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Turnovers and Penalties Choke Out The Vikings

Monday, November 10, 2025 19:57
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The Ravens win in Minneapolis coupled with the Steelers getting waxed in LA, leaves the hometown team just one game off the pace in the AFC North. Suddenly there’s a positive vibe about the Ravens. Shows across the web and the national TV platforms have anointed the Ravens as the team to look out for – the team no one wants to play – the team that is now a swelling favorite (-260 per DraftKings) to win the AFC North.

But let’s pump the brakes!

Sunday’s win was by no means a symphony of technical excellence. It wasn’t the result of brilliant performances or strategic achievement. The win more closely resembled a gift horse courtesy of the extremely hospitable Vikings who collectively said, “Here, take it!” to the Ravens. Three times the Vikings coughed it up. Thirteen times they were flagged for 102 yards, including 8 false starts that put Minnesota behind the sticks time and time again. The false start total is the most in a game since 2000, according to ESPN Research.

So, let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves and jump on board this bandwagon that many talking heads have propped up as if it’s the luxury Orient Express. Yesterday was more like Santa’s sleigh and Old Saint Nick filled stockings for all 53 of the Ravens’ players.

That said, it was a must win and to that extent, the Ravens got the job done while they attempt to cobble things together for the long haul and become the team we all thought they would be to start the season. And a look around the league suggests there is no dominant team. Each one has flaws. It will come down to who gets hot at the right time and as we’ve seen during Baltimore’s last two championship seasons, it’s a path to glory that can and has worked in the past here in Charm City.

THE GOOD

Offense

Keaton Mitchell provided a spark and is a house call waiting to happen. He posted 31 yards on 4 carries and on the season, he has 15 carries for 93 yards. Isn’t that deserving of more touches Todd?…Zay Flowers had 4 catches, averaging 18.8 yards. That screams, “feed him!” Right Todd?…Andrew Vorhees did get flagged for a false start but unlike his counterpart (No. 77), the third-year guard is showing signs of gradual improvement. I liked some of the nastiness as a pass blocker on display at the Minnesota bank on Sunday…Tyler Linderbaum was his usual, steady presence as the O-line’s anchor. Trouble is, the vessel has some severe leaks. More on that later.

Defense

During the Ravens (1-5) stretch, the defense was a liability. They made mistakes hand over fist yet failed to force miscues, aka turnovers. Over the course of the past four games, Zach Orr’s unit has produced eight takeaways…Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in Marlon Humphrey’s quirky personality and that can be mistaken as aloofness and lost in that intoxicating division of reality and perception is his toughness. We might get sidetracked by his eccentricity on social media platforms, but don’t let that distract you from his pound for pound physicality. He made a couple of brutal tackles on the perimeter in space despite the finger that requires surgery, and he ran Justin Jefferson’s post route for him during the interception on third-and-1 and the 12:55 mark of the third quarter with the Ravens trailing 10-9.

Speaking of physicality, a few flowers go out to Chidobe Awuzie who has really fit in well as a Raven. Not a shutdown corner, not a textbook tackler, but he certainly is a battler during iso routes and on Sunday, he won his fair share. He and Nate Wiggins were instrumental in limiting Jefferson and Jordan Addison to a combined 7 catches for 72 yards on 23 targets… The Vikings converted just 3 first downs on 14 third down attempts. That’s a nice day’s work…During four their first 5 games the Ravens allowed 37 points or more. Since then, they’ve limited opponents to 58 points IN TOTAL over their last four contests.

Vikings Ravens 2025

Malaki Starks is maturing before our very eyes. He made a key interception on a deep ball to Jefferson and a great open field tackle near the numbers while sifting through traffic…Sometimes players are the perfect schematic fit for a team. Since his arrival, Alohi Gilman looks like that guy for the Ravens. He and Starks are holding down the deep halves freeing up other defenders to make plays but as we’ve seen, that doesn’t keep Gilman from make a play of his own. This play when defending the All-Pro Jefferson exhibited textbook technique.

Roquan Smith got lost in the wash at times in run support but was solid in coverage. He did get flagged twice for DPI. One could have been overlooked, but that didn’t diminish his competitive spirit, one that should have delivered an INT if not for that puzzling eye in the sky that negated the play below which was ruled a pick on the field. There was no challenge but Vegas, er, New York, decided that it was an incomplete pass, one that the Ravens celebrated quite demonstratively.

Kyle Hamilton explained the poorly executed, and subsequently poorly timed defensive celebration:

“This was in Saturday walkthroughs. We were like, ‘We need to come up with a celebration.’ So, it was actually my idea, so I take the fault, but I just watched [the movie] Coach Carter or something. I was saying whoever made the play, so, in that case Roquan [Smith] – and it didn’t even count, and now we’re in the end zone running suicides, and now we’re tired getting back to the huddle – but whoever made the play is kind of walking across the goal line like this [demonstrates the celebration] and just making the other guys run ‘gassers,’ whatever it may be, like a basketball team, but it didn’t even matter. I’m glad that one just got thrown out though. We will figure something else out.”

