It's easy to see how the Vikings felt that way. They outgained the Falcons 350 yards to 222 but lost 24-17. They held Michael Turner under 100 yards (19 carries for 70 yards) and kept Matt Ryan in check (13-for-24 for 134 yards). They held Roddy White to three catches for 24 yards.

But the Vikings fumbled seven times, losing four, and it cost them.

The Falcons scored 10 points off those turnovers, and while it could have been more, they stole all the momentum by doing it. The Falcons deflated a normally deafening crowd at the Metrodome and turned the league's best runner into a bumbling back.

Adrian Peterson, who was leading the NFL with 1,581 yards coming into the game, fumbled three times in the game and lost two of them. He finished with 76 yards rushing on 22 carries --- only the fifth time in 15 games this season he's been held under 100 yards.

"When you've got 11 guys swarming to the ball, good things are bound to happen," said safety Erik Coleman, who forced one of the fumbles. "We made a commitment this week that we were going to get 11 guys to the ball." The Falcons' Eric Weems started a chain reaction by jarring a punt return loose from Bernard Berrian in the first quarter, and Michael Boley was there to recover.

That was the first of four consecutive possessions in which the Vikings coughed up the ball while the Falcons stretched a 7-0 lead to 17-7.

"I thought he was going to fair catch the ball, but he didn't fair catch it," Weems said. "Once he caught the ball, I knew he wouldn't have full possession of the ball, so I went for the strip."

The last time the Falcons forced four fumbles was against Arizona in a 6-3 win on Sept. 26, 2004.

"A good team turns over the Football, you want to take advantage of every chance that you get," quarterback Matt Ryan said. "And we did it enough."

Chauncey Davis recovered two fumbles. Kindal Moorehead sacked Tarvaris Jackson to force one. Coleman forced one that Chris Houston recovered and got to take home.

"My teammates did a great job getting the ball out and fortunately I was able to get the ball," said Houston, while one of those teammates added a word in:

"Don't say your teammates, say 'Erik Coleman,' " Coleman said, laughing from a locker away.

To top it all, the Falcons used a fumble of their own to score the winning touchdown. On second-and-goal from the 5-yard line, Ryan took off running and tried to make a dive for the end zone. He was up-ended by linebacker Ben Leber, the ball came loose, and Justin Blalock dove in for the scramble.

"I was really anticipating celebrating a touchdown with Matt, and it ends up the ball popped out," Blalock said. "I didn't even see it on the ground, to be honest with you. I saw a couple guys scrambling, so I figured the ball must be close to them. Lo and behold, I came out with it."

It was the second time in the past two games Blalock has rescued Ryan. He recovered a Ryan fumble to preserve the game-winning drive in overtime last week against Tampa.

"That's twice now he's gotten me," Ryan said. "You can't be making those mistakes as we come down the line. It's something you have to learn from. I'm thankful I've got Justin."