Baltimore Ravens @ Minnesota Vikings
Final Score: Ravens 27, Vikings 19
Writer: Raymi Chavez
A cold early November game was the setting for this matchup between an up-and-down Minnesota team and a streaking Baltimore team. The Vikings got off to a good start with a touchdown drive highlighted by a big play to Jalen Nailor, while the Ravens got off to a slow start with three three-and-outs in their first four drives before steadying the ship. Roles reversed fairly quickly as the Ravens’ defense stiffened up with an interception on a pass intended for Justin Jefferson. The Ravens chipped away with a couple of field goals to end the first half down 10-9. It went from bad to worse for the Vikings in the third quarter, as a bad interception, again with a pass intended for Jefferson, led to a fourth field goal for the Ravens. A fumble on the kickoff opened the door for the Ravens to take control. They took full advantage, finally finding paydirt for the first time to take a two-possession lead. The Vikings found themselves moving the ball well, but got in their own way with EIGHT false starts consistently keeping them behind the sticks. Ultimately, the mistakes were too much for the Vikings to overcome, and the Ravens were able to hold on for a key victory. Let’s take a deeper look at the individual players below.
One Up
- Jalen Nailor — Nailor was the most consistent playmaker in the passing game, showcasing his chemistry with J.J. McCarthy.
Two Down
- J.J. McCarthy — McCarthy’s feast-or-famine season continues. This time, his feasting wasn’t enough to overcome the famine.
- Justin Jefferson — Both interceptions were targets for Jefferson. He had a very frustrating day.
Baltimore Ravens
Quarterback
Lamar Jackson: 17/29, 176 Yards, TD | 9 Carries, 36 Yards
Lamar Jackson did what he had to, bouncing back from a slow start to make key plays throughout the game to help keep the Ravens in control of the game. He did a great job of moving around the pocket to find receivers downfield, only running as a last resort when necessary. Lamar’s game was below average by his standards, but he avoided the big mistakes and executed well.
Running Back
Derrick Henry: 20 Carries, 75 Yards | 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 9 Yards
Derrick Henry was effective in the short running game, converting key first downs, but was unable to make any significant plays. This is a bit of a troublesome pattern developing for him as his yards per carry are well below what we have been accustomed to seeing from King Henry. Very much still a 1B to Lamar’s 1A in the offense, as the season continues, he should start to punish tired defenses more often.
Keaton Mitchell: 4 Carries, 31 Yards, Fumble (Recovered)
Keaton Mitchell had a spurt in the first half with back-to-back big run plays, including an electric 22-yard run to set the Ravens up in the red zone. His one fumble slipped out of his hands as he went down, but it went straight out of bounds for no harm. He has been very effective in the outside-zone run game and should Henry fail to reach his usual standard we could start to see more opportunities for Mitchell.
Justice Hill: 1 Carry, 1 Yard, TD | 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 12 Yards
Justice Hill got minimal opportunity in this game, but did capitalize on a 1-yard touchdown run. Still almost exclusively used in pass protection or in third-down pass situations.
Patrick Ricard: 1 Carry, 3 Yards
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Zay Flowers: 6 Targets, 4 Receptions, 75 Yards | 1 Carry, 6 Yards
Zay Flowers led the team in targets, and while he didn’t pile many receptions, he was very effective after the catch, consistently making tacklers miss to turn moderate gains into big chunks. He was a hassle for the Vikings’ defense to keep under control and continues to showcase performances like these as his floor.
Mark Andrews: 5 Targets, 3 Receptions, 14 Yards, TD
Old Reliable was a safety net for Jackson, and he found himself wide open for his touchdown reception. Mark Andrews is always liable to find the end zone, as Lamar loves looking for him in the red zone.
Isaiah Likely: 5 Targets, 2 Receptions, 17 Yards
Another underwhelming performance, Isaiah Likely and Lamar were often on the wrong page, resulting in a couple of incompletions that were not even close.
DeAndre Hopkins: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 16 Yards
DeAndre Hopkins was targeted in the short to intermediate game, making a couple of tight-window catches to get key yards. Big games for him will be few and far between.
Rashod Bateman: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 10 Yards
Dropped a ball in the end zone, Rashod Bateman seems to have fallen behind Hopkins in the wide receiver pecking order.
Charlie Kolar: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 23 Yards
Minnesota Vikings
Quarterback
J.J. McCarthy: 20/42, 248 Yards, TD, 2 INTs | 5 Carries, 48 Yards
J.J. McCarthy was not effective. He and the offensive line were not in sync, resulting in eight false starts in their home stadium. J.J. even managed to get called for a false start himself. His second interception was an awful throw. Even if Justin Jefferson doesn’t fall on the play, he was not in a position to make the catch. McCarthy missed Jefferson many times, either overthrowing him or just missing him by a handful of yards over and over. He did his best to recover in the fourth quarter and salvage his performance, but he continues to be unreliable from play to play.
Running Back
Aaron Jones: 9 Carries, 47 Yards | 6 Targets, 3 Receptions, 22 Yards
Aaron Jones was way better than the stats suggest. He was tearing off chunk plays in the run game consistently and was only hurt by penalties, putting the team behind the sticks and pressuring the Vikings into a pass-first offense. When the team wasn’t getting in its own way, Jones was carrying the offense down the field and only fell short because he didn’t get enough touches. Jones looks to be all the way back, and the Vikings seem to know that.
Jordan Mason: 4 Carries, 25 Yards | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 6 Yards
Jordan Mason is back to taking a backseat to Jones. He was given a couple of drives to be the lead back and found success on early down runs, again, only stopped by the team’s inability to avoid mistakes. At this point, he seems to be more of a handcuff than a reliable contributor in fantasy.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Justin Jefferson: 12 Targets, 4 Receptions, 37 Yards
What a frustrating game for Justin Jefferson. He was running great routes as usual, but he hasn’t been able to build chemistry with McCarthy. This is concerning, considering that he always seems to be able to perform no matter the quarterback. He did draw a couple of big defensive pass interference calls that moved the ball downfield, but ultimately, his floor with McCarthy is lower than it has ever been. If he can’t get on the same page with McCarthy moving forward, this situation will be one to keep an eye on.
Jordan Addison: 11 Targets, 3 Receptions, 35 Yards
A lot of these incompletions were throwaways or batted balls, but still, he struggled to get anything going. No drops to worry about, just difficult off-target throws he wasn’t able to reel in.
Jalen Nailor: 6 Targets, 5 Receptions, 124 Yards, TD
Jalen Nailor was the only receiver who seemed to be able to get anything going. Addison’s early-season suspension opened the door for Nailor to receive significantly more touches, gain confidence with the coaching staff, and develop chemistry with McCarthy, and it seems to have paid off. With the target share set up the way it is right now, he’ll need to continue to capitalize like this to produce in fantasy, but he’s trending in the right direction.
T.J. Hockenson: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 8 Yards
Hardly used, T.J. Hockenson only popped up for a couple of dump-off completions, a concerning trend with McCarthy at quarterback.
Adam Thielen: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 16 Yards