In Lamar Jackson’s 100th career start, the Baltimore Ravens forced three turnovers and played a clean game on offense to beat the Minnesota Vikings, 27-19, for their third straight win.
The Ravens are now
4-5 on the season and could be one game out of first place in the AFC North by the end of the weekend if the Steelers fall to the Chargers on Sunday Night Football. Jackson is now 73-27 is his career, trailing only Patrick Mahomes (78), Tom Brady (76), and Roger Staubach (76) for most wins by a quarterback in their first 100 starts.
The difference in this one was turnovers and penalties, as Ravens head coach John Harbaugh pointed out in his postgame press conference. His team committed only one pre-snap penalty and did not turn the ball over on offense. The Vikings were flagged 13 times for 102 yards – including eight false starts (at home!) – and turned the ball over three times. That’s not exactly a recipe for success.
However, Sunday’s game started about as poorly as possible for the Ravens. They received the opening kickoff and immediately went three-and-out, the start of a frustrating first half for the offense. The Vikings then marched down the field for a touchdown on the back of a 61-yard catch-and-run by Jalen Nailor. 7-0, Vikings.
Both teams traded field goals and punts into the second quarter before the first game-changing play of the afternoon. Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy put too much air under a deep ball intended for star wideout Justin Jefferson, and Ravens rookie safety Malaki Starks came soaring in for his second career interception. The offense could only convert the turnover into three points, but another quick stop by the defense gave Baltimore just enough time for a Tyler Loop field goal – his third of the game – to make the score 10-9 heading into the half.
On the one hand, the Ravens seemed lucky to be trailing by just one point. On the other, their offense got inside the red zone twice and could not find the end zone, which has been a recurring problem this year. Their defense, though, had kept them in the game. After giving up 86 yards and a touchdown on the Vikings’ opening drive, the Ravens allowed just 70 yards and a 48-yard field goal for the rest of the half.
Baltimore took over the game within the first five minutes of the third quarter. McCarthy floated another deep ball to Jefferson, who tripped and hit the turf trying to chase down the pass. That left Marlon Humphrey all alone; he caught the ball like a punt returner and added some return yardage to again give the Ravens strong starting field position. The offense got all the way down to 4-yard line before settling for another field goal.
On the subsequent kickoff, undrafted rookie safety Keondre Jackson continued his standout special teams play by forcing and recovering a fumble against Vikings kick returner Myles Price. This time, the Ravens did not waste the opportunity. Todd Monken called a nifty toss to Jackson to convert a 3rd-and-1 and Justice Hill punched in a 1-yard touchdown three plays later to put the Ravens up 19-10 midway through the third quarter.
Price lost the ball on his next return by running into his own blockers, but the Ravens couldn’t dive on the ball as it bounced between several players. Nevertheless, penalties doomed the Vikings’ drive, but the Ravens went 3-and-out and Tyler Loop pulled a 56-yard field goal left of the uprights, just his second miss of the year. Minnesota’s subsequent field goal brought them within six points, but Baltimore answered with their best drive of the day.
The Ravens got the ball at their own 33-yard line. They went to Derrick Henry on seven of their next eight plays (six carries for 39 yards, plus an eight-yard reception) to push the ball deep into Vikings territory. Jackson then found Mark Andrews for the veteran tight end’s third touchdown in two weeks to cap off an 11-play, 67-yard drive that took 6:36 off the clock. An easy two-point conversion to wideout Rashod Bateman put the Vikings at a 14-point deficit with just over 10 minutes left in the game.
At this point, Baltimore’s win probability was at 96.9%, or as Ravens fans like to call it, the danger zone. Things did not fall apart right away – the defense stood firm for a turnover on downs deep in their own territory – but the Ravens offense only took 3:19 off the clock on their next two drives. Between them was a Vikings touchdown, featuring two McCarthy-to-Nailor connections – a 28-yard scramble drill on fourth down and a spectacular toe-drag in the back of the end zone – that brought the game back within one possession.
The Vikings got the ball back with 1:44 to go, but could not advance past midfield due to more errant passes from McCarthy. The Ravens just needed one kneel to run out the clock, and they walked out of Minnesota with another crucial win as they fight to get back in the AFC playoff picture.
