ExtremeRavens Posted 8 hours ago Posted 8 hours ago The Ravens are riding a two-game win streak heading into yet another must-win, can’t lose. That’s the norm for a 3-5 team trying to climb back into playoff contention. At 1 p.m. on Sunday, they’ll face the Minnesota Vikings (4-4) at U.S. Bank Stadium — which coach John Harbaugh called one of the toughest environments in the NFL. Who will have the advantage in this cross-divisional matchup? Ravens passing game vs. Vikings pass defense One errant pass to the feet of Rashod Bateman was enough for Lamar Jackson to realize, and rid, the rust of a month off from football. He said that third-down try in Week 9 ticked him off. By the second half in Miami, Jackson was on his way to a performance worthy of AFC Offensive Player of the Week. That’s the 14th time he’s received the honor, which is third most among active players. Jackson completed 18 of 23 passes for 204 yards with four touchdowns in a crucial win. When the two-time Most Valuable Player is healthy and playing like himself, few defenses are capable of slowing him down. Minnesota looked like they might belong in the minority after an impressive showing in Detroit. The Vikings sacked quarterback Jared Goff five times and hit him 11 more, both season highs. Defensive coordinator Brian Flores made life tough for a fringe top-10 quarterback by forcing him to get rid of the ball quicker than he’s comfortable. Quicker than Goff has had to in a single outing since his rookie year. Flores did the same thing to Jackson in 2021 when he was coaching in Miami. Four years later, that’s where Jackson thrives. When the pocket closes, Baltimore’s magician is at his best. EDGE: Ravens Vikings passing game vs. Ravens pass defense J.J. McCarthy used to walk around Michigan with a sharpie smiley face drawn on his hand. He was the jovial, playmaking quarterback and won a national championship that way. When the Vikings drafted him 10th overall in 2024, he brought that persona with him. Then injuries sidelined McCarthy for 23 of his first 26 games. He ditched the smile for a new villainous alter ego. He calls him, “Nine,” after his jersey number. “I chose to harness [my anger] instead of letting it go into a self-destructive kind of way,” he explained. It yielded a winning effort last week, albeit not an earth-shattering stat line. McCarthy completed 14 of 25 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. He wasn’t much of a threat with his legs, outside of one rushing score, and fumbled once. But “Nine” injected new life into a team that upset the mighty Lions. As for the Ravens defense, consider two things: They have allowed only two receivers to eclipse 100 yards in a game (Chicago’s Rome Odunze and Buffalo’s Keon Coleman). Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson is the best receiver they will have faced all season. He has the fifth most yards of any receiver in the NFL on the fewest receptions in that Tier 1 group. Jefferson will make life difficult but “Nine” would have to turn it up to 10 or 11 to win a shootout. EDGE: Vikings Ravens running game vs. Vikings run defense Harbaugh called this the turning point play in Baltimore’s win over Miami: Jackson scampered through the middle of the pocket into open grass, picking up 13 yards to convert a third-and-medium. Jackson’s first game back from injury stabilized what had been an otherwise shaky sector of Baltimore’s offense. There were times Derrick Henry did things only Hall of Famers can do. And other times when the lack of blocking and subpar air raid made it easy for defenses to key in on Henry. The quarterback’s legs keep the defense honest when he might hand it off and having fullback Patrick Ricard healthy means another blocker to kick the door down. Those three have shared the field one time this season and it produced 150 yards on the ground. But the Vikings, as Henry said, “give you a lot of different looks. They do a lot of different blitzes, and [they have a lot of] movement in the run game. They just throw a lot at you try to get you flustered, and you’ve just got to focus in and worry about executing, and we’ll be fine.” The Vikings had their best showing last weekend. Detroit’s run game — Sonic and Knuckles — was a nonfactor. David Montgomery took 11 carries 40 yards and Jahmyr Gibbs managed just 25 on nine attempts. EDGE: Ravens Vikings running game vs. Ravens run defense Vikings running back Aaron Jones is one of the NFL’s premiere backs when he’s healthy and on the field. He hasn’t been much of that this season, appearing in four games, held out by injuries. His best performance was a nine-carry, 78-yard outburst versus Detroit — his only showing above 25 yards in a single game thus far. He’s still chasing his first touchdown of the year, too. Jones did not practice on Wednesday and was limited on Thursday, which means he’s likely questionable for Sunday. His backup, Jordan Mason, is tied for seventh in rushing touchdowns with four, two fewer than Henry, and is averaging 52.4 yards per game. Baltimore’s run defense was a point of contention for most of this season but they’ve been sharper in recent weeks – surging from one of the league’s worst in yards allowed on the ground per game to 21st. They’re allowing 4.45 yards per play, which ranks 22nd. Much of that is a credit to the health of linebacker Roquan Smith and bringing Kyle Hamilton into the box after having added safety Alohi Gilman. EDGE: Vikings Ravens special teams vs. Vikings special teams Amidst the rollercoaster of Baltimore’s offense and defensive showings this season (both have steadied since the bye week), Chris Horton’s special teams unit has been a source of consistency. Kicker Tyler Loop has been near perfect. Punter Jordan Stout is having a career year. And safety Keondre Jackson earned his way onto the 53-man roster with five tackles in three games. Menwhile, a special teams highlight helped decide Minnesota’s upset in Detroit. Levi Drake Rodriguez blocked a fourth-quarter field goal, earning him NFC Special Teams Player of the Week. Vikings kicker Will Reichard is perfect from within 50 yards and his season long is 62. EDGE: Ravens Ravens intangibles vs. Vikings intangibles Sunday’s game is the first time we’ll see a post-trade deadline version of these two teams. The 4-4 Vikings didn’t make any changes, after injuries forced their hand the last three trade deadlines. But a healthy roster after nine weeks left them comfortable standing pat. Baltimore, on the other hand other hand, addressed a pertinent need — albeit less than some fans hoped. The Ravens signed Carl Lawson in late October. He could make his debut on Sunday. They also traded a conditional fifth-round pick for Tennessee’s Dre’Mont Jones, who’s coming off a four-game heater totaling 4 1/2 sacks and will play on a tight turnaround. Deadline moves won’t decide this matchup but it will be interesting to see how Baltimore deploys the new guys. EDGE: Ravens Prediction It’s going to be loud at U.S. Bank Stadium. Harbaugh called it one of the nosiest places in the league. But Roquan Smith argued it’s “only as loud as you allow it to be.” And this Ravens team, riding a two-game win streak acting more like the confident but not complacent group that has won them games in recent years, should be an even cleaner version of who they’ve been since the bye week. Here are two keys to a Baltimore win, both of which are feasible: Don’t let Justin Jefferson run rampant and don’t let Brian Flores’ funky blitz package stall out the offense. The Ravens won’t be perfect at either, they’ll do enough to pull within one game of .500. Ravens 28, Vikings 23 Have a news tip? Contact Sam Cohn at scohn@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/samdcohn.x.com. View the full article Quote
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