempt late in the second quarter and Darnold hit Jefferson in the end zone three plays later.

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, but the turnovers were again too much to overcome.

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 a league-most 15 interceptions.

Falcons: 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.

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

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