The Minnesota Vikings once again failed to secure the second half of back-to-back wins. Coming off a sweet road win […]
The Minnesota Vikings once again failed to secure the second half of back-to-back wins. Coming off a sweet road win in Detroit, Kevin O’Connell and his squad dropped another game to the Baltimore Ravens, falling to 4-5 in the standings.
5 Quick Takeaways from the Vikings’ Week 10 Loss
In a losing effort, some notable things have transpired.
1. Self-Inflicted Wounds Piling Up
Well, that was frustrating.
J.J. McCarthy tossed a couple of interceptions. The first one was a third-and-six, and after stepping up in the pocket, he inexplicably didn’t scamper for the first-down marker, but heaved the ball deep to Justin Jefferson. That’s generally a decent play, but not when he’s surrounded by two guys.
The other one was a third-and-one shot play, dialed up to take a chance deep. If it doesn’t work, just go get the new set of downs on the next play. That’s the theory. Instead, Jefferson fell down, and the defender caught the pass.
A third turnover was a Myles Price fumble on a kick return. His teammates recovered another fumble, and McCarthy got a little lucky when Roquan Smith’s interception was overturned because the ball hit the ground.
And that’s just the turnovers. In addition to that, the Vikings racked up penalties in a historic way. The final score sheet shows 13 penalties for 102 yards. Eight of those were false starts, and that is quite embarrassing.
One could add a couple of drops to this list, but the flags and the turnovers were easily enough to lose the game.
2. Missed Opportunities
There were some missed opportunities. One of those was a Justin Jefferson drop in the endzone on a pass that was in the air for about 35 yards. That could’ve revived Minnesota’s struggling offense.
Certainly, the Price fumble was another big-time missed opportunity right after the half. Before halftime, the defense made a goalline stand and held the Ravens to a field goal. The Vikings then had 71 seconds on the clock with a 10-6 lead.
Instead of scoring or even just running out the clock, they gave the ball back and the Ravens capitalized, scoring another field goal.
3. Kevin O’Connell’s Running Game Problem
Kevin O’Connell just can’t get out of his own way. The passing offense has been inconsistent all season, which isn’t surprising given that an aging, banged-up Carson Wentz or an inexperienced J.J. McCarthy has led the unit. Once again, McCarthy made some nice throws, but also left some meat on the bone.
On the ground, the Vikings rushed the ball 13 times (with running backs) and they gained 72 yards, resulting in an excellent average of 5.5 yards per carry. And that’s the problem, they were efficient but rushed only 13 times. Instead of taking some pressure off McCarthy, he’s just letting him sling the ball north of 40 times.
Stacking up first-downs should be the goal, not stacking up passing yards, and the running game was the more efficient and consistent unit on Sunday. Yet, O’Connell didn’t stick with it.
4. No Complementary Football
On the same note, the Vikings didn’t play complementary football. Just last week, every unit contributed. The special teams delivered a couple of nice starting field positions, the offense mostly took care of the ball, and the defense forced turnovers and punts.
Against the Ravens, the defense had an average day but fell apart a bit in the second half. The offense, meanwhile, just had all the penalties, a couple of turnovers, and way too many miscues. Add the Price fumbles on special teams, and no unit performed well against the Ravens.
5. Bright Spot Jalen Nailor
Game balls aren’t given out after losses, but wideout Jalen Nailor deserved one. He finished the day with five catches for 124 yards and one touchdown. He was responsible for 50% of the team’s receiving yards, and on one of the worst days of Jefferson’s career, he became McCarthy’s go-to guy.
Nailor is in the final months of his rookie contract, and he’ll be headed towards free agency in March. With Jefferson on a big deal and Jordan Addison potentially joining him at some point, it might be hard to retain Nailor, who has undoubtedly earned himself a nice deal from some team.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.
