MINNEAPOLIS --The Falcons offense made the trip to Minnesota eager to show off some of the moves that were kept hidden during the 2007 preseason, but a list of miscues coupled with an aggressive Vikings pass rush complicated that debut and the Falcons fell 24-3 to Minnesota at the Metrodome.
It's the first season-opening loss for the Falcons in five seasons and it put plenty of life into the 62,815 Vikings fans eager to get a look at second-year quarterback Tarvaris Jackson and rookie running back Adrian Peterson.
Peterson rushed for 109 yards -- a Vikings rookie record -- and took a screen pass from Jackson midway through the fourth quarter for 60 yards and a touchdown.
Frustrations started early for Atlanta, even after the defense forced a Vikings punt to open the game.
"That's a tough loss for us," Head Coach Bobby Petrino said. "I thought in the first half our defense did a nice job of keeping us in there... We do need to improve defensivly in keeping guys backed up. Offensivly we didn't have very good field position the first half."
Leading his first drive of the regular season, quarterback Joey Harrington initially showed great mobility. He escaped two tacklers on his first snap and checked down to tight end Alge Crumpler for an 8-yard gain. But six plays later, as the Falcons offense inched toward midfield, Harrington threw an interception to Vikings defensive tackle Kevin Williams.
Like most defensive tackles, the 311-pound Williams isn't know for his speed. But he was the beneficiary of good field position on this return and had an open lane down the Falcons sideline for a 54-yard touchdown.
"The interception for a touchdown is a tough play becaue the guy didn't rush and jumped up and made a nice catch and return," Petrino said. "That's something tht doesn't happen a whole lot."
Harrington said the Falcons were in a hurry-up offense and, in that case, snapped the ball with the Vikings too unprepared and actually in a better position to make such a play.
The Falcons defense played well for most of the game, holding the Vikings scoreless in the first half and forcing a field goal early in the third quarter.
But the offense was forced to fight an up-hill battle for most of the game when it came to field position. The Falcons average starting field position was at their own 22 and just four times did Harrington pilot the group into Vikings territory, the first of which ended in a missed 44-yard field goal attempt by Matt Prater.
Ironically, the Falcons led in time of possession at halftime (17:11) and edged the Vikings in rushing yards (64-61). The difference came on big plays and big hits, especially in the second half.
Vikings linebacker E.J. Henderson recorded two of the team's six sacks on the afternoon. Atlanta was also slowed by 40 yards in penalties.
For the game the Falcons had two turnovers, including a second interception at the goal line that cornerback Antoine Winfield returned for a late score. The team did, however, convert 50 percent of its third downs, lead in first downs and put together 295 yards of total offense.
The Falcons defense created several opportunities and got pressure on Jackson, but the athletic quarterback escaped pressure all afternoon.
One exciting moment came in the third quarter when DeAngelo Hall recorded the 13th interception of his career off a tipped pass. The ball would have escaped the grasp of most cornerbacks. Hall, however, made a diving stab at the pigskin and returned it for 19 yards to the Atlanta 41.
"DeAngelo made a great play on the interception," Petrino said. "That's really what hurt us therer -- that we weren't able to take advantage of it."
A bright spot on offense was the play of rookie wide receiver Laurent Robinson, who started his first game out of a three-wide receiver set and finished with three catches for 32 yards. He was a key figure on a fourth-quarter drive that moved the Falcons 57 yards down the field and set up a 45-yard Prater field goal -- the team's only score.
Peterson would score his lone touchdown on the next drive and put the game out of reach.
Atlanta was led in rushing by Warrick Dunn, who had 55 yards on 22 carries. He was spelled by Jerious Norwood, who flashed ahead for 33 yards on five touches. Crumpler finished with 40 receiving yards on four catches.
On defense, Lawyer Milloy was credited with five solo tackles while Hall, Lewis Sanders and Antoine Harris each had a pass defensed.
"Someone said afterwardds that If we didn't have bad luck we wouldn't have had no luck at all today," Harrington said. "Sometimes the ball bounces the other way and today it happened to be in a game that was one of those claw 'em out kind of days. It's frustrating becasue we did a lot of things right and there were one or two bounces that went their way."
MORE FROM THE FALCONS SEASON OPENER:
- GAMEDAY: Everything you need to know form before and after the Vikings game
- STATS AND PLAY-BY-PLAY: NFL.com Gamecenter
- GAME NOTES: Updates and njury news from the Metrodome
- INACTIVES: Inactives from Week 1
- VIDEO: Head Coach Bobby Petrino
- VIDEO: Quarterback Joey Harrington
