ATLANTA (AP) — Leslie Frazier couldn't blame his players after the Minnesota Vikings' comeback attempt was stopped on a fourth-down play at the Atlanta 1.
"I told the players that's more on me," Frazier said, adding, "I let my emotions get the best of me."
The Vikings lost 24-14 to the Falcons on Sunday after Frazier's decision to go for a touchdown instead of a field goal backfired. Toby Gerhart was stopped for a loss at the 1 with four minutes remaining.
With Minnesota trailing by 10, Percy Harvin had returned a kickoff 104 yards to the Falcons 3. Three plays later, the Vikings faced fourth-and-goal at the 1. Minnesota needed two scores, but Frazier decided to go for the touchdown.
Outside linebacker Sean Weatherspoon hit Gerhart behind the line.
"When the guy comes screaming off the edge like that, you have no chance," Gerhart said.
Frazier said he should have gone for the field goal.
"That's purely on me," he said. "Just a bad mistake on my part, putting us in that position. But the guys did battle right until the very end. I just have to be smarter in that situation. ... It's something I've got to learn from."
The Vikings regrouped after trailing 17-0 at halftime. Minnesota (2-9) had only five first downs and 97 total yards in the first half.
Gerhart capped a 14-play touchdown drive with a 1-yard scoring run and rookie quarterback Christian Ponder threw a 39-yard scoring pass to Harvin to cut the deficit to 17-14.
The Falcons answered with Matt Ryan's 3-yard touchdown pass to Michael Palmer, which appeared to end the Vikings' comeback. Harvin's long return gave Minnesota another chance.
Harvin took the kick 7 yards deep in the end zone, found a wall of blockers to the right and took off in front of the Atlanta bench. Christopher Owens made a diving tackle at the 3 to save the Falcons.
It was the longest non-scoring kickoff return in NFL history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
"That was the most pivotal play of the game," Atlanta coach Mike Smith said. "We were able to put our defense out there and live to play another play."
Harvin had eight catches for 95 yards and a touchdown and five carries for 11 yards. The Vikings were without Adrian Peterson, who was sidelined by a sprained left ankle.
Atlanta (7-4) survived to maintain its spot in a tight NFC playoff race.
Ryan hooked up with Harry Douglas on a 27-yard touchdown and with Roddy White on a 6-yarder.
After Gerhart scored late in the third quarter, the Falcons made a mistake when Dominique Franks inadvertently touched a punt, allowing the Vikings to recover. Ponder went to Harvin on fourth-and-13 to make it 17-14.
Ponder supported Frazier's decision to try for the touchdown from the 1 in the fourth quarter.
"I had full confidence we were going to punch that in," Ponder said. "Atlanta has a good defense and they stopped us.
"Another loss and now we are 2-9. It doesn't feel good. It's getting repetitive, but I have to say that I am proud of the team. They played for four quarters. ... We are going to improve. We've got guys doing everything possible to win games."
The Vikings were outgained 335-226.
"The first half was ugly," Gerhart said. "There's no rhythm. We came back after halftime and wanted to get the ball back and wanted to get a little momentum. Unfortunately, they stopped that momentum at the end of the game."
Ponder was 17 of 25 for 186 yards but was sacked four times. Gerhart, starting for Peterson, managed only 44 yards on 17 carries.
Ryan was 27 of 34 for 262 yards and had his best efficiency rating of the season. White, showing signs of turning around a disappointing season, had his second straight big game with 10 catches for 120 yards.
NOTES: Harvin took advantage when the Falcons dropped linebacker Curtis Lofton into coverage on the fourth-and-13 play. He had no chance of keeping up with the speedy receiver. "We'll take that matchup every day," Ponder said. ... Three more Minnesota players left with injuries in the first half: safety Tyrell Johnson (hamstring), cornerback Asher Allen (shoulder) and long snapper Cullen Loeffler (back).
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