The Atlanta Falcons travel to Minnesota to take on the Vikings in a Week 1 matchup Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis. Minnesota has won the last two meetings between these two teams, a 14-9 victory in 2017 and a 20-10 win in 2015. Both of those games were played in Atlanta. Neither team made the playoffs in 2018 and are hoping to turn that trend around this season.
Falcons vs. Vikings
- Date: Sunday, Sept. 8
- Time: 1:00 p.m. ET
- TV Channel: FOX
- Live Stream: fuboTV (watch for free)
The Falcons definitely have the potential to be a playoff team. Matt Ryan enters his 12th season in Atlanta after signing a five-year deal in 2018. Ryan had the second best season of his career, throwing for 4,924 yards and 35 touchdowns. A lot of those touchdowns were thrown to star wideout Julio Jones, who is looking to get a new deal done before Sunday’s game against the Vikings. Jones reeled in 113 balls for 1,677 yards and eight touchdowns. If he puts pen to paper, it is likely that he will see the field against the Vikings. Also at Ryan’s disposal are Mohamed Sanu and Calvin Ridley, who caught 64 passes for 821 yards and a franchise rookie record ten touchdowns.
Defensively, Vic Beasley will be an anchor for the Falcons up front alongside Grady Jarrett. Beasley posted back-to-back five sack seasons and would like nothing more than to hit double digits this season. Jarrett is coming off a four-year, $68 million contract extension. He tallied 52 tackles and six sacks last season. Safety Keanu Neal recorded 113 tackles in 2017 and is finally healthy after tearing his ACL in the first game last season.
Head Coach Mike Zimmer and the Vikings have solidified their quarterback situation with Kirk Cousins. Cousins signed a three-year, $84 million guaranteed contract at the beginning of 2018 and posted some of the best numbers of his career. He threw for 4,298 yards and 30 touchdowns. Dalvin Cook has a slew of potential, but an injury plagued career hasn’t allowed him to live up to the hype thus far. Can a healthy Cook silence the doubters? Wide receivers Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs both had 1,000 yards receiving last year and will be the go to targets for Cousins, along with tight end Kyle Rudolph in Gary Kubiak’s uptempo offense. Diggs did not practice Wednesday due to a hamstring issue.
Defensively, the Vikings are anchored up front by Pro Bowl selection Danielle Hunter who recorded 72 tackles and 14.5 sacks last season. Outside linebacker Anthony Barr signed a five-year, $67.5 million contract after earning his fourth straight Pro Bowl nod. Eric Kendricks will settle in at linebacker, returning as the team’s leading tackler from last season with 108. Joining Barr for the fourth time as an All-Pro selection is free safety Harrison Smith, who had 78 tackles and five interceptions. Fellow safety Xavier Rhodes will be tasked with covering Jones in what could be the matchup of the game.
