Minnesota’s incredible win against the Atlanta Falcons saw some stocks fall, but saw plenty of them rise.
The Minnesota Vikings did the unthinkable and pulled out a win against the Atlanta Falcons by a score of 31-28.
The offense had to get past concussions from fill-in starting rookie quarterback Jaren Hall and wide receiver K.J. Osborn. Not to mention a season-ending Achilles injury from running back Cam Akers. Josh Dobbs and Brandon Powell stepped up in a big way to help the Vikings get the win.
Minnesota fought hard in Mercedez-Benz Stadium to compete with the NFC South division front-runners and ended up finishing the job.
The Vikings continue their post-Kirk Cousins playoff run and some stocks certainly rose, while others took a hit as Minnesota stares down the second half of their season.
There was plenty of good, bad and ugly from Sunday’s improbable win and Chris Spooner breaks it all down
The Minnesota Vikings have a winning record for the first time in the 2023 NFL season. It certainly hasn’t happened the way anyone would have drawn it up, but it has made for an incredible story. The Vikings penned another remarkable chapter in that story on Sunday with their win over the Atlanta Falcons, in extraordinary fashion.
Coming off a low-point in the season with the Kirk Cousins injury, the Vikings took the field with rookie quarterback Jaren Hall at the helm. Hall, the team’s fifth-round selection out of BYU, was making his first career start, and was slated to be the team’s leader moving forward for the foreseeable future.
Unfortunately for Hall, that future didn’t even last a full quarter, as Hall was forced to leave the game just before the end of the first quarter with a concussion.
In came brand new Viking Josh Dobbs. Dobbs had been acquired at the trade deadline from the Arizona Cardinals. He hadn’t received any first-team reps in practice. He hardly knew the playbook. Hell, Dobbs barely even knew the names of the guys he was playing with.
But none of that mattered, as Dobbs pulled off the absurd and brought Minnesota back on a game-winning drive in the fourth quarter. With all of that as the back-drop for our article this week, let’s dive into the good, bad and ugly from the Week 9 win over the Atlanta Falcons.
Tunnel Vision – a look back at Sunday for fantasy free agents, injuries and notable performances.
SUNDAY SALUTES
Quarterbacks
Pass-Rush
TD
C.J. Stroud
470-10
5
Joshua Dobbs
158-66
3
Dak Prescott
374-14
3
Jalen Hurts
207-36
3
Tyson Bagent
220-70
2
Running Backs
Yards
TD
Rachaad White
20-73
4-46
2
Rhamondre Stevenson
9-87
4-42
1
Josh Jacobs
26-98
2
Keaton Mitchell
9-138
1-(-4)
1
Aaron Jones
20-73
4-26
1
Wide Receivers
Yards
TD
CeeDee Lamb
11-191
0
Tank Dell
6-114
2
Noah Brown
6-153
1
Amari Cooper
5-139
1
Diontae Johnson
7-90
1
Tight Ends
Yards
TD
Dalton Schultz
10-130
1
Cade Otton
6-70
2
Cole Kmet
6-55
2
Jake Ferguson
7-91
1
Jonnu Smith
5-100
1
Placekickers
XP
FG
Younghoe Koo
2
4
Chase McLaughlin
4
3
Justin Tucker
4
3
Daniel Carlson
3
3
Greg Joseph
2
3
Defense
Sack – TO
TD
Browns
7-3
0
Colts
4-3
2
Raiders
8-2
0
Ravens
4-2
0
Saints
2-5
0
Bumps, Bruises and Bowouts
QB Jaren Hall – Concussion
QB Daniel Jones – Knee
RB Cam Akers – Ankle
RB Kendre Miller – Ankle
RB Cordarrelle Patterson – Ankle
WR Mack Hollins – Ankle
WR K.J. Osborn – Concussion
WR Marquise Goodwin – Head
WR John Metchie – Ribs
WR Josh Downs – Knee
TE Dallas Goedert – Forearm
TE T.J. Hockenson – Oblique/ribs
PK Ka’imi Fairbairn – Quad
Chasing Ambulances
QB Daniel Jones – The fear is that he tore his ACL and would be lost for the season. The Giants passing offense has been one of the least productive and devoid of reliable fantasy value. If Jones is gone, the Giants only have the rookie Tommy DeVito or Matt Barkley for when they play in Dallas for Week 10.
RB Cam Akers – He injured his left Achilles, and the severity will be determined on Monday. He already tore his right Achilles while with the Rams, and any time that Akers misses will benefit Alexander Mattison more as he would inherit back some of the workload that Akers had taken.
