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| ARI at NE | ATL at MIN | BAL at DAL | BUF at DEN | CAR at NYG | CIN at CLE | GB at CHI | HOU at OAK |
| IND at JAX | MIA at KC | NO at DET | NYJ at SEA | PHI at WAS | PIT at TEN | SD at TB | SF at STL |
Week 16 Game Recap: Atlanta Falcons 24, Minnesota Vikings 17
What you need to know
| Atlanta Falcons |
Matt Ryan had a hard time with the intense pass rush and was unable to put a lot of yardage together. What he was able to do was manage the game and lead his team in a ball control type offense.
Michael Turner also could not get loose and was only able to break a long run of 13 yards. He finished with 70 yards rushing on 19 carries and a touchdown.
| Minnesota Vikings |
Visanthe Shiancoe was just plain incredible. He fought, jumped and ran for the ball. Plus, no drops which is a big deal for him.
Tarvaris Jackson had a very good game. He was able to produce from the air and ground and threw with precision.
Adrian Peterson was kept relatively in check (for him) with 77 yards on 22 carries. More importantly, he gave up some very damaging fumbles.
Bernard Berrian had a leg injury that should be watched. It wasn't clear whether it was his knee or ankle. He tried to keep playing but it clearly slowed him down.
What you ought to know
| QB Matt Ryan, Pass: 13 - 24 - 134 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 3 - 2 - 0 |
This was a ball control game for Atlanta. They didn't need to throw the ball and needed to chew time off the clock. Minnesota lost four fumbles and this provided Atlanta the ability to run the ball. Ryan did miss a few targets today. The Minnesota defensive backs knocked many passes down. Ryan barely achieved above 50% completions. The pressure was very intense and that seemed to be when Ryan would miss the target.
| RB Michael Turner, Rush: 19 - 70 - 1 |
Michael Turner makes moves that a 240 pound RB should not be able to do. He was not able to break any big plays. He did move the pile and made guys miss. However, the DBs were able to get him down if the LBs didn't. He was not involved in the passing game. The Viking defense is tough to run on but Turner didn't seem to have the burst. He would make one move and then be taken down. He did average over three yards per carry.
| RB Jerious Norwood, Rush: 6 - 10 - 0, Rec: 2 - 11 - 1 (2 targets) |
Jerious Norwood had some nice opportunities on passing downs. He made the most of draw plays. There were a couple times that the safety was the only one to stop him. But, Norwood was not able to break the big play.
| RB Jason Snelling, Rush: 3 - 12 - 0, Rec: 1 - 13 - 0 (1 targets) |
Jason Snelling had a couple nice plays. One was a third down reception for thirteen yards. Another was a draw for eight yards. But, he was only used sparingly.
| WR Michael Jenkins, Rec: 4 - 61 - 0 (7 targets) |
Michael Jenkins tied Roddy White for targets. He made some very good catches and led the team in yards.
| WR Roddy White, Rec: 3 - 24 - 0 (7 targets) |
Roddy White only had 24 yards on the day. He was covered heavily all game and had many receptions knocked away. He just couldn't find a way to beat the Viking DBs. There was one great pass in his hands that he dropped and stalled a drive.
| WR Harry Douglas, Rush: 1 - 4 - 0, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (3 targets) |
Harry Douglas only had eight total yards today. His one run was an end around.
| WR Brian Finneran, Rec: 1 - 13 - 0 (1 targets) |
Brian Finneran's only target was for thirteen yards. He wasn't looked at the rest of the day.
| TE Justin Peelle, Rec: 1 - 8 - 0 (2 targets) |
Justin Peelle was not a main part of the passing attack today. He had a couple dump targets from the pass rush pressure.
| PK Jason Elam 1 - 1 FG, 3 - 3 XP, 6 points |
An easy day for Jason Elam. He had one field goal from 22 yards.
| ATL Rush Defense |
They really made it hard for Adrian Peterson to run the ball. The one thing they couldn't do was contain Tavaris Jackson. There were also four fumbles recovered today. That was the stat of the game. Without the fumbles the Vikings probably would have won. The defense contained and hit hard and that is the way it should always work.
