On Saturday afternoon at U.S. Bank Stadium, the Minnesota Vikings’ defense, even the second-string, looked like it was in midseason form. Given what the offense looked like for most of the day, they’d better hope that carries over to the regular season.
The Minnesota offense, which played three different quarterbacks on the afternoon, managed just three points and turned the ball over twice in a 13-3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Minneapolis in Week 2 of the 2026 preseason.
The Vikings got the football
first, with J.J. McCarthy leading the offense onto the field. McCarthy completed three of his four pass attempts on the drive, but the drive ended in a punt for the Minnesota offense.
The Ravens’ offense, led by Tyler Huntley, then went three-and-out, with a fair catch interference penalty on Baltimore giving the Vikings the ball in solid field position. On the second play of the drive, McCarthy eluded the rush and launched one deep to Tai Felton along the right sideline for 50 yards to set up a first-and-goal.
The Vikings eventually worked the ball to a fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line, and McCarthy’s pass for Myles Price was too high and fell incomplete to leave the game scoreless midway through the first quarter.
Another three-and-out from the Baltimore offense gave the Vikings the ball with good field position again, this time near midfield. After a sack and a holding penalty that negated a first down, the Vikings punted it away, and Baltimore responded with a third consecutive three-and-out. A nice return from Trayvon Rudolph gave the Vikings the ball near midfield again, but the Vikings couldn’t move the ball, and another punt ensued to start the second quarter.
Baltimore’s offense then finally found some rhythm as they moved the ball inside the Minnesota 40-yard line. The drive stalled out, and Tyler Loop connected on a 49-yard field goal attempt to give the visiting team a 3-0 lead with around nine and a half minutes remaining before halftime.
Carson Wentz took over at quarterback for Minnesota on the following series, and the Vikings pushed into Baltimore territory, but a third-down blitz from the Ravens resulted in a sack, and the Vikings punted it away once again.
The Ravens then made a quarterback change of their own, with Joe Fagnano replacing Tyler Huntley at quarterback. His first drive resulted in yet another three-and-out, and they punted it away just after the two-minute warning to give Wentz and the Vikings another opportunity. Wentz then hit a long pass of his own, finding Jeshaun Jones for a 35-yard pass to get the Vikings into Baltimore territory with just under 40 seconds left in the half.
A screen pass to tight end Gavin Bartholomew then moved the Vikings to the Baltimore 29-yard line. A couple of plays later, Wentz was sacked again, and the Vikings burned their last timeout of the half before calling on Will Reichard for a 52-yard field goal attempt. He drilled it, and we went into the locker room at halftime tied at 3-3.
The Ravens got the ball to start the second half and immediately. . .you guessed it. . .went three-and-out. Max Brosmer then took over at quarterback for the Vikings. His first drive led to another punt for the Vikings in what was not exactly a riveting offensive display.
Baltimore’s next drive pushed into Minnesota territory, aided in part by a personal foul penalty on Bangally Kamara that negated a third-down stop. Fagnano then pushed the Ravens into the Minnesota red zone on a pass to Devontez Walker, and they eventually got into the end zone courtesy of an 8-yard pass from Fagnano to LaJohntay Wester to make it 10-3 with just under six minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Minnesota’s next drive got off to a solid start, as Brosmer completed consecutive passes to Jeshaun Jones and Dillon Bell to pick up a first down, and a completion to Dontae Fleming moved the Vikings into Baltimore territory. Ultimately, the Vikings found themselves with a 4th-and-3 from the Baltimore 44-yard line and elected to go for it. Brosmer’s pass fell incomplete, and the Vikings turned it over on downs.
To start the fourth quarter, the Vikings were driving again, and Brosmer completed a pass to Jones to convert a first down. Jones then fumbled the ball, with former Detroit Lion Amani Oruwariye recovering for the Ravens at the Minnesota 43 to end the drive.
The Ravens took advantage of the turnover, as they added to their lead on a 20-yard field goal from Loop to make it 13-3 with just under nine minutes left in regulation. The Vikings took over and cobbled together one of their longer drives of the day, pushing the ball down to the Baltimore 24-yard line. However, Brosmer’s pass intended for Terrill Davis was intercepted by Silas Walters inside the 20-yard line to end the drive and, effectively, end any chances at a Minnesota victory in the second preseason game. Jesse Minter’s squad ran out the clock from there, and they left town with a ten-point win.
The Vikings will close out the preseason this coming Friday night, as they’ll head to the Mile High City to take on long-time nemesis Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos.
The Minnesota Vikings fall to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 2 of the 2026 preseason by a final score of 13-3 in a relatively unexciting contest. Thank you to everyone who got their coverage of this week’s game right here at The Daily Norseman!