WR K.J. Osborn – The Vikings wideout was carted from the field after temporarily laying motionless. He appeared to have a serious concussion and Brandon Powell would later catch a touchdown at the end of the game to provide the winning margin. Jalen Nailor is the primary backup for Osborn, but Powell is more likely to see expanded use. Justin Jefferson will return at some point as well, but for this week versus the Saints, Powell is the most likely to see a bump in targets.
WR Josh Downs – The rookie was already questionable entering the game with a knee injury he suffered in practice on Thursday. He was active for the game in Carolina but left after one catch with a knee injury – assumedly the one that hampered his practices leading up to the game. Isaiah McKenzie will replace him if needed.
TE Dallas Goedert – He injured his forearm which was awkwardly caught underneath him as he was tackled. He was immediately brought back to the X-ray room and ruled out. The Eagles are already without Grant Calcaterra (concussion) but the Eagles head onto their bye for Week 10. If Goedert missed any time, his targets would more likely shift to the wideouts and running backs than be directly applied to a backup tight end
TE T.J. Hockenson – He injured his oblique and ribs but was able to finish the game. That suggests he’ll be good to go for the Saints this week, but it bears tracking in practice.
Free Agents, Flops and Other Notables
QBJoshua Dobbs (MIN) – The rookie Jaren Hall only lasted for nine passes before suffering a concussion. Dobbs entered the game having never had a practice rep with the Vikings. He completed 20-of-30 for 158 yards and two passing scores, plus he ran for 66 yards on seven runs with another touchdown. Imagine what he can do when he practices, learns the plays, and knows the names of his teammates. Justin Jefferson is eligible to return next week, but that may not happen.
QB Tyson Bagent (CHI) – He is improving. The undrafted rookie threw for 220 yards and two touchdowns in the loss at the Saints, and he ran for 70 yards on eight scrambles. They host the Panthers this week, so Bagent has a shot at another decent performance.
RB Keaton Mitchell (BAL) – The rookie finally had his first carry of the year and ended with nine runs for 138 yards and a touchdown and caught a pass for a four-yard loss. He was popular with fans in the summer but suffered a shoulder injury and later a hamstring strain. The East Carolina back runs a 4.37 40-time . He broke a 60-yard run and later ran 40 yards for a touchdown in the win over the Seahawks. And it wasn’t just late fourth-quarter mop-up duty. Mitchell had runs in every quarter. Gus Edwards scored twice on his five runs for 50 yards and the Ravens let the rookie get more reps in the game that was decided early.
WR Noah Brown (HOU) – He’s only played in four games, but Brown led the team with 153 yards on six catches with a touchdown against the Buccaneers. His previous best was only three catches for 57 yards (Week 8). That’s probably a single-game performance, but it was impressive on a day when C.J. Stroud passed for 470 yards.
TE Cade Otton (TB) – The Texan defense is actually good against the pass but weakest versus tight ends. That showed up on Sunday when the Bucs’ Otton caught six passes for 70 yards and two scores – all season-high marks. He’s seen more use in the last three weeks, and the success of Week 9 should help him stay in the game plan.
QB Taylor Heinicke (ATL) – Hidden behind the defensive collapse of the Falcons was Heinicke’s first start. He replaced Desmond Ridder, who had a 28-24 lead over the Vikings with only two minutes left to play. He played without Drake London and passed for 100 yards to Jonnu Smith while Kyle Pitts (4-56) was better than usual. HC Arthur Smith said Ridder remains the starter, so they may return to him at the Cardinals this week. But their personnel decisions are often surprising, like letting Tyler Allgeier (12-39, TD) carry more often than Bijan Robinson (11-51) despite the greater effectiveness of Robinson.
RB Aaron Jones (GB) – After disappointing over the first eight games of the season, Jones ran 20 times for 76 yards and a touchdown, plus caught four passes for 26 yards. Jones had never had more than 11 touches in a game, so it is encouraging to see him with a heavier workload.
RB Rachaad White (TB) – The Bucs starting running back hasn’t set the world on fire and had not scored since Week 2. But he was better for two weeks with around 100 total yards and then became the No. 1 fantasy running back for Week 9 when he ran for 73 yards on 20 carries with two touchdowns and caught four passes for 76 yards. He’s taking over the backfield and getting more touches. The Bucs still handed out seven carries between Chase Edmonds (3-(-5)) and Ke’Shawn Vaughn (4-9) but White is rising in the rankings.
RB D’Onta Foreman (CHI) – The Bears lost to the Saints, but Foreman carried the ball 20 times for 83 yards – more carries in a game than any other Bear this year. Roschon Johnson only ran twice for six yards and caught a nine-yard pass. Foreman is looking good for this week at home versus the Panthers.
