The Minnesota Vikings returned to U.S. Bank Stadium after a potentially season-saving win over the Detroit Lions to take on the Baltimore Ravens, a 3-5 team that also had a slow start. But on Sunday, it was the Vikings who couldn’t stop halting their own momentum, as the defense was ultimately unable to overcome numerous miscues from the offense and special teams in a 27-19 loss to Baltimore.
The Vikings’ offense struck first, on their opening drive, when J.J.McCarthy foundJalen Nailor on third-and-four for a 62-yard gain to put the offense at the four-yard line.Aaron Jones punched the ball in on the next play to make it 7-0.
The defense allowed the Ravens to move down the field but eventually held them to three, a trend that would continue throughout the first half.
McCarthy threw his first interception of the day looking for Justin Jefferson deep. The reliable Will Reichard added to the Vikings’ lead, and they went into the locker room up 9-10.
The Vikings turned the ball over again with another McCarthy interception to open the half. The Ravens capitalized and made it 12-10 after yet another red-zone stop by the Vikings’ defense.
Bad turned to worse as Myles Price fumbled the kickoff, giving the Ravens another chance to score in excellent field position. The Ravens finally found paydirt, scoring their first touchdown of the day to go up 19-10.
The offense would turn the ball over on downs, followed by an Adam Thielen personal foul flag that gave the Ravens the ball back in Minnesota territory — again. Another defensive stop and a missed kick by Baltimore kept the score close. The Vikings’ offense managed three more points, but the Ravens responded with a touchdown and two two-point conversions to make it a 14-point game with 10 minutes to go. Some late-game heroics from Jalen Nailor, who had a great day, weren’t enough to overcome Minnesota’s seemingly endless string of unforced errors.
Here are five numbers to break down Minnesota’s loss to the Ravens.
29
Minnesota’s offense has scored points on 29 consecutive trips to the red zone. However, Baltimore snapped this streak in the fourth quarter, turning the Vikings over on downs with seven minutes left.
The Vikings have been efficient in this area of the field, yet not ideal. In losses to the Atlanta Falcons and Philadelphia Eagles, they were consistently unable to score touchdowns.
Early on in this game, Minnesota’s offense was efficient in the red zone, not getting too cute with play calling, handing the ball off to Jones, and allowing him and the offensive line to win at the point of attack.
We can all complain about the infrequency with which red-zone trips result in touchdowns. Still, just getting points on the board from the red zone is crucial.
6
McCarthy has thrown six interceptions in four starts.
While there has been a lot in McCarthy’s game to like, the interceptions are definitely something that he needs to limit.
In the second quarter on third down, McCarthy did well to avoid the oncoming rush. Instead of taking the open lane for what would have been a surefire conversion, McCarthy opted to float a deep ball to Jefferson, which rookie safety Malaki Starks undercut for an interception.
His second interception came on another big shot when Jefferson tumbled on a deep route, letting Marlon Humphrey get an uncontested interception. While this aggression isn’t necessarily a bad thing, given the situation, McCarthy should have opted to pull the ball down and run it.
McCarthy would throw an interception to effectively end the game, getting picked by Roquan Smith.
We all know that McCarthy does need some development in refining his game, and that aggression is just something he plays with. Still, it’s up to this coaching staff to figure out when to limit it and stop these mistakes.
13
The Ravens’ offense made the most of their three turnovers, scoring 13 points off of them. Baltimore’s secondary looked like it was going to be in for a long day during the first drive when they allowed a 62-yard Nailor reception. After that, they were able to lock in and shut down Minnesota’s passing attack.
The two interceptions they forced shifted the momentum in their favor, and their offense scored field goals on both. Then, after the kickoff, the team forced and recovered a fumble deep in Minnesota territory, and the Ravens scored again, scoring their first touchdown of the game.
Minnesota’s defense was able to keep the Ravens’ offense in check for most of the game. Still, the turnovers and lack of rest didn’t put the defense in the most advantageous positions all game.
6
Jefferson has seen six of his targets this season turn into interceptions, the most in the NFL. Jefferson is undoubtedly one of, if not the best, receivers in the NFL. Still, it seems like this season he has had a hard time getting on the same page with his quarterbacks.
It started Week 1 when Jefferson and McCarthy were unable to connect, leading to a Nahshon Wright pick-six. Wentz also threw interceptions looking 18’s way.
This week, especially, McCarthy forced the ball to Jefferson and paid the price. Granted, the second interception was likely a result of Jefferson stumbling on the route. Still, the turnover occurred when this team looked to extend a lead they were barely clinging to, creating a momentum shift they could not afford.
8
Pre-snap penalties again killed the offense. They had eight false starts, the most under Kevin O’Connell. In a game at U.S. Bank Stadium, when people think of false starts and pre-snap flags, they think of opposing teams unable to communicate under the crowd noise. Not this week.
In McCarthy’s first two starts, the biggest problem that this offense had was its inability to get the play in and get set on time. The Vikings had various pre-snap penalties this week, including false starts. The offense looked unable to get out of its own way after the first drive, racking up unforced errors.
While the turnovers will get all the attention, the offense putting themselves in poor down-and-distance positions due to their own lack of discipline and coordination is equally frustrating. Overall, the 13 flags for 102 yards were killers for this team that had no room for error late in this game.