In the battle of former high school quarterbacks from the area, Minnesota’s Joshua Dobbs out-dueled Atlanta’s Taylor Heinicke.
Dobbs, acquired from the Cardinals in a trade on Tuesday, directed a game-winning drive to lead the Vikings to a 31-28 victory over the Falcons on Sunday at a stunned Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Dobbs tossed a 6-yard touchdown pass to former Falcons wide receiver Brandon Powell with 22 seconds to play.
“We worked it a lot because we saw actually Detroit ran that play (against the Falcons) and it was wide open,” Powell said. “We practiced it. I was the main guy on that play. They played the right defense. The same defense they (were) playing all year. We ran the right play and executed.”
Powell said the Falcons were in Cover 4 “with the nickel tucked inside,” Powell said. “As soon as he went inside, it was a touchdown. Josh made a great throw.”
Turnovers have not been the Falcons’ friend this season.
So much so, they benched quarterback Desmond Ridder, who led the league with 12 turnovers. But the problem didn’t go away.
The Vikings used two third-quarter turnovers to score 11 points and take the lead, but the Falcons answered with a determined, bone-rattling, 13-play, 79-yard touchdown drive to take 28-24 lead.
The Falcons needed a big 13-yard scramble from Heinicke on third-and-eight and five straight power runs by running back Tyler Allgeier to retake the lead.
Dobbs, who played at Alpharetta High and Tennessee, took over at quarterback for the Vikings after rookie Jaren Hall suffered a concussion in the first quarter.
“The circumstance that I was put it was a little abnormal for a Sunday in the NFL,” Dobbs said. “I hope that Jaren is OK.”
Dobbs drove them down to the field. On fourth-and-seven from the 34, Dobbs broke the pocket and ran it down to the 10-yard line with :39 left to play. He found Powell wide open in the end zone.
He hadn’t thrown a pass to Powell all week in practice.
“I think I threw a couple to him in pre-game warmups,” Dobbs said.
Dobbs completed 20 of 30 passes for 158 yards and two touchdowns. He finished with a passer rating of 101.8 and rushed seven times for 66 yards and a touchdown.
The Falcons’ desperation drive ended with a hail mary heave by Heinicke, who played at Collins Hill High. Heinicke was 21 of 38 for 268 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He finished with a passer rating of 75.3.
The Vikings, playing their first game without quarterback Kirk Cousins this season, improved to 5-4. The Falcons dropped to 4-5.
“Well, certainly a missed opportunity,” Falcons coach Arthur Smith said. “Give them credit, but yes. You can’t sugar-coat it or make excuses. We had our chances, and we didn’t get it done.”
The Falcons held an 11-10 lead at halftime over the Vikings, as the offense could not find the end zone.
Younghoe Koo made three field goals and the defense registered a safety when Calais Campbell tackled Dobbs in the end zone.
Defensive end Arnold Ebiketie forced a fumble by Dobbs and outside linebacker Lorenzo Carter took it down to the 1-yard line.
The Falcons had a false start by right guard Chris Lindstrom, threw a screen to tight end Jonnu Smith that picked up 5 yards. On second down, the Falcons ran a jet sweep to Smith that was snuffed out. On third down, Allgeier was dropped for a four-yard loss.
Koo made a 23-yard field goal to cap the drive where the Falcons couldn’t pick up a yard for a touchdown. The field goal made it 11-3 as they kicked away a chance to blow the game open.
Dobbs started to settle down and converted on third-and-eight, -11 and -10 during their touchdown drive.
The Falcons got off to a slow start.
The Falcons, who had scored on their opening drive in each of the past three games, were forced to punt after picking up two first downs.
On third-and-15 from Atlanta’s 47, the Vikings sent three and dropped eight players into coverage to force Heinicke to throw the ball away.
The defense forced a punt and the Falcons connected on a 31-yard pass play to KhaDarel Hodge. The drive stalled and Koo kicked a 52-yard field goal.
Minnesota answered with a 19-yard field goal by Greg Joseph. On third-and-one, Hall tried to score, but was walloped by cornerback Jeff Okudah. He suffered a concussion and was declared out for the game.
After the Falcons punted, the Vikings were backed up at their seven-yard line. On third-and-12, Campbell caught Dobbs before he escaped the end zone for the safety to make it 5-3 with 14:04 left in the second quarter.
After the free punt, the Falcons added a 43-yard field goal to make it 8-3.
The Ebiketie/Carter turnover followed, but the Falcons executed poorly from the one-yard line and settled for the field goal.
To cap a 13-play, 75-yard drive that took 4:37 off the clock, Dobbs tossed a two-yard touchdown pass to Alexander Mattison with under a minute to go in the first half.
In the third quarter, Kentavius Street, who started for Grady Jarrett at defensive tackle, recovered a Dobbs’ fumble. The Falcons couldn’t move the ball and settled for a 54-yard field goal by Koo to make it 14-10.
Joseph added 32-yard field goal for the Vikings to make it 14-13.
On the Falcons’ next possession, Jonnu Smith caught another screen pass and scored from 60 yards out. The Falcons forced a punt, but running back Bijan Robinson fumbled on the first play after picking up 16 yards.
Vikings cornerback Akayleb Evans forced the fumble and safety Josh Metellus recovered at the Falcons’ 40. Six plays later, Dobbs broke free around the right end and scored from 18 yards out. Dobbs tossed a pass to Trishton Jackson for the two-point conversion to tie the game, 21-21.
On the Falcons very next offensive play, Heinicke’s pass intended for Damiere Byrd was intercepted by Vikings cornerback Byron Murphy and they were back in business at the Falcons’ 24. The defense held and forced a field goal. Joseph made the 31-yard attempt to put the Vikings up 24-21 with 14:18 left in the game.
“I hope people are able to understand that Josh Dobbs was able to accomplish something very, very special and we’re really proud of him,” Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said.
After an exchange of punts, the Falcons had the ball back with 9:06 to play. They took the lead, but they couldn’t hold it.
“We felt like we kind of beat ourselves, especially there in the first half,” Heinicke said. “We let some opportunities go. Then we left a lot of points on the field there.”
The Falcons next play at the Cardinals (1-8) at 4:05 p.m. on Sunday. Arthur Smith wasn’t ready to name his starting quarterback.
“Not right now,” Smith said. “We’ll just have to get back to evaluate it. I’m not going to give you some answer that we haven’t sat back and looked at everything.”
The Bow Tie Chronicles
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