Huddle player of the week
Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
C.J. Stroud – The rookie just set the all-time record for a rookie quarterback with 470 passing yards, breaking Andrew Luck’s 433 yards in 2012. His five touchdown passes tie an all-time NFL record for a rookie. He is only the second rookie quarterback with 400 yards and five touchdowns in a game. Stroud only needed 40 of the 46 seconds left to play when he drove the Texans from their 25-yard line and ended with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Tank Dell with six seconds left to play.
Salute!
Drama 101 – Somebody has to laugh, somebody has to cry
Not with starting quarterback Kirk Cousins out for the season because of an Achilles’ injury. Not with star wide receiver Justin Jefferson already sidelined by a hamstring injury, and standout left tackle Christian Darrisaw joining him as a surprise inactive after suffering a groin injury last week. Not with rookie quarterback Jaren Hall being lost in the first quarter because of a concussion, and wide receiver K.J. Osborn leaving after a hard hit in the second quarter.
And especially not with Joshua Dobbs, acquired on Tuesday in a deadline deal with Arizona, having to take over at quarterback. It was Dobbs whose arm and legs guided the Vikings down the field before connecting with Brandon Powell on a 6-yard touchdown pass to lift Minnesota to a 31-28 victory over the Falcons.
Afterward, head coach Kevin O’Connell gave game balls to everyone involved in the Vikings’ fourth consecutive victory. Hopefully, O’Connell included himself as one of the recipients because no one played a bigger role in this improbable victory.
In his first season as Vikings coach, O’Connell received praise for leading the Vikings to a 13-win season in which they set an NFL record by going 11-0 in one-possession games and Cousins tied a league mark by engineering eight fourth-quarter comebacks.
This was impressive but it could not be overlooked that many bounces went the Vikings’ way and there was only a small amount of real adversity. O’Connell deserved credit but what would he do when adversity hit his locker room?
It didn’t take long to find out.
This season has been filled with turmoil for O’Connell’s team. From training camp “hold-ins” by defensive end Danielle Hunter and tight end T.J. Hockenson, to an 0-3 start in which the Vikings couldn’t hold onto the football, to Jefferson and Cousins’ injuries, O’Connell had a team that very easily could have packed it in and waited for the offseason to arrive.
Not only didn’t that happen, but the Vikings haven’t lost since Jefferson was injured in an Oct. 8 loss to Kansas City that dropped Minnesota to 1-4. All of those losses came by one score.
But if these Vikings had provided clues that they could overcome adversity, that point was driven home Sunday as O’Connell played an enormous role in showing what he has built since taking over for Mike Zimmer.
Culture is a word that is continually thrown around in sports but it often means little. It’s a lot easier to talk about building a culture than it is to show it has been done. But the Vikings put on a display of their culture Sunday by showing their resilience and character on numerous occasions.
“There’s so much about it,” O’Connell said, “when you think about all of the things you talk about every single day in your organization. That people matter, that culture matters, that building the type of football team we want to have, what’s inside of each and every guy in that locker room and the feelings they have towards one another, these are the days that kind of cement why you believe what you believe as a coach.
“I’ll quite honestly remember this one for a really long time, mainly for those guys. The adversity, the response, all of the things that we’ve spent a lot of time talking about. The guy that eventually played quarterback for us hasn’t heard a lot of those speeches by me but he’s got that in his makeup, clearly.”
That would be Dobbs, who was guided every step of the way by O’Connell from the sideline. Dobbs had started eight games for the 1-7 Cardinals this season, but didn’t take a snap in practice last week for the Vikings and didn’t know the names of many of his teammates.
Dobbs wasn’t perfect — he lost two of the three fumbles he committed — but he was good enough to throw for 158 yards and two touchdowns and scramble for 66 yards on seven carries with a touchdown. This included a 22-yard game-saving run to the Falcons’ 12 on a fouth-and-7 with 39 seconds remaining and the Vikings down by four points.
When the Vikings’ offense struggled, and Dobbs’ lost the ball, coordinator Brian Flores’ defense delivered with big stops. Dobbs was sacked and fumbled on a ball that was returned to the Vikings’ 1 by Atlanta in the second quarter. The Falcons were held to a field goal. The same thing happened early in the third quarter, only the Falcons got the ball at the Vikings 30. Atlanta ended up losing 6 yards and with another field goal.
The Vikings, meanwhile, forced a fumble and Byron Murphy Jr. intercepted a Taylor Heinicke on back-to-back possessions in the second half, enabling the Vikings to turn an eight-point deficit into a three-point lead.
There were plenty who deserved credit for this win — Dobbs was hoisted onto the shoulders of Harrison Phillips as teammates who had been strangers only a few days earlier celebrated — but no one deserved as much credit as O’Connell.
