Vikings Bounce Back With 20-10 Victory

By Carl Knowles

image courtesy of vikings.com

158 yards and two touchdowns rushing from Adrian Peterson helped the Vikings knock off the Atlanta Falcons 20-10 improving their overall record to 8-3 on the season.

Anthony Barr forced two fumbles and Captain Munnerlyn and Terence Newman each intercepted Matt Ryan as the defense held the Falcons to 22 first downs and 329 total net yards.

Teddy Bridgewater connected on 20-of-28 attempts for 174 yards and 1 interception. Kyle Rudolph was his top target on the day grabbing 7 receptions for 53 yards while Stefon Diggs caught 4 balls for 33 yards. Bridgewater hit 7 different receivers helping the Vikings convert on 7-of-12 third down opportunities.

Peterson’s 1-yard touchdown run gave the Vikings an early 7-0 lead in the first quarter as the Vikings marched 78-yards on a nice 13 play drive on their second possession of the game.

Atlanta got on the board with a second quarter 31-yard field goal from Shayne Graham after Bridgewater was picked off trying to find Kyle Rudolph in the end zone on a 2nd-and-8 from the 22 yard line.

The Falcons took the opening second half drive all the way to the Minnesota 10 yard line. An incomplete pass and an Antone Exum -4 yard tackle for loss set up a big 3rd-and-14 in the red zone. Newman then picked off Ryan in the end zone deflating the Falcons drive.

The defense came up big again in the fourth quarter with the Vikings holding on to a 13-3 lead with 4:40 to play and the Falcons faced with a big 4th-and-1 from mid field. Atlanta lined up with a 5 receiver set and Zimmer blitzed Barr from the A gap up the middle and stripped sacked Ryan before he had time to set and fire the pass.

The Vikings offense may have won the time of possession battle, but it was an opportunistic defense that earned the win.

Carl Knowles

Carl Knowles (Contributor) is a former member of the Professional Bowler Association and an avid lifelong Vikings fan. When he is not bowling you can find him on websites and forum pages sharing his creative insight and enthusiasm for the Minnesota Vikings any chance he gets. Carl was a Phoenix Institute of Technology and Purdue University standout who currently enjoys the challenge of being a graphic director in the printing business. You can follow him on twitter @carlknowles_vt.

Tags: Minnesota Vikings game recap

View Comments

aussie61 says:

Nov 29, 2015 at 8:16 pm

Excellent win,great to see us bounce back after last week,and with 2 back up safeties.Anthony Barr was huge!
bjohnny says:

Nov 29, 2015 at 9:10 pm

I'm going to have to vote for Barr this week. No offense to AD and he'll probably win it anyway
- aussie61 says:
  
  Nov 29, 2015 at 9:22 pm
  
  I agree bjohnny.AD played great,but Barr had a couple plays that changed the momentum of the game.
  - bjohnny says:
    
    Nov 29, 2015 at 9:46 pm
    
    Can't argue with that that Aussie. Barr is a special player and fun to watch.
CalVkg says:

Nov 30, 2015 at 12:06 am

very good win. wanted to hold them to 3

AD's runs and catches were great and barr's 'gotcha plays' were impressive

we still need to beat GB
CalVkg says:

Nov 30, 2015 at 12:42 am

we've really been catching some breaks this year. graham is out for seattle
LeCount says:

Nov 30, 2015 at 4:49 pm

Barr reminds me of Matt Blair. He may grab a few pro bowls, but will never be labeled as a superstar. That being said, he does the little things, down by down that make a defense great.
- cka2nd says:
  
  Dec 1, 2015 at 11:46 am
  
  I hope you're wrong, LeCount, but six Pro Bowls and one first-team All-Pro selection is still a fabulous career to aspire to.