After upsetting the Detroit Lions on the road last week, the Vikings put themselves back into the playoff picture. Though it was going to be an uphill climb to get themselves above the cut line, the Vikings seemed to have figured out a recipe for success.
A balanced offense that only asked young quarterback J.J. McCarthy to make a handful of plays. A dynamic defense that forced turnovers and kept opposing teams of their toes. A spirited special teams unit that provided a spark here and there.
That was nowhere to be found on Sunday afternoon at U.S. Bank Stadium as the Vikings suffered a 27-19 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
Never mind that head coach Kevin O’Connell highlighted the fact that the Vikings had the ball in the final minutes with a chance to tie the score. The odds of that happening felt slim to none given the way the offense had performed.
“It was there,” McCarthy said. “We just kept shooting ourselves in the foot.”
The struggles started with McCarthy as he never seemed to get into a rhythm after an impressive opening drive. His inaccuracy was glaring as he only completed 20 of 42 pass attempts for 248 yards, a touchdown and a pair of interceptions. His cadence also seemed to be the culprit of a lot of presnap penalties that plagued the offense.
“I thought he competed,” O’Connell said. “There’s major growth going on.”
The only problem is this version of the Vikings doesn’t have the luxury of time. At least they didn’t a couple of months ago. This roster was built to be firmly in the playoff picture as long as they got above average play was under center.
Now it’s becoming more and more clear that McCarthy is still in the early stages of his development regardless of how much O’Connell continues to empower him. Will he be able to achieve the level of consistency needed for the Vikings to contend in the short term?
“We’re going to be aggressive,” O’Connell said. “We’re going to try to get J.J. some chances. A part of the growth and development is we’ve got to let him play a little bit as well. We’re trying to figure out that balance.”
It’s still a work in progress for the Vikings. The loss to the Ravens showed that.
The ineffectiveness of the offense made it virtually impossible for the defense to sustain its level of play on the other end. It also didn’t help matters that the special teams helped turn the game upside down when rookie receiver Myles Price fumbled a kick return at an inopportune time.
The reality of the situation was undeniable as the final seconds ticked off the clock. After entering the game hoping they were a playoff team, the Vikings saw what a playoff team actually looks like on the other end.
“To have the ball with a chance to tie the game there at the end was an encouraging thing considering how many things we did that we can’t do,” O’Connell said. “That’s an upset group in there that thought we could have done a lot of things in the game to win.”
Maybe the most upsetting part for the Vikings was the fact that it was a perfect start in their pursuit of upsetting the Ravens.
A scripted set of plays allowed McCarthy to flourish. He delivered a strike to receiver Justin Jefferson near the sideline to move the chains, then followed it up a few snaps later by dropping a dime to receiver Jalen Nailor for a gain of 62 yards. That put the Vikings in scoring position, and on the very next play, running back Aaron Jones plunged into the end zone for a touchdown to make it 7-0.
“We did a great job coming out,” Jones said. “If we continue to have some of that urgency, I feel like it will help us.”
After both teams traded field goals to make it 10-3, McCarthy threw an interception on a play that might have resulted in a first down if he would have tucked it and ran. In position to tie the game, the Ravens settled for another field goal to cut the deficit to 10-6.
A pivotal swing came shortly before halftime as the Vikings were trying to add to their lead. The clock management wasn’t ideal from McCarthy as he completed a pass to Jordan Addison, then proceeded to throw a pair of incompletions in succession. That left more than enough time for Jackson to position the Ravens for another field goal that made it 10-9 as both teams entered the locker room.
It was all downhill from there for the Vikings.
On the opening drive after halftime, the Vikings had third down near the 50-yard line, needing to gain a yard to move the chains. Instead of running with Jones or fellow running back Jordan Mason, O’Connell opted to have McCarthy take a shot to Jefferson.
“We knew that was going to be zero coverage 1 on 1,” O’Connell said. “I was planning on going for it regardless.”
It was questionable decision in real time that ended in disaster, as McCarthy threw the ball up for grabs, Jefferson fell down, and cornerback Marlon Humphrey hauled in an interception.
“I’ve got to play better fighting off the contact and catching the ball,” Jefferson said. “That’s something that I put on myself and something I will continue to try to try to better myself at.”
After the defense for the Vikings stepped up to force another field goal, which put the Ravens in front 12-10, rookie receiver Myles Price fumbled the ensuing kickoff. That mistake proved costly as Ravens finally found pay dirt to stretch their lead to 19-10.
Though the Vikings got a field goal to cut the deficit to 19-13, the Ravens responded with another touchdown to make it 27-13, which effectively put the game out of reach.
As the Vikings desperately tried to mount a comeback McCarthy’s issues really started to come to light. There were too many times from that point forward where McCarthy sailed passes intended for Jefferson, Addison, receiver Jalen Nailor, and tight end T.J. Hockenson.
“We were getting into the no huddle trying to make our way back,” O’Connell said. “He can be a little bit more pitch and catch on some of those opportunities.”
A couple of acrobatic catches from Nailor helped the Vikings cut the deficit to 27-19 in the final minutes before they stalled out once again and walked of the field with another disappointing loss on their resume.
“We can’t have these anymore,” McCarthy said. “We’ve got to be better and I promise we’re going to work to do that.”
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