After breezing through the Chicago Bears without any drama whatsoever, the Minnesota Vikings turn their attention to the Atlanta Falcons in a Week 2 showdown. Atlanta lost in soul-crushing fashion to the Buccaneers in Week 1, and unfortunately for the people of Georgia, the Vikings are the perfect team to replicate Tampa Bay’s success.
Against the Bucs, Atlanta could only muster 48 yards rushing on 22 attempts between their star running back duo. Tyler Allgeier was held to just 2.4 yards per carry, while Tampa shut down fantasy darling Bijan Robinson, averaging only two yards per rush. The longest carry of the day by either back was just six yards.
The problem wasn’t necessarily with the backs, though. The Falcons faced myriad issues across the entire offense. Still, after rushing for nearly 1,500 yards in 2024, Robinson had nowhere to go on Sunday, as the Buccaneers feasted on a predictable game plan and an injured lineup.
Tampa’s defense had a lot of success against Atlanta’s front last week and quickly snuffed out Atlanta’s game plan. The Falcons ran behind the left side of the line a lot, running off-tackle seven times compared to just once on the right, a notable difference from their typical strategy of running behind Kaleb McGary’s usual position.
However, with the star tackle out for weeks, the Falcons decided to shield newcomer Elijah Wilkinson, despite the downside of telegraphing their runs. So while it didn’t take much to crack that secret code, the Bucs may have revealed a winning formula to the Vikings.
The Falcons might offer a more balanced approach against the Vikings, but Minnesota is too talented across the line to target any one weakness. After bringing in Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave in free agency, the new and improved Vikings defensive front has already been paying dividends.
The duo combined for 13 pressures and eight tackles against Chicago, and now again have an opportunity to tee off against a team looking for answers along the offensive line. Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel are among the best edge duos in the NFL, and the Falcons still have a bit too much to figure out ahead of the showdown.
Without any sort of production in the run game, Michael Penix Jr. had to throw the ball 42 times with limited success. The Bucs also pressured Penix on a whopping 44% of his dropbacks as Tampa’s front had a field day against backup tackle Elijah Wilkinson.
While a shuffled offensive line faced some of the blame, a bigger reason for the disappointing production was due to Tampa Bay’s dominating front, a group that the Vikings probably even surpass. Minnesota boasts one of the most talented groups up front defensively, and regardless of Atlanta’s game plan this week, havoc and uncertainty may just follow them anyway.
After locking D’Andre Swift up for just 53 yards on 17 attempts, and sending Caleb Williams on a running tour of Soldier Field, Minnesota should be excited for their potential Tampa copy-cat performance against Atlanta. The Bucs lived in Atlanta’s backfield all Sunday, stacking up seven tackles for loss against an offensive line that was without McGary, their star tackle.
The Vikings registered six tackles for loss on Monday, including an astounding 30 pressures against Williams. Even though the opponents may differ, the Bucs and Vikings striking similarities indicate that the Falcons could face the same struggles as they did the week prior. Head coach Todd Bowles is probably the second-craziest defensive mind in football behind Brian Flores, and he showed that the Vikings can have a clear path to victory if they win the battle up front.
Atlanta will be motivated to reignite their rushing attack come Sunday night, and it could be the reason for its undoing. After the Bucs shut down the run game, Atlanta’s motivation to get things back on track may force them into a game plan that falls right into Minnesota’s strengths up front.
As one of the best run defense teams in the league last year, they are arguably even better in that regard now in 2025. If Raheem Morris wants to show the world that the Falcons can be a dominant rushing team, the Vikings might welcome that with open arms.
Although Minnesota’s secondary certainly presents some concerns, the strength of the team’s front seven should provide a solid foundation for a copycat win against the Falcons. Atlanta is searching for answers on offense, and the Vikings and Flores are the ideal team to expose that insecurity. A little dose of chaos and some heavy blitz packages may just be too much for the Dirty Birds to handle.
