Vikings - Ravens

Too often, the Minnesota Vikings were a greater obstacle to a win than the Baltimore Ravens. In the end, the Ravens had a 27-19 victory. 

8 pre-snap penalties!

Those eight procedural penalties were perhaps the biggest reason for the loss. It really wasn’t the 40 yards lost as a result of those mistakes. It was the self-inflicted nature of them. A first-and-10 was suddenly first-and-15. It’s a tough deal. The Vikings kept putting themselves in passing situations before they even took a snap. That was a big reason for the 42-18 pass-run disparity. When they weren’t letting penalties dictate their play selection, the Vikings ran the ball well. They averaged 6.7 yards per carry. They had 120 rush yards for the game. Scrambles by quarterback J.J. McCarthy accounted for 48 of those yards but running backs Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason averaged 5.5 yards per carry. The two combined for 13 carries. That was the problem. Those pre-snap penalties forced the Vikings more than they probably intended. Instead of dictating the play of the game, they had it dictated to them. None of it had anything to do with what the Ravens did.

13 total penalties

102 yards lost

Those are ridiculous numbers. 

Three turnovers

More ridiculous numbers. More self-harm.

Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy threw two interceptions. After he threw each pass, Justin Jefferson was knocked/nudged to the ground. The contact on both was more incidental than interference. McCarthy was giving Jefferson contested catch opportunities. That’s usually a winning situation for the Vikings. Not this time. The Ravens got a gift interception and it happened twice. The third turnover was a Myles Price fumble on a kick return. He also fumbled on his next return opportunity but thankfully the Vikings recovered. The lost fumble was particularly painful as the Ravens were immediately gifted outstanding field position. They only had to travel 23 yards for their first touchdown of the game. In total, the Ravens scored 13 points off of the Vikings three turnovers. That’s nearly half of their 27 points. 

Despite their generosity throughout the game, the Vikings still had the opportunity to tie the game on their final possession. That was actually quite remarkable. Plucky offense, when they weren’t torpedoing themselves, and solid defense were the reasons the game was still within reach at the end.

Plucky offense. Solid defense. It doesn’t really matter as it’s still a loss. This game was littered with far too many self-inflicted mistakes. The Vikings gave this one away. There’s really no way around that. The Vikings are 4-5. With only eight games remaining, there’s little room for further stumbles. The remaining eight games start next week with a home game against the Chicago Bears.