Week 13 Ups and Downs: Minnesota Vikings at Atlanta Falcons

What were the good, bad, and interesting things from the Minnesota Vikings Week 13 matchup against the Atlanta Falcons and how did the team perform overall?

The Minnesota Vikings are looking like a playoff caliber team this year, but in order for them to reach the postseason or be a high seed, they will need to beat one of the most explosive teams in the NFL on the road.

Of course, the Atlanta Falcons are always a dangerous opponent. Their offense is full of talented players and their defense is hugely underrated with a tough pass rush and plenty of depth in the secondary.

This matchup had some major implications on the playoffs as well, with both teams hoping to make a deep run at the postseason and continue their winning streaks. But only one team could leave victorious.

The Minnesota Vikings were able to emerge with a win by a final score of 14-9 over the Atlanta Falcons but what were the good, bad, and interesting things from Week 13? Here are the Ups and Downs of the game against the Falcons starting by talking about the positives.

The good stuff from Week 13 vs Falcons

1. Containing Julio Jones. Let’s be honest, completely shutting out a player the caliber of Julio Jones is impossible, but the Vikings did a fantastic job on keeping him contained, especially in the first half when Atlanta was doing everything they could to get him the ball.
2. Latavius Murray pounding the rock. Murray continues to show why the Vikings went out and got him this offseason by displaying a great ability to power through defenses while also having the agility and balance to stay on his feet.
3. Protecting the end zone. For a team as explosive as Atlanta to have to settle for field goals has to be considered a win for Minnesota. There is something special about Atlanta’s offense but the Vikings defense is pretty special as well.
4. Case Keenum’s efficiency. It’s amazing that he only threw 5 incomplete passes in the entire game and didn’t throw a single interception while adding two touchdowns and 227 yards. He’s doing what needs to be done, showing off his mobility without being flashy and taking unnecessary risks.
5. Putting the game away. Minnesota did what needed to be done at the end of the game, picking up first downs on the ground and even with some passes to grind the clock down without giving up too much of the offensive attack. They should be proud of their effort.

The bad things from Week 13 vs Falcons

1. The opening possessions. Minnesota failed to move the ball into Atlanta territory during their opening possession and then they allowed the Falcons defense a long drive that resulted in a field goal. Not a good start against a team that can turn on the heat at any time.
2. Third down conversions. The Vikings are one of the better teams in the NFL at picking up first downs, but they struggled against an underrated Falcons defense. While that isn’t a surprise, Minnesota needed to be more efficient in their play.
3. Time management. As much as I like the Vikings, they always struggle when facing the clock. The decision to throw the ball into the middle of the field with no timeouts and very little time left was a bad decision that left them going into halftime without putting more points on the scoreboard.
4. Returning punts. There was one occasion where Marcus Sherels could have returned a punt but instead opted to wave for a fair catch. This could have given Minnesota better field position, even if it didn’t have too much of a negative impact on the outcome.
5. Getting pressure, but no sacks. The pass rush did seem to get to Matt Ryan, but couldn’t bring down the Falcons quarterback once during the game. There were a few opportunities, but they could not be taken advantage of.

The interesting things from Week 13 vs Falcons

1. The hashes are too close together. The field had just been painted after being used for a college football game the day before. This will mess with the linemen on both teams and possibly the kickers as well and force them to adjust accordingly instead of knowing spots automatically.
2. The apple pie dome. They say football is the new ‘America’s Pastime’ and nothing is more American than apple pie. We’ll keep things classy and say it looks like apple pie…and not what some others have been saying it resembles.
3. Sound truck. When the volume levels of the announcers keep getting really low and then returns to normal, something needs to be done to stabilize it. And FOX was having problems with this all throughout the broadcast.
4. That’s a close one. Kai Forbath has been under a bit of a microscope lately, and his extra point that bounced off the upright definitely has fans worried…but as long it goes in, this goes in the interesting stuff instead of the bad stuff!
5. 10 wins! The Vikings now have won 10 games only 13 weeks into the season. They continue to put themselves in position to stay within striking distance of the Philadelphia Eagles for the top spot in the NFC.

Overall impression of Week 13 vs Falcons

This was one of the scariest teams on the schedule for the Minnesota Vikings as soon as the schedule was released and when the game played out, it was obvious that the Falcons are one of the toughest teams in the league.

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Of course, the media will be talking about Julio Jones. Only having two catches for 24 yards against the Vikings defense will be the headline, and much of that credit will go to Xavier Rhodes despite it being a team effort to shut down the Falcons offense.

The fact that Atlanta was kept out of the end zone for the entire game is amazing considering all the weapons and explosive firepower the Falcons have. If there were any questions remaining about Minnesota’s defense, they should be gone after this game.

Offensively, there was so much to love. Case Keenum spread the ball around well without taking too many chances in a tight game while the running game continued to be a strength for Latavius Murray.

As a whole, this might be the most impressive win of the season for Minnesota. They showed so much toughness and heart on both offense and defense and did so without their starting right tackle once again.

Next: TVA Week 13 predictions vs Falcons

The Minnesota Vikings will stay on the road in Week 14 when they head to Carolina to take on the Panthers. We’ll be back next week with more Ups and Downs from that game and we hope you will join us!