A week after they beat the Detroit Lions on the road to inject some life into their season, the Vikings returned home with one of their sloppiest performances of the season.
They lost 27-19 to the Baltimore Ravens at U.S. Bank Stadium, falling for the third time in four home games this season. The Vikings committed 13 penalties for 102 yards and lost the turnover battle 3-0, blowing an early 10-3 lead and giving up 18 points in the second half.
J.J. McCarthy was 20-for-42 for 248 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. He gained 48 yards on five scrambles, which made him the Vikings’ leading rusher on a day when McCarthy handed off only 13 times. Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason gained 72 yards on those attempts, but the Vikings spent much of the day trying to throw on Baltimore’s talented secondary, as wide receiver Justin Jefferson came off the field frustrated with physical play from the Ravens’ defensive backs and mistakes on offense.
Why it happened
The Vikings turned the ball over three times, between McCarthy’s interceptions and Myles Price’s lost fumble that set up the Ravens’ first touchdown of the day. The Minnesota defense was on the field for 65 plays, struggling to stop the Ravens’ vaunted run game in the second half, and the Vikings offense put too many of its own drives in a bad spot with eight false starts among six players.
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What it means
After beating the Lions in Detroit last week, the Vikings are back to 4-5 and will need to maintain their perfect record in the NFC North if they want to keep their playoff hopes in decent shape. They will be concerned, too, with McCarthy’s day after the quarterback’s interceptions and the state of the offense as a whole after the false starts and second-half pressure against McCarthy. The shoulder injury to linebacker Jonathan Greenard, too, could force the Vikings to play without one of their most important defenders.
Play of the game
McCarthy’s best throw of his second home start came when he had a clean pocket to fire downfield for Jalen Nailor, who beat Marlon Humphrey off a switch release and caught McCarthy’s perfectly placed pass at the Ravens 40-yard line before gaining 36 yards after the catch. The 62-yard gain, Nailor’s longest of his career, gave the Vikings first and goal at the Ravens 4 and set up Aaron Jones’ touchdown to put Minnesota up early.
Turning point
The Vikings led 10-9 at halftime and started the second half with back-to-back Jones runs that gained 22 yards. But after McCarthy hit Jordan Addison for 4 yards on second down, the Vikings lined up with two tight ends and two running backs on third-and-1. Instead of going back to the run, coach Kevin O’Connell dialed up a play-action shot out of heavy personnel, and McCarthy threw his second interception of the day as Jefferson fell down on the play. The Ravens drove 68 yards for a field goal to take the lead for the first time in the game.
