The roller coaster continues for the Minnesota Vikings.
After looking as if they had turned a corner last weekend in a 27-24 win over the Detroit Lions on the road, the Vikings couldn’t build on that momentum this weekend in a 27-19 loss to the Baltimore Ravens at home.
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The performance on Sunday afternoon at U.S. Bank Stadium left something to be desired across the board. Let’s just say the issues for the Vikings went much deeper than the growing pains of J.J. McCarthy.
Here are some takeaways from the game:
McCarthy got more inaccurate with time
After an impressive start, McCarthy’s play steadily declined.
He was excellent on the opening drive while working with a scripted set of plays. He hit Justin Jefferson with a strike to the sideline, then found Jalen Nailor with a perfectly placed ball over the top.
There was a noticeable decisiveness from McCarthy on both throws; the ball came out of time in the rhythm of the offense.
There wasn’t the same level of execution down the stretch. McCarthy was wildly inaccurate for prolonged stretches, with many passes sailing on him. The inability to string together completions made life difficult for the Vikings as they tried to rally.
McCarthy’s final stat line: 20 of 42 for 248 yards, a touchdown and a pair of interceptions. This is becoming a trend: McCarthy will play well at the start of the game before his slowly losing steam. There needs to be marked improvement moving forward.
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Rushing attack didn’t get enough chances
There numbers are pretty damning when considering that Aaron Jones averaged 5.2 yards per carry while Jordan Mason averaged 6.3 yards. As effective as they were, the tandem combined for only 13 carries.
Not feeding them with more regularity was an oversight by head coach Kevin O’Connell that he will likely regret when he goes over the film. Though the Vikings eventually had to abandon the run completely as they tried to mount a comeback, they didn’t stick to it nearly enough when the game was still hanging in the balance.
A microcosm of that miscalculation came shortly after halftime, as O’Connell decided to throw on third down despite only needing a yard to move the chains. The play resulted in McCarthy throwing an interception after Jefferson fell while trying to gain separation. That ball probably should have been handed off to either Jones or Mason.
Jefferson lacked his usual juice
A calling card for Jefferson throughout his career has been the amount of joy he plays with whenever he puts on the pads. He almost always carries himself the same way, regardless of how he’s playing.
That’s why his demeanor stood out while the Vikings struggled against the Ravens. It wasn’t so much that Jefferson was going through the motions; he just lacked his usual juice.
Whether it was stumbling with a chance to make a play in single coverage or failing to come up with a contested catch near the goal line, he seemed a bit off. Afterward, Jefferson took accountability and made it clear that he has to be better.
Defense did everything it could
The defense’s goal was to contain Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, and it did. Jackson finished with less fewer than 200 passing yards and fewer than 50 on the ground.
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Never mind that the unit led by defensive coordinator Brian Flores didn’t force any turnovers; the defense did everything it could to keep Jackson off balance while also limiting Derrick Henry to 75 rushing yards.
That should have been enough for the Vikings to walk away with a win. The offense simply didn’t pull its weight.
Price changed game with his fumble
After garnering some attention for his prowess as a kick returner, rookie receiver Myles Price learned a hard lesson midway through Sunday’s game.
In an effort to provide a spark after halftime, Price fought tooth and nail for a few extra yards while being brought down. While he was fighting, Price had the ball punched out. The Ravens recovered.
That fumble changed the tenor of the game. The teaching point for Price is obvious. As much as he might want to gain as many yards as possible, he has to make securing the ball his top priority.
It nearly got even worse when Price coughed it up while returning the next kick, but rookie tight end Ben Yurosek recovered the ball for Minnesota.
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