Falcons vs. Vikings Recap: road woes continue in 41-28 loss to Vikings

The Atlanta Falcons have now lost eight consecutive games on the road in outdoor stadiums.

Atlanta failed to overcome a scorching start from a rookie quarterback and injuries to three different starting offensive linemen - Joe Hawley, Justin Blalock, Lamar Holmes - as they fell 41-28 to the Minnesota Vikings.

The injuries to the aforementioned linemen forced Atlanta to play tight end Levine Toilolo at right tackle.

Coming into the game, the Vikings hadn't scored a touchdown in seven quarters. That changed quickly as Teddy Bridgewater orchestrated an eight-play, 73-yard touchdown drive on Minnesota's first possession.

At the half the Falcons were down 10, surrendering 351 yards of offense and 24 points to the Vikings. Bridgewater piled up 197 yards on 11 of 16 passing.

It may have been his first start, but the rookie quarterback looked unfazed by the moment. He totaled 317 yards through the air on 19 of 30 passing. He also showed off his wheels with a 13-yard touchdown run. An ankle injury in the fourth quarter forced him to exit the game early.

The Falcons came out firing in the third quarter, briefly taking a 28-27 lead. However, that didn't last long as Bridgewater put together another scoring drive - with a successful two-point conversion - to put the Vikings back on top permanently.

Adrian Peterson's shoes are hard to fill, but Matt Asiata and rookie Jerick McKinnon proved they were more than capable of doing so. Asiata matched his three-touchdown career total, and McKinnon gave several glimpses of his explosiveness, gaining 135 yards on just 18 attempts, highlighted by a 55-yarder.

Matt Ryan was largely impressive, putting up 298 yards and three touchdowns. He also had two interceptions, with one being a desperation heave to end the game.

Atlanta did get explosive plays from Devin Hester on a 36-yard catch and run for a touchdown and Antone Smith, who scampered for a 48-yard touchdown run.

At the end of the day, Falcons didn't capitalize on the opportunity to sit alone atop the NFC South with the Carolina Panthers losing to the Baltimore Ravens earlier.

Atlanta has a lot of cleaning up to do before going on the road again to the square off against the rejuvenated Eli Manning and his New York Giants.

Notes

Atlanta's problems on defense were on full display. They couldn't stop the run nor the pass as the Vikings offense largely moved the ball with ease and cruised to 558 yards. They also gave up two explosive plays over 50 yards in the first half. Kroy Biermann attempting to cover Greg Jennings was the most confusing decision of the day.

Of the injuries to the linemen, Hawley's seemed to be the worst. He was grimacing noticeably while holding his knee and had to leave the field on a cart. Needless to say, that's not good news.

Roddy White had several drops. On Ryan's first interception, it looked as though White didn't come back to the ball aggressively enough. It may be too early in the season to worry, but the usually-consistent receiver looked like he reverted back to the receiver he was in his first two years in the league. There's also the possibility he's not fully healed from his hamstring injury he suffered a couple of weeks ago, which is just as concerning.