Minnesota Vikings at Atlanta Falcons: Second Quarter Open Thread

To start their Week 12 match-up at the Georgia Dome, the Minnesota Vikings lost the coin toss, but got the football first when the Atlanta Falcons chose to defer to the second half. Matt Bosher, the Falcons' punter that handles their kickoff duties, blasted the ball through the end zone for a touchback, giving the Vikings the ball at their own 20-yard line. Adrian Peterson got things started with an 11-yard run, but the drive stalled out at that point, and the Vikings were forced to punt. Jeff Locke's punt was not a good one, and Eric Weems brought it back to the Atlanta 27-yard line for the Falcons' first possession of the afternoon.

The Falcons proceeded to go three-and-out on the first drive, after three carries by Tevin Coleman came up a yard short of first down yardage. Marcus Sherels couldn't gain much on the return of Bosher's punt, and the Vikings started their second possession at their own 22-yard line. Minnesota got things going with a pass from Teddy Bridgewater to Peterson that went for 18 yards, and Bridgewater then found Zach Line for another first down into Atlanta territory. Bridgewater then found Kyle Rudolph for another first down. The Vikings got a big third down conversion to Stefon Diggs for a 16-yard gain, but Diggs was called for taunting after the play. The Vikings got the first down, but it got pushed back 15 yards back to where the play started. Bridgewater found Rudolph again for 13 yards, and the Vikings found themselves in the red zone. Mike Wallace then drew a pass interference flag on Desmond Trufant at the goal line, giving the Vikings the ball at the 1. Peterson took it from there, plunging in from the 1 for a touchdown. Blair Walsh put the extra point through the uprights, and the Vikings took a 7-0 lead.

The Falcons started their next drive from their own 20 after a touchback by Blair Walsh. On their first play, they gave it to Tevin Coleman again, and he broke loose for a huge 46-yard gain. . .BUT, Anthony Barr came flying down the field and punched the ball out of Coleman's hands from behind, and Antone Exum was able to recover it for the Vikings' turnover, taking over at their own 21-yard line.

Peterson picked up ten yards on the Vikings' first play, and two plays later Bridgewater found Rhett Ellison for a big 23-yard gain into Atlanta territory at the 43. Jerick McKinnon came in to give Peterson a break, and picked up 19 yards on back-to-back carries. As we move to the second quarter of play, the Vikings are looking at 1st-and-10 from the Atlanta 24-yard line.

After one quarter of play, the Minnesota Vikings lead the Atlanta Falcons by a score of 7-0, and are looking for more. Can the Vikings get back on the winning track this week?