BOLD PREDICTIONS: Which Purple North Team Prevails?

Winners of two straight games, the Baltimore Ravens (3-5) will battle the Minnesota Vikings (4-4) at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday (1 p.m. ET kickoff). The Ravens are in the midst of a three-game road stretch (28-6 win at Miami last Thursday; play at Cleveland in Week 11), while Minnesota is coming off consecutive road games, including 27-24 victory at Detroit in Week 9.

Baltimore is 4-3 all time vs. the Vikings, including a 2-2 record under head coach John Harbaugh. Sunday marks just the third game for the Ravens in Minnesota, a site where Baltimore is seeking its first-ever franchise win. The Ravens last played at Minnesota in 2017, falling 24-16 at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Television: FOX / WBFF Ch. 45 (Local Baltimore)

On The Call: Kevin Kugler (PBP) ~ Daryl Johnston (analyst) ~ Allison Williams (sideline)

Officiating Crew Chief: Shawn Hochuli’s crew throws an average of 18.5 flags per game of which approximately 15 are accepted for an average of 122.8 YPG. All these figures are the 4th highest among the 17 officiating crews. Fifty-six percent of all flags accepted during Hochuli games are called against the visitors.

Forecast at Kickoff: US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis is enclosed like a traditional dome, but it features a transparent ETFE roof and large glass doors, giving it the feel of being outdoors while remaining climate controlled.  

Betting Line:

• DraftKings: Ravens – 4 ½, over/under at 49 ½
• FanDuel: Ravens – 4 ½, over/under at 48 ½
• Fanatics: Ravens – 4 ½, over/under 49
• ESPNBET: Ravens – 4 ½, over/under 49 ½
• Bet365: Ravens -4, over/under 49

Tony Lombardi

After winning their second straight the Ravens season has shifted in a more positive direction and on Sunday, they head into US Bank Stadium as 4 ½ point favorites. Yet I’m not confident that they’ll make it three straight particularly after an outing against a bad Miami team that wasn’t as impressive as the margin of victory.

Some might point to the adjustments made on defense along with some new complementary chess pieces to boost the performance of Zach Orr’s unit that has limited teams to an average of 13 points over the past three games. But I’m still not convinced that they’re even an average defense yet and they’ll be going up against a team that has plenty of offensive weapons at the skill positions even if the quarterback is subpar and inexperienced. So, for me, this one shapes up as a game featuring two offenses that will pile on points, and the winner will be the team that has the ball last.

• Lamar Jackson when blitzed this season, has a 136.4 passer rating and a success rate of 58.9%, both tops in the league. Vikings DC Brian Flores blitzes 43.7% of the time, 2nd most in the NFL. Do you see where this is going? Lamar’s passer rating will be in the 140’s and he’ll toss 3 TD passes, one each to Zay Flowers, DeAndre Hopkins and Isaiah Likely.
• Derrick Henry needs 23 yards to surpass Thurman Thomas’ career yardage mark of 12,074, ranked 16th all-time in the NFL. He will get that number and 100 more to go with a tuddy against the league’s 20th-ranked rush defense.
• Some defensive BPs:
  • Kyle Hamilton gets a sack and a pick
  • Mike Green gets a sack as does Teddye Buchanan
  • But the pass defense is tortured by Messrs. Jefferson and Addison and on the losing end are Messrs. Wiggins and Humphrey.
  • New edge defenders Dre’Mont Jones and Carl Lawson combine for 2 tackles and 0 sacks.

It’s a great homecoming for Baltimore County native and 3-time All Pro Andrew DePaola who will be handling Long Snapper duties for the Vikings. Well, at least it will be great for 59 minutes. Remember that last possession I mentioned above? It will belong to the team wearing white jerseys and purple pants. The exclamation point is provided by Lamar to Likely and this time No. 80 keeps his toe in bounds as time expires, PAT pending…it’s good!

Ravens 31 Vikings 30

Kevin McNelis

This feels like a game that the Ravens should be able to win. They’re building some momentum coming off of back-to-back wins, they had extra rest days that the Vikings didn’t get, and other than their IR guys, they had a clean injury report from practice Wednesday and Thursday.

So why do I have a pit in my stomach about this one?

It’s not like the Vikings are a powerhouse, as they sit last in their division. Their offense has plodded along both rushing and passing… but this is a road game against an opponent that Baltimore doesn’t face often, one that just got back their starting QB. A typical Ravens defense would dominate a young quarterback that’s never faced them before, but this year’s Ravens defense has been anything but typical. Baltimore’s three wins have come against teams that, in large part, have struggled in their own right, and I’m honestly concerned about facing a Vikings team with offensive weapons at their disposal.

— The game plan against this Vikings defense should be to keep it simple and run the ball. The game starts that way, but Todd Monken continues to call plays right up the gut, and the Ravens have to settle for three points on their first possession. On the next, Henry fumbles again, and the Vikings recover in plus territory.

—J.J. McCarthy forces a few plays, and, like last week, gifts a turnover to the Ravens to start the second half, keeping the game close.

