The Minnesota Vikings are 4-5 after their 27-19 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on November 9 at U.S. Bank Stadium. Moreover, it was a challenging afternoon for the Vikings’ offense, which recorded eight false start penalties at home.
As for J.J. McCarthy, the second-year signal caller was looking to build off his performance against the Detroit Lions. However, there were also issues with the Minnesota quarterback, as he completed 20 of 42 passes for 248 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions.
Nonetheless, one of the main storylines from this loss is the offensive line’s frequent false starts. The eight false start penalties are tied for the second-most in a game since 2000, per ESPN. After the game, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell addressed the issue with the media.
“Well, I think we got to have a conversation as a group,” O’Connell told reporters postgame. ‘What transpired? It doesn’t feel like all eight of those were the same scenario, the same sequence. We try to eliminate them all.
“That’s been a huge point of what we think it’s going to take to win the game every week, whether it’s Monday or Wednesday or Friday, talking with the team about eliminating those self-inflicteds, and we didn’t do that in any way, shape, or form. We’ve got to fix it. We’ve got to understand what was different today than what had been something we felt like we eliminated from maybe early on in the season.”
Justin Jefferson Struggles Again in Loss to Ravens
While the Vikings suffered self-inflicted damage due to false start penalties, other issues contributed to Minnesota’s loss to the Ravens, including Justin Jefferson’s performance. Jefferson had 12 targets and just four receptions against Baltimore while only tallying 37 receiving yards.
It’s been a challenging 2025 NFL season for Jefferson, who has only two games in which he records over 100 receiving yards, and none of them came with McCarthy as the starting quarterback. As a result, he has yet to find that connection with his signal-caller that allows him to have these monster performances.
Vikings Still Had a Chance to Tie the Game Late
Despite the false starts and nonexistent Jefferson, Minnesota still was in the game and had a chance to tie it on their final drive. Nonetheless, that wouldn’t be the case. O’Connell also addressed his feelings about the outcome of the game and carried the burden of the offense’s miscues long after the final play.
“To have the football with a chance to tie the game there at the end was an encouraging thing considering how many things we did we can’t do if we want to beat a good football team like that,” O’Connell added. “The players fought, they tried to overcome some things we did to ourselves.
“Losing the turnover battle 3-0 and the penalty situation, which we have to get fixed immediately — specifically the eight pre-snap [penalties] — not acceptable in any way. We got to fix it, and we will.”
Minnesota will need to turn the page and focus on the Chicago Bears in Week 11.
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