Life as a quarterback is probably a lot easier with Kevin O’Connell calling the plays and throwing to Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison.

But Sam Darnold has yet to make his plays, and he was great in the Vikings’ 42-21 win over the Falcons on Sunday.

Darnold set new single-game career highs with 347 passing yards and five touchdowns in the contest, becoming the first Vikings quarterback since 2004 to throw at least five touchdowns in a game.

Three of those touchdowns went to Jordan Addison, who finished the game with eight catches for 133 yards. The other two went to Justin Jefferson, who caught all seven of his targets for 132 yards.

Jefferson caught his first TD since Week 7 and he had his first multi-touchdown game since Week 4 of the 2023 season.

Darnold was dominant, hitting several deep balls to Addison and Jefferson over the course of the contest. He connected with Addison for a 49-yard score in the first quarter and had a 52-yard touchdown for Jefferson in the third.

Darnold finished the game with a near-perfect passer rating of 157.9 after completing 22 of his 28 throws.

While the Falcons tied the game at 21 points late in the third quarter, the Vikings came right back with Addison’s 11-yard touchdown catch to make it 28-21. Then Atlanta fumbled the ensuing kickoff, setting up Addison’s 6-yard touchdown reception to make it 35-21.

Aaron Jones put the game out of reach with his 15-yard run in the fourth quarter, capping a seven-play, 98-yard drive after a Kirk Cousins ​​interception.

Cousins’ return to Minnesota didn’t go particularly well for the veteran quarterback, as he threw two more interceptions and had no touchdown passes in the loss. Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier each had a rushing touchdown. But Cousins ​​has now thrown eight interceptions with no touchdowns in Atlanta’s last four games.

He finished the contest completing 23 of 37 passes for 344 yards. Darnell Mooney caught six passes for 142 yards. Kyle Pitts had just one catch on six targets for 14 yards.

At 11-2, the Vikings stay at home and face the Bears on Monday night in Week 15.

The 6-7 Falcons have lost four in a row and will also play the Raiders on the road on Monday night.