Atlanta marched down the field on the game’s opening drive Sunday night on the strength of Bijan Robinson’s legs for an early field goal to claim a 3-0 lead in Minneapolis.

That was a theme of the night for the Falcons, who converted five field goals off the leg of John Parker Romo. Atlanta’s first touchdown didn’t come until fewer than four minutes remained in the Falcons’ 22-6 victory at U.S. Bank Stadium.

But where exactly did the bulk of those kicks come from?

The second Atlanta field goal came after Minnesota turned the ball over on downs on its first offensive series at its own 36-yard line after four plays following a rough exchange between quarterback J.J. McCarthy and the center on a 4th-and-1 quarterback sneak attempt.

The third Atlanta field goal came late in the first half after the Falcons took over on the Vikings’ 38-yard line when McCarthy threw an interception. The fifth Atlanta field goal came after McCarthy fumbled as he was sacked on a hit he had every opportunity for which to brace himself.

All this is to say: Don’t pin Sunday night’s failure on the Vikings defense. Brian Flores’ unit was, again, brilliant.

The lone touchdown Minnesota surrendered came late in the fourth quarter, when the Vikings opted to allow a touchdown in an attempt to preserve clock while remaining down just two scores. By the end of that Atlanta drive, the Falcons’ had held possession for 20 minutes, 11 seconds of the second half, compared to just 6 minutes, 27 seconds for Minnesota.

The defense was gassed.

Outside of that drive, Minnesota surrendered just 243 yards of offense all evening. That comes after it allowed just 238 yards to the Bears prior to garbage time in Week 1.

Flores’ defense is really, really good.

It’s on the Vikings’ offense to stop putting the defense in such difficult positions.

Kevin O’Connell is an offense coach and a guru on that end of the field. But through two weeks, Minnesota has played approximately one good quarter of offensive football. The defense currently stands as the team’s best unit by a wide margin. It may be time to start leaning into that.

Yes, Minnesota is currently down Jordan Addison. And the offensive line hits keep coming with left tackle Christian Darrisaw missing his second game and center Ryan Kelly leaving Sunday’s game early. Even Darrisaw’s replacement, Justin Skule, left the game. Aaron Jones left Sunday’s bout, as well.

That, along with McCarthy’s inexperience, all suggests O’Connell and Co. may be wise to lean into a conversative, ground-and-pound approach for the time being.

Because opposing offenses simply aren’t moving the ball against Minnesota. And the points that are being scored against the Vikings are too often a product of offensive ineptitude. You know why McCarthy had to be so heroic in Chicago? Because he himself gave the Bears seven free points.

There’s no shame in putting a governor on the offense when you have a great defense and a young quarterback. It worked out quite well for the 2001 New England Patriots. Tom Brady threw for 145 yards in that Super Bowl upset of the Rams. But you know what perhaps the great quarterback of all time didn’t do that night? Turn the ball over.

Minnesota figures to be favored in each of its next three games. Next week, it hosts a Bengals’ team that will be without injured quarterback Joe Burrow. Then the Vikings face the Browns and Steelers overseas before the bye week.

Flores, Jonathan Greenard and Co. can lead Minnesota to a 4-1 record before it has time to regroup, grow and, ideally, ascend.

The offense’s job until then? Stay out of the way.

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Friends, family and neighbors are raising money to help a St. Paul man who was stabbed by a man who neighbors said was disruptive and “terrorized” them.

A criminal complaint alleges that 37-year-old Thomas Christian Welle stabbed his neighbor Pete Moroz, 56, multiple times during a September 5 assault at a condominium in the 500 block of Jackson Street in St. Paul.

Welle has been charged with second-degree attempted murder, first-degree burglary and assault and first degree assault with great bodily harm. Court records show he has a history of civil commitments for mental health.

According to the GoFundMe account, during the attack, Moroz was stabbed numerous times, suffering a collapsed lung, damaged liver, severely damaged left arm, orbital fracture to his left eye and has undergone multiple surgeries. He is at risk of losing his eyesight in his left eye, fundraiser organizers said.

