The Atlanta Falcons look for their first win of the season on the road against the Minnesota Vikings.
The pregame narrative: Michael Penix Jr. and the Falcons looked good on offence in Week 1 but fell short to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. For the Vikings, J.J. McCarthy led a valiant second-half comeback to grab a road win in his first NFL start.
Check out my Falcons vs. Vikings same-game parlay predictions for Week 2 below, featuring McCarthy and Bijan Robinson.
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Falcons vs. Vikings SGP predictions
SGP: Falcons +7.5 | McCarthy over 16.5 rushing yards | Robinson 60+ rushing yards (+310)
Falcons +7.5 (-240): Atlanta did a lot right last Sunday, but the team ended up losing by a field goal in the end thanks to a missed kick in the final seconds.
The Falcons had 92 more yards in that contest, as well as seven more first downs and fewer punts. If that was all you knew, you would think they'd won.
That gives me confidence in this team moving forward.
In Week 2, they play a Vikings squad that was dominated in the first half of Monday Night Football last week but took advantage of some poor coaching to come back and win against the Chicago Bears.
That doesn't excuse Minnesota's poor play, though. The Vikings gave up 317 yards to the Bears and could only convert on 3-of-12 third downs.
When analyzing these opponents, they seem evenly matched ahead of Sunday Night Football, so I'll gladly back the Falcons to keep this within a score.
Monday Night Football SGP picks
McCarthy over 16.5 rushing yards (-120): There were a lot of unknowns ahead of McCarthy's NFL debut, and not every question has been answered, but he definitely has that dog in him.
The clip above was his second rush attempt of the night. McCarthy finished with 25 rushing yards in his debut.
The Vikings had nothing going in the first half, so almost all of the QB's production was in one half of football.
It helps that Kevin O'Connell is willing to draw up runs for his QB in the red zone.
McCarthy didn't register an official 40-yard dash before the NFL draft, but he reportedly ran a 4.48 at Michigan before the 2023 season.
For reference, Justin Fields ran a 4.45 at the combine.
McCarthy isn't going to use his legs as much as Fields or other QBs known for their mobility, but it's nice to know he has the speed to get a good chunk of yards when needed.
And this line is modest enough that McCarthy would likely only need a few attempts to go over.
Robinson 60+ rushing yards (-156): Robinson fell way short of this line in Week 1, finishing with 24 yards on 12 rushes. He did have 100 yards receiving, but that doesn't help with this wager.
One inefficient game isn't going to deter me from backing one of the NFL's premium runners, though.
- Robinson averaged 85.6 rushing yards per game in 2024.
- He went 14-3 against this wager and closed the regular season with six straight games of 90+ rushing yards.
Because of his lack of efficiency, he only ran the ball 12 times in Week 1. He had 12 or fewer rushes just three times last season.
The Buccaneers' defensive line did an outstanding job containing Robinson on the ground last Sunday, but I find it hard to believe the Vikings can have the same success.
Minnesota allowed a far less talented back, D'Andre Swift, to run for 53 yards on 17 attempts in Week 1.
Falcons vs. Vikings predictions made at 3:05 p.m. on 09/13/2025.
