Sam Darnold's career day lifts Vikings to 42-21 victory over Falcons
Darnold threw for a career-high 347 yards and five TDs as Minnesota moved to 11-2 on the season.
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Life as a quarterback is probably a lot easier when you have Kevin O’Connell calling plays and are throwing to Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison.
But Sam Darnold still has to execute the plays, and he was terrific on Sunday in the Vikings 42-21 victory over the Falcons.
Darnold set new single-game career highs with 347 passing yards and five touchdowns in the contest, becoming the first Vikings quarterback since 2004 to throw at least five TDs in a game.
Three of those touchdowns went to Jordan Addison, who finished the game with eight catches for 133 yards. The other two went to Justin Jefferson, who caught all seven of his targets for 132 yards.
Jefferson caught his first TD since Week 7 and he had his first multi-touchdown game since Week 4 of the 2023 season.
Darnold was dominant, hitting several deep balls to Addison and Jefferson throughout the contest. He connected with Addison for a 49-yard score in the first quarter and had a 52-yard touchdown to Jefferson in the third period.
Darnold ended the game with a near-perfect 157.9 passer rating, having completed 22 of his 28 throws.
While the Falcons tied the game at 21 late in the third quarter, the Vikings came right back to make it 28-21 with Addison’s 11-yard touchdown catch. Then Atlanta fumbled the ensuing kickoff, setting up Addison’s 6-yard touchdown reception to make it 35-21.
Aaron Jones put the game out of reach with his 15-yard run in the fourth quarter to cap a seven-play, 98-yard drive off a Kirk Cousins interception.
Cousins’ return to Minnesota did not go particularly well for the veteran quarterback, as he tossed two more interceptions and had no touchdown passes in the loss. Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier each had a rushing touchdown. But Cousins has now thrown eight interceptions with zero touchdowns in Atlanta’s last four games.
He ended the contest 23-of-37 passing for 344 yards. Darnell Mooney caught six passes for 142 yards. Kyle Pitts had just one catch on six targets for 14 yards.
Now at 11-2, the Vikings will stay home to face the Bears on Monday night in Week 15.
The 6-7 Falcons have lost four in a row and will also play on Monday night, facing the Raiders on the road.