— Here’s where I think this one gets out of hand: Justin Jefferson. Baltimore’s secondary has really struggled against top-tier receivers this year, and they don’t get much better than Jettas. As the game grinds on, he breaks two deep TD catches and the Vikings pull away.

I’d love to be wrong. I just have a bad feeling about this one.

Vikings 27 Ravens 20

Rob Shields

The Ravens are seen to be a team that has an “easy“ schedule the rest of the season. That may be true in comparison to their first half…but it doesn’t apply this week.

There is a lot of danger in this game. Minny’s defense can play at a high level, they have a Hall of Fame WR and other very good pieces in the passing game, their offensive line is as healthy as it has been all year and the running game should get better with Aaron Jones back (though he’s been limited at practice).

Of course, the other side to that is that the Ravens are very healthy right now and have a new defensive piece.  The real difference between the teams is at QB. J.J. McCarthy, back from his injury, has been inconsistent to say the least. He has talent and can do some things outside the pocket and of course he has Jefferson and Jordan Addison to throw to, but the Ravens should be able to contain him.

Minnesota has had a pretty good pass defense this year but the rush offense has been below average.  Of course, they had injuries to deal with and some of those guys are back, so that matters too.

I’m expecting a close games but I think the QB difference is too much for Minnesota to overcome. Expect a big day from Henry and the run game.

Ravens 31 Vikings 23

Jason Woolbert

The Bears and Dolphins were of course important wins for the outlook of the season, but nothing’s changed – there’s still no margin for error, especially with Pittsburgh upsetting Indy last week.  The Vikings, like the Bears, are experiencing growing pains with a young QB (in this case, just back from injury), but there are plenty of good-to-great players on the team on both sides of the ball, and the Ravens should know by now not to take Brian Flores lightly.  For what it’s worth, they also have one of the best special teams units in the league.  Like both the Bears and Dolphins, the opponent is coming off a high, having beaten their division rival Lions last week.

In spite of the presence of Justin Jefferson, I think the Ravens offense will struggle more than the defense in this game, though my confidence remains low in that belief, as it is hard to sell me that the Ravens defense has truly turned it around.  Regardless, the offensive line is facing the biggest challenge in this game, with Flores able to throw Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel, Blake Cashman, Jalen Redmond, Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen at them, not to mention Harrison Smith who is a forerunner to Kyle Hamilton.

I will have more details in my Hot & Cold map once tomorrow’s injury report is out, but for now, I will say the Ravens sweat this one out and capitalize on a late J.J. McCarthy mistake to take the game.

Ravens 24 Vikings 20

Jared Pinder

If this were any other year outside of 2025, this would be a game the Ravens would dominate. A rookie quarterback going up against a Ravens defense should always mean domination for the Ravens; however, these are the 2025 Ravens, where nothing is easy. The Ravens also have the Vikings beat when it comes to the injury report as well, so this should be an easy win. However, I do feel like the Vikings will upset the Ravens and basically end their season because their weapons are too much for the Ravens defense.

— Lamar beats the narratives about facing a Brian Flores defense and has a great day, throwing for four touchdowns.

— The four-touchdown performance isn’t enough as the Ravens are unable to stop Justin Jefferson.

Vikings 40 Ravens 31

John Hughey

The vibes surrounding this team have certainly changed, following their win over the Bears a few weeks back. Obviously the Ravens possess one of the easier second half schedules to finish off the season, and still sitting on the outside looking in, it’s going to take continued success on both sides of the ball. Lamar is set to take on a Brian Flores coached defense, the same blitz heavy system that haunted him against Miami in 2021. Jackson has excelled against the blitz this season, holding the highest QBR (136.4) when facing pressure. Coming off a 4 TD performance in his return, Jackson could be poised for yet another elite performance against a Vikings squad also fighting for their playoff hopes

— Jackson throws for 220+ and 3 TDs.

— Henry rushes for 100+ yards for the third time in his last four games, adding a score as well.

— Ravens defense stays hot, forcing 2 turnovers.

— Zay Flowers finds the end zone for the first time since Week 1.

Ravens 31 Vikings 21

Vermont Raven

The Ravens defense continues their improved play, forcing three turnovers and racking up three sacks of McCarthy, including one by new addition Dre’Mont Jones. They give up two touchdowns — one on a big play by Justin Jefferson and and a shorter one to T.J. Hockenson.

Offensively, the line continues to struggle but Lamar Jackson wills the team to victory.

— The Ravens rush for under 100 yards.

— Lamar is sacked 4 times.

— Lamar throws 4 TD passes.

Ravens 28 Vikings 17

Chad Racine

The Ravens are on a mini roll right now and are facing a team that should present a few more challenges than the last couple of weeks. They have proved to me that we should have a little faith especially with Lamar back in the line up. Also with Carl Lawson and Dre’mont Jones presumably playing on Sunday, that should give the defense a little juice in the pass rush department where it’s desperately needed. If the Ravens can come away with a win here, the schedule is very favorable for the next few weeks.

I think Lamar will put on another show and have another four-touchdown passing game, and the defense will do enough to hold on.

Ravens 28 Vikings 24

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