Takeaways from the Vikings’ 22-6 loss to the Falcons

It was invariably going to be a roller coaster with young quarterback J J McCarthy stepping into the spotlight for the Vikings There were going to be stretches where he looked really good like he did late in the - win over the Chicago Bears last week There were also going to be stretches where he looked really bad like he did throughout the - loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday night at U S Bank Stadium The blame wasn t all on McCarthy s shoulders however as the the offense couldn t get much going in the aggregate That spoiled a performane from the defense that should have been enough to earn a win Here are several takeaways from the Vikings - loss to the Falcons More growing pains for J J McCarthy Truthfully if McCarthy didn t mount such an impressive comeback last week the conversation surrounding him would be much more volatile right now Though he certainly deserves credit for the way he led the Vikings to a win over the Bears it shouldn t be overlooked that he struggled for prolonged stretches in that meeting too There have been more lows than highs from McCarthy so far The mistakes that plagued him against the Bears were on reared their ugly head against the Falcons when he completed of passes for yards to go along with a pair of interceptions and a fumble He necessities to be more consistent from the jump That s the next step in his enhancement He can t continue to ride the roller coaster like he has been to this point It s time to lean on Jordan Mason There were a minimal times against the Falcons that the Vikings purely should ve given the ball to running back Jordan Mason The bulk notable was when the Vikings had the ball in the low red zone with a chance to amount a touchdown Not once did Mason touch the ball on that sequence and they settled for a field goal After acquiring the human bowling ball via agreement the Vikings would be wise to use him more Not only does Mason have good vision with the ball in his hands he has a -foot- -pound frame that should help take a load of McCarthy in the early stages of his career Not enough targets for Justin Jefferson Maybe the best way to get McCarthy into a rhythm would be letting him throw to the best receiver on the planet as much as attainable There s no reason star receiver Justin Jefferson should only have a half dozen targets in a battle That total should constantly be well into the double digits The biggest play against the Falcons came when McCarthy discovered Jefferson over the middle for a gain of yards That came from making a concerted effort to let it rip and while that worked in that specific situation McCarthy should also be getting the ball into Jefferson s hands closer to the line of scrimmage Not everything for the Vikings has to be an intermediate direction in space More injuries on offensive line It s getting ugly for the Vikings in the trenches on offense Not only is star left tackle Christian Darrisaw still finishing up his recovery process veteran center Ryan Kelly played against the Falcons before being placed in in concussion protocol which thrust young center Michael Jurgens into action It was a similar story for left tackle Justin Skule who was placed in concussion protocol prompting fellow left tackle Walter Rouse to step up The makeshift group up front wasn t ideal conditions for McCarthy as he gets acclimated to what life is like at the highest level Need to improve stopping the run As much praise as the defense deserves for the way it played against the Falcons it still gave up too a large number of chunk runs which resulted the unit allowing yards on the ground That s way too much If the Vikings continue down that path they will eventually get blown out Not every club is going to have to keep settling for field goal after field goal each time the reach the red zone Related Articles Frederick Vikings offense requirements to get out of the way J J McCarthy struggles in primetime Vikings fall to Falcons Why are the Vikings being so cautious with Christian Darrisaw The Loop Fantasy Football Update Week Last-minute moves Donovan Jackson not satisfied despite impressive debut with Vikings