More than $9,000 had been raised as of Sunday to help with his medical costs through a GoFundMe account.

The criminal complaint gives the following details about the assault:

Shortly before 6:30 p.m. on September 5, Welle knocked on Moroz’s door, saying he had a delivery for him. When he opened the door, Moroz said that Welle allegedly began to stab him, saying, “You are going to die.”

A neighbor heard Moroz shouting and went to the apartment. When she opened the door, she saw Welle allegedly standing over Moroz, stabbing him.

She screamed, “Get off him! What are you doing? Get off him!”

“He’s stabbing me — call 911!!” Moroz yelled.

The neighbor ran back to her place and called 911.

When officers arrived, they found Moroz outside on the sidewalk, covered in blood. Moroz told police that his neighbor had stabbed him “all over” and asked officers to tell his daughters that he loved them.

At Regions Hospital, medical staff said that Munoz’s condition was life-threatening and that he had blood pooling near his heart and lungs and that his blood pressure was dropping.

Doctors said he required multiple surgeries and might lose his eyesight.

Neighbors told detectives that Welle had been “disruptive and terrorized” the neighbors since he moved in about two years ago. He played loud music and banged around, making pounding sounds and yelling. He wrote a previous tenant that she stomped when she walked, and signed the note “Your worst nightmare.” Other neighbors said he wasn’t taking his medication. They were afraid to confront him and had decided to speak to building management about him.

While searching Welle’s apartment, police found a bloody knife with the name “Thomas” on its wooden handle, the complaint said.

Welle’s family told detectives that he is “extremely dangerous, erratic, and unpredictable” and worry he will return and hurt Moroz or others again.

Authorities arrested him the next day and found him walking near the building with blood on his feet and hands. When he saw officers, he held up his hands to be arrested and said that he had acted in self-defense.

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The criminal complaint said Welle has been convicted of arson in the second degree and assault in the fourth degree in Dakota County, prior to the stabbing. He had set fire to his mattress in a group home, and he spat in a responding officer’s face. Welle also has a long history of civil commitments.

He is already facing trial on felony assault in the fifth degree in Hennepin County for repeatedly punching a doctor, who had treated Welle for 15 years at the time.

His next scheduled court appearance is on Oct. 15.

The stage was set for young quarterback J.J. McCarthy. Another nationally televised game in primetime to continue to establish himself as a household name.

After emerging as an overnight sensation last week by leading the Vikings to a win over the Chicago Bears in his NFL debut, however, McCarthy couldn’t keep the momentum rolling on Sunday night at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Not once throughout the game did McCarthy look like he was in a rhythm as the Vikings suffered a 22-6 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. Frankly, the game wasn’t even as close as the score indicated as the Vikings got throughly dominated from start to finish.

The stat line from McCarthy wasn’t pretty as he completed 11 of 20 pass for 158 yards with a pair of interceptions and a fumble. He was sacked a half dozen times as injuries on the offensive line made pass blocking seem optional.

The disastrous performance from the Vikings forced a packed house to head to the exits long before the final seconds ticked off the clock.

The worst part? If the offense even showed an ounce of competitiveness, the Vikings might have come back and won the game. That’s how good the defense was for prolonged stretches at it did everything it could to keep the Vikings in the game.

That effort was wasted as the the only points for the Vikings came via a pair of field goals from kicker Will Reichard.

There was a ton of energy in the building leading up to kickoff and that manifested itself on the opening drive. After an initial burst from the Falcons courtesy of star running back Bijan Robinson, the home crowd momentarily took over the game.

A deafening roar forced the Falcons to take a timeout and a delay of game in succession. That pushed them backwards and they had to settle for a field goal from kicker Parker Romo to make it 3-0.

On the next drive, the Vikings turned the ball over on downs when McCarthy bobbled an exchange with center Ryan Kelly on a quarterback sneak. Fortunately for the Vikings, the defense picked up the offense, limiting the damage as the Falcons kicked another field goal to make it to 6-0.

As the offense continued to sputter, the defense stepped up once again, this time with a perfectly placed punch from linebacker Eric Wilson to force a fumble that was recovered by safety Theo Jackson.