| ATL Pass Defense |
The pass defense was a little porous. Tavaris Jackson was able to pick the defense apart most of the game. The pass rush was okay, but Jackson was able to elude them to either run the ball or get a second chance completion. There were no interceptions partly due to the lack of pressure and Jackson being very precise.
| QB Tarvaris Jackson, Pass: 22 - 36 - 233 - 2 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 8 - 76 - 0 |
This was a totally different Tavaris Jackson from the beginning of the season. He seemed to know when to run and when to throw. He was also very accurate. Shiancoe's second touchdown pass was a laser under extreme pressure. On the next drive he hit Bernard Berrian while under intense pressure. The very next play was a great connection on a timing route to Chester Taylor. Three plays later he shook off a wrapped tackler and connected to Shiancoe. Then Adrian Peterson fumbled. The only problem was that he showed a young player's impatience and made a few mistakes. But, he did not give up and almost brought the Vikings back for a win. One of his fumbles was just a great play by the Atlanta DL. The other was credited to Jackson but was really Peterson's fumble on the exchange. However, Jackson did not throw one pick and he wasn't even close. He showed good judgment and even threw the ball away to avoid sacks.
| RB Adrian Peterson, Rush: 22 - 76 - 0, Rec: 2 - 16 - 0 (4 targets) |
Adrian Peterson was stifled. He did not break any big runs. He also fumbled three times. One of his fumbles was credited to Tavaris Jackson but Jackson put the ball in his stomach. Both fumbles were in Atlanta territory on sustained drives. These fumbles probably cost Minnesota the game. Tavaris Jackson matched Peterson in rushing yards. Atlanta kept Peterson contained all day.
| RB Chester Taylor, Rush: 1 - 3 - 0, Rec: 5 - 26 - 0 (4 targets) |
Chester Taylor was not as involved in the game this week like in past games. He had one rush and four targets.
| RB Naufahu Tahi, Rec: 1 - -1 - 0 (1 targets) |
Of course Naufahu Tahi had one reception in the game to appear in the box score.
| WR Bobby Wade, Rec: 5 - 38 - 0 (8 targets) |
Bobby Wade made some very good catches in traffic today. He was used many times on possession receptions. All of his targets were on short routes and his yards were minimal.
| WR Bernard Berrian, Rec: 2 - 18 - 0 (5 targets) |
Bernard Berrian hurt his leg early in the third quarter. He was out for a while and then tried to play again. The injury is either his knee or ankle but it wasn't clear during the game. He was slowed by the injury when he came back in. He was not effective on deep routes and was not targeted on deep routes the rest of the game.
| WR Sidney Rice (2 targets) |
Sidney Rice had a few targets out of the endzone today. He was targeted deep once when Bernard Berrian was hurt. However, he did not catch one ball.
| TE Visanthe Shiancoe, Rec: 7 - 136 - 2 (8 targets) |
Visanthe Shiancoe was amazing. He didn't make a mistake all day. He did whatever he had to, to catch the ball. He also made many yards after the catch. It was fun to watch him play up to his potential. It looked like no one could cover him. One pass reception was between two defenders and Shiancoe held the ball as he was sandwiched.
| TE Jim Kleinsasser (1 targets) |
Jimmy Kleinsasser was targeted on a check down only.
| PK Ryan Longwell 1 - 1 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 5 points |
A very easy day with nothing to attempt over 30 yards.
| MIN Rush Defense |
It was another team the Vikings held under 100 yards rushing. Michael Turner put some moves on but the defense swarmed around him. One person would miss and there would be two more to pick up the pieces. Chad Greenway was all over the field. It was another impressive run stopping performance. However, it wasn't enough because Atlanta had a short field much of the day.
| MIN Pass Defense |
"The Firm" was in Matt Ryan's face all day. He had to deal with a lot of heat and that heat might have kept him from completing many of his passes. Absent from the day was an interception. A couple of tipped passes were close but Ryan didn't give them much to take away. However, the defense kept Atlanta from moving the ball a lot.