And the questions about how well O’Connell could navigate his team through choppy waters? They’ve been answered.
Judd Zulgad is co-host of the Purple Daily Podcast and Mackey & Judd podcast at www.skornorth.com.
During his press conference after the Minnesota Vikings’ 31-28 win over the Atlanta Falcons, the team fears that running back Cam Akers has an Achilles tendon injury.
This is not just a brutal blow to the Vikings’ running back room and offense as a whole, but it’s bad for Akers as well. During his time with the Los Angeles Rams, Akers tore his Achilles tendon in August of 2021 and was able to return for the Rams’ Super Bowl run.
Where does this leave the Vikings offense? Without Akers, Alexander Mattison will be the unquestioned top running back and Ty Chandler will likely see his role increase.
Having an open running back spot on the roster could mean that DeWayne McBride gets promoted from the practice squad. It also could mean the Vikings might sign a free agent.
The Vikings have lost another offensive player to injury
The hits just keep coming for the Minnesota Vikings’ offense. First they lost starting quarterback Jaren Hall to a concussion. Then KJ Osborn left the game after suffering a concussion of his own. Now, running back Cam Akers has been carted off the field with an apparent ankle injury.
Akers was injured late in the third quarter with the Vikings driving down the field. Akers caught a ball over the middle of the field and was wrenched down awkwardly. He was able to come off the field under his own power, but did so gingerly. After being looked at on the sidelines, Akers was carted back to the locker room for further evaluation and ruled out.
Akers has been splitting time with fellow running back Alexander Mattison all game, and has been the more efficient option on the ground today, accounting for 25 yards on eight carries to Mattison’s 26 yards on 12 carries.
With Akers out, the bulk of the work on the ground will fall on the shoulders of Mattison. It should also be noted that Akers was the emergency quarterback for today, so if anything happens to Josh Dobbs for the remainder of the game, Minnesota will be in a real bind.
Keep your eye on these players against the Falcons on Sunday
The Minnesota Vikings are going to be in for a dogfight on Sunday afternoon when they take on the Atlanta Falcons At Mercedes Benz Stadium.
It will also be the first game quarterback Kirk Cousins has ever missed due to injury in his National Football League career. That fact brings the first NFL start for quarterback Jaren Hall on Sunday.
The rookie from BYU is going to be surrounded by arguably the best situation in the NFL for a young quarterback and Justin Jefferson can’t return until next week. Can he step up in a major way for the Vikings and potentially be the franchise quarterback the Vikings have been hoping for? He is one of the players to watch on Sunday.
Getting journeyman quarterback Joshua Dobbs to come in as relief for the injured Kirk Cousins proves that fact. But, even though Dobbs studied to be a rocket scientist, he still isn’t going to execute Kevin O’Connell’s playbook with only three days of preparation.
So, on Sunday at 12 p.m. CST, Jaren Hall will make his first NFL start in Mercedez-Benz Stadium against the Atlanta Falcons.
Atlanta’s defense has been stout for most of the season, but last week, rookie Will Levis threw for 238 yards and four touchdowns with three of them going to DeAndre Hopkins.
Can Hall make it two weeks in a row?
He and the Minnesota offense will have to execute these four keys to make it happen.
Cam Akers gets the Minnesota Vikings their first rushing touchdown of the season against the Green Bay Packers.
It took eight games, but the Minnesota Vikings finally have a rushing touchdown on the board, thanks to Cam Akers. Akers cut back against the Green Bay Packers defense and found paydirt to put the Vikings on the board early.
Sometimes, the broadcaster jinx can work for you if you’re a Vikings fan. Fox broadcasters Kenny Albert and Jonathan Vilma stated multiple times how the Vikings have the most passing touchdowns and have yet to score a touchdown on the ground.
Now, Cam Akers has the first rushing touchdown of the season and his first rushing touchdown as a Viking.
The Packers came into this game giving up the third-most rushing yards per game and Kevin O’Connell seems to want to exploit that. Not a bad way to get the run game going alongside the red-hot passing game.
Stay tuned for live game updates at Vikings Wire today and throughout the season.
Sunday’s border battle is filled with interesting storylines
The Minnesota Vikings will be looking to improve to 2-0 in the NFC North along with getting back to 0.500 when they take on the Green Bay Packers. They were desperate for a win against the San Francisco 49ers and they got one by a score of 22-17.
As things currently sit, the Vikings are currently tied for a wild card spot but would lose out on the tiebreaker to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers due to a head-to-head loss.
The Vikings currently have two of their best players on injured reserve in Marcus Davenport and Justin Jefferson, but they are playing well regardless. Going into week eight, these the storylines you will want to keep you eye on this Sunday.