That gave the Vikings some life and McCarthy finally found something resembling a rhythm, completing a 19-yard pass to receiver Adam Thielen followed by  a 17-yard pass to fellow receiver Jalen Nailor. That put the Vikings in the low red zone where they settled for a field goal from Reichard to cut the deficit to 6-3.

After an interception by McCarthy put the Vikings in another precarious situation, the defense continued to rise to the occasion, forcing the Falcons into another field goal to make it 9-3.

That looked like it would be the score at halftime, until McCarthy found receiver Justin Jefferson for a 50-yard gain in the waning seconds, setting up a field goal from Reichard to cut the deficit to 9-6.

The trend of the offense stinking it up and the defense keeping the Vikings within striking distance continued after halftime. After the Vikings were immediately forced to punt coming out of the locker room, the Falcons added another field goal to make it 12-6.

With a chance to take the lead despite how poorly everything had gone to that point, McCarthy was sacked for the sixth time in the game and he fumbled in the process. Though the Falcons had a chance to deliver the knockout blow, they had to settle for yet another field goal to make it 15-6.

You know what? Maybe that was the knockout blow. That lead was virtually insurmountable with the way the Vikings were playing on the other end.

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There was no such thing as “YA literature” when Robert Louis Stevenson wrote “Treasure Island” in 1883, but it would have been an apt designation. That term applies to novels directed at teen readers, usually featuring a young protagonist who has a coming-of-age experience. Think of “The Hunger Games” or the “Twilight” series.

It may have been originally serialized in a magazine called “Young Folks,” but much of “Treasure Island” is not at all for the wee ones. Stevenson’s pirates are a frighteningly murderous and totally untrustworthy bunch, thriving on threats and duplicity. The kind of folks a parent might want to hold off on introducing to an elementary school student.

Which leads me to Children’s Theatre Company’s extremely well-crafted season-opening production of “Treasure Island.” While advertised by CTC as “best enjoyed by everyone 8 and up,” it seems designed for boys at least a few years older than that. It can be very intense and there are several instances of violent death involving guns, knives and blood. It’s one thing for a child to see such things on a screen, but quite another to witness them in the flesh.

That’s probably why Saturday afternoon’s audience was significantly smaller after intermission. This is the kind of show that, if a child says that they want to leave, it would be best if their accompanying adults follow their wishes. For it only gets worse in Act Two.

Add to the equation that Children’s Theatre Company stands five miles away from Annunciation Catholic Church, where a recent mass shooting of a group of schoolchildren surely inspired a lot of family heart-to-heart conversations. Violent death is a lot more real to local children now.

So, as much as I admire Stuart Paterson’s excellent adaptation of the novel — as well as the vivid characterizations from the 13 actors and the imaginative set design of Christopher and Justin Swader — I concluded this was simply not the right time for this story. This is the first CTC production helmed by its new artistic director, Rick Dildine, and his heart was surely in the right place in presenting the tale of a teenage boy who dreams of adventure and rises to the occasion when heroism is required.

But daggers are being held to throats during angry exchanges from the first scene onward, and it isn’t long until the body count mounts as greedy pirates dispose of their colleagues in order to execute a successful mutiny and increase their share of the pursued booty.

And if this is intended as a story about mentorship, the relationship between young Jim Hawkins and the pirate Long John Silver is a troubling one. Reed Sigmund delivers a tour de force as Silver, a scene-stealing bundle of charm, rage and deceit who displays a kind side to the boy that you can never be convinced is genuine. And Mason Yang — who shares the role of Jim Hawkins with Truman Bednar — ably guides us through our protagonist’s transformation.

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Add the cast’s skilled way with acoustic music (including sea shanties), and it proves a powerful production that clearly suffers from unfortunate timing. Then again, the right time to tell a violent story about murderous greed is a matter of debate.

‘Treasure Island’

When: Through Oct. 19
Where: Children’s Theatre Company, 2400 Third Ave. S., Mpls.
Tickets: $79-$25, available at 612-874-0400 or childrenstheatre.org
Capsule: While a finely crafted production, it’s not for kids.