ExtremeRavens Posted Sunday at 09:20 PM Posted Sunday at 09:20 PM Here’s what The Baltimore Sun sports staff had to say immediately after the Ravens’ 27-19 win over the Minnesota Vikings in Week 10 of the NFL season on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis: Brian Wacker, reporter The Ravens’ defense has finally turned the corner. Baltimore’s three turnovers forced, along with a series of stops on fourth down, helped keep Minnesota in check all day. That was also enough to spark an offense that relied on a combo of Lamar Jackson’s arm, its ground game and Tyler Loop’s right leg. Baltimore’s defense had struggled to produce turnovers the first five weeks of the season but now has seven in the past three games. That’s hard for any opponent to overcome, especially when the Ravens have enough options on offense to help turn those turnovers into points. More importantly, the defense seems to have regained its confidence and swagger and that could bode well for a team that is on the upswing after being on the precipice after six games. Mike Preston, columnist The Ravens gave Minnesota a steady diet of running back Derrick Henry, and that was too much for the Vikings to overcome, especially in the second half. At one point early in the fourth quarter, the Ravens gave the ball to Henry on runs off tackle or on tosses seven of eight plays before quarterback Lamar Jackson eventually threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to tight end Mark Andrews. The Ravens were solid on defense, but not spectacular. They did seem to confuse inexperienced quarterback J.J. McCarthy with different looks and blitzes, and they batted down several passes at the line of scrimmage. The second half was vintage Ravens and hopefully that carries over into the second half of the season. Henry has to be unleashed for this team to win, because everything is predicated off the running game. Also, the Ravens did get some help from the officials. It was embarrassing at times. Josh Tolentino, columnist Thank goodness for Tyler Loop, huh? As Baltimore’s offense navigated its second consecutive slow start, the rookie kicker effectively kept the Ravens in the game, scoring the team’s first 12 points. Lamar Jackson and company finally took off in the second half, aided by three takeaways from veteran Marlon Humphrey and rookies Malaki Starks and Keondre Jackson. Given all the hype about the expected raucous road environment, the Ravens handled the deafening noise with a necessary sense of calm, and they especially settled down coming out of the half. The Ravens were penalized just five times compared with Minnesota’s 13 flags. Additionally, the Vikings lost one of their best defensive playmakers, outside linebacker Jonathan Greenard, to a shoulder injury during the third quarter. Meanwhile, Baltimore entered the Week 10 matchup with a clean bill of health and also appeared to escape Minnesota without any significant injury concerns, although Humphrey was absent from the game’s final drive. After they were gashed by the Houston Texans for a season-worst 44 points on Oct. 5, the Ravens have now impressively held four straight opponents to 19 points or fewer while extending their season-long winning streak to three games. Sam Cohn, reporter This game got to the heart of what will buoy Baltimore’s playoff hopes despite that 1-5 start. The Ravens can play mediocre-to-ugly football and still find ways to beat up on overmatched teams — their talent shows eventually, in some fashion or another. For a genuine postseason push, they’ll need to play cleaner by December. But in November, they can struggle on third down and fail to score in the red zone, like they did versus Minnesota. As long as they eventually punch one or two in and maybe force a turnover (or the three that swung Sunday’s win). Divisional bottom feeders won’t bury a slow start. They won’t finish off a comeback either. The Ravens trailed 10-9 at halftime but they probably should have been down two scores. They looked more like the Ravens for much of the second half. And yet, still an arm’s length from the sheer dominance many expected. C.J. Doon, editor A win’s a win, no matter how ugly. That’s all that matters right now. It’s strange to be evaluating the Ravens on those terms considering how exceptional they’ve looked in the regular season when Lamar Jackson has been healthy, but this year has been a grind, and today certainly exemplified that struggle. Neither the offense nor the defense brought its “A” game, but both units got the job done. Think of that run by Jackson on a fake tush push by Mark Andrews on third-and-1 in the third quarter to set up Baltimore’s first touchdown. Todd Monken got creative at the right moment, something that’s been painfully missing from the offensive coordinator’s playbook this season. Rashod Bateman responded to his dropped pass in the end zone by catching the next one just short of the goal line. That drive started with a crucial turnover forced not by the defense, but the special teams. Keondre Jackson’s punchout on the kickoff return stole a possession from the Vikings and delivered a huge swing back in Baltimore’s favor as the offense finally converted in Minnesota territory. It’s the type of complementary football that coaches always preach. Give credit to the defense, too, for capitalizing on Minnesota’s mistakes to continue this mini run of takeaways. J.J. McCarthy was too aggressive in forcing throws downfield to Justin Jefferson, and it led to two interceptions. The Ravens scored 13 points off turnovers; they’ll regret settling for field goals, but those are still critical points. And speaking of those field goals, it was smart to take the points rather than chase touchdowns early in the game, which kept Baltimore within striking distance until it could finally pounce. It’s not as if Minnesota was running away with it, up 10-9 at the half. The Ravens let the Vikings beat themselves (13 penalties, yikes) and executed when they needed to. This isn’t the dominant team we’re used to seeing, but it’s good enough to keep stacking wins. Ravens vs. Vikings, November 9, 2025 | PHOTOS Tim Schwartz, editor The Ravens are starting to look like the team we expected them to be heading into the season. Their defense (albeit facing much lesser competition and some lesser quarterbacks) has suddenly turned the corner, and they are finally creating turnovers consistently. The addition of Alohi Gilman has been genius because it frees up Kyle Hamilton to play near the line of scrimmage and wreck the game. He might be the last person a quarterback wants to see creeping toward the backfield before the snap because there are few answers for him. The mental mistakes are becoming less frequent (just one penalty for 5 yards through three quarters), and the offense is keeping Derrick Henry involved, despite lacking some efficiency from the running back. Lamar Jackson missed some throws and still looks slower than he ever has, but he’s still elite and carries this team on his back every Sunday. A .500 record looms in a week with a trip to Cleveland on tap. Bennett Conlin, editor The Ravens look the part of a contending team, beating the Vikings a week after Minnesota overpowered Detroit. Minnesota’s style of play sets up for a grind, and Baltimore embraced it Sunday. The Ravens have won three games in a row, and the upcoming schedule sets up beautifully for a longer winning streak. There was a time during the 1-5 start where this team looked like anything but an AFC contender. But Baltimore could realistically be 6-5 entering its prime-time tilt on Thanksgiving vs. the Bengals. Ravens fans should be optimistic about this team’s trajectory after a solid win Sunday, especially since Zach Orr’s defense went from looking like a sieve to a brick wall in a matter of weeks. The Ravens are one of the scariest teams in the AFC, regardless of what the current record says. Have a news tip? Contact sports editor C.J. Doon at cdoon@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/CJDoon. View the full article Quote
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