Teddye Buchanan has relegated Trenton Simpson to down and distance sub-packages. He might struggle at times to shed blockers but he’s a heat seeking missile in space and closes on a play exceptionally well. Sunday was no different…Travis Jones had one of, if not the best outing of the season in Minnesota. He pushed the pocket, clogged running lanes and registered the team’s only sack of the afternoon to go with 6 pressures per PFF. He also batted down 2 passes…Dre’Mont Jones provided instant returns on Eric DeCosta’s investment of draft capital resources. Although he didn’t register a tackle or sack, his up-tempo motor demands attention that helps free up other defenders. Clearly there’s something to build on with Dre’Mont.

Mike Green, like fellow rookie Starks, is coming on as the season progresses. I have a little concern about his snap totals, particularly for a rookie. But until he hits that wall, let the man eat. He’s a dynamic force and once he learns a bit more about setting up opponents, he’ll be a double-digit sack producer.

Special Teams

Tyler Loop was 4 of 5 on FGAs, missing a bit left with plenty of distance from 56 yards out. Loop also seems to have settled down and now understands the landing zone on kickoffs…I’ve been a critic of Jordan Stout but for most of this campaign, he’s been solid. He averaged 49.6 yards on 5 punts and a very impressive 48.6 yards NET. Both he and Loop benefitted from excellent coverage from some hungry teams’ players, most notably Keondre Jackson and Keyon Martin.

Jackson briefly discussed the shenanigans that go on in the scrum when players are fighting to secure a fumble. I once discussed this with Bart Scott while hosting the Bart Scott Show back in 2007. He said all is fair in the scrum – biting, scratching, pinching, you name it. Well, all except one thing…a man’s “junk” is off limits.

THE BAD

Offense

Lamar Jackson struggled to find his rhythm and is often the case when things are a bit off, they offense makes some questionable decisions, and it starts with Lamar. He had a very pedestrian (particularly for him) passer rating (87.7) and if not for a roughing the passer call (it was the proper call given the game’s oftentimes lame contemporary rules), the would-be sack would have made for a very long FGA by Loop that could have cost the Ravens 3 points at the end of the first half. Then, while facing a 3rd-and-4 from their own 35 following the 2-minute warning with an 8-point lead, the Ravens decide to throw the football even though the Vikings had no timeouts. With the game’s best running quarterback at your disposal, you run the football and if it’s not there, slide as time keeps on slippin’, slippin’, slippin’, into the future.

Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely had consecutive drops in key situations. The Ravens were 2 of 5 in the red zone…Derrick Henry lost 20+ yards during runs to the right after slipping.

Defense

Kyle Van Noy struggled to hold the edge in run support…Brent Urban’s “effort” inside the 5 on Aaron Jones’ TD run was rather lame. He looked like Jones’ dancing partner as the RB waltz into the end zone.

THE UGLY

How Daniel Faalele is a starting guard in the NFL is unconscionable! Have I said that before? How many times? Unfortunately for Lamar, Todd Monken, the entire offense and the city of Baltimore, I’ll keep saying it until he’s replaced by Mystique who then morphs into Marshal Yanda. I’ve never seen a more inept offensive lineman in my life. And what does that say about those beneath Olay-lay on the depth chart? Shrek might be a better option if DeCosta can fit him under the cap.

Shrek makes his way into the Good, Bad & Ugly for the Ravens at Vikings game in 2025

On this play, a screen to Henry, Faalele’s job is to get between the receiver and defender and create separation. He doesn’t have to drive him across the field. Just lead interference for a second. Instead, he helps the defender. This isn’t rocket science but for Faalele, maybe it is. Australians still speak English, right?

And what in God’s name is going on with Roger Rosengarten? He steadily progressed as a rookie throughout the 2024 campaign and left us all with the feeling that Roger might someday be a Pro Bowl worthy right tackle. These days, not so much…

David Ojabo is without question a bust. DeCosta likes to swing at these players who should be first round picks if not for injuries and then hopes they sufficiently recover to the point that the pick looks like a steal. I’m still waiting for that strategy to pay off. Ojabo can’t rush the passer and sets the edge like a cardboard cutout of Danny DeVito. How the Ravens can sit Carl Lawson and dress Ojabo for 10 snaps is mind-blowing. Just cut this guy loose. Get a job, O!

Paige Spiranac Award v. Lions

THE PAIGE SPIRANAC AWARD

The selection of our PSA in the 2022 NFL Draft was heavily criticized by The Fan’s answer to the Cookie Monster, most likely labeling the pick “an abject failure”. But he’s been nothing but spectacular since he arrived in Baltimore and Sunday was no exception. Whether in coverage, defending short passes on the perimeter, rushing the passer, batting down passes or impeding the sight lines of opposing quarterbacks, Kyle Hamilton is a chess piece that any defensive coordinator would love to have at his disposal. And thankfully, contrary to La Canfora’s abject failure as an “insider”, that luxury belongs to Zach Orr.

JIMMY’S FAMOUS SEAFOOD’S BIG CRAB CAKE

Most successful organizations have proper structure. In other words, the talent is staggered in such a way that the whole accomplishes more than the sum of the individual parts. But the talent needs to be complementary. Each component, by virtue of the unique skillsets, enhances the collective because harmony exists. The team is more important than any individual player even though the efforts of the team might feature one individual who becomes a shining star. Alohi Gilman does exactly that for the Ravens. Since his arrival, Malaki Starks has played better, and Kyle Hamilton has once again become the beast that he was back in 2023.

Alohi! This crab cake is for you!

Jimmy's Famous Seafood: Charlie Kolar

COACHING

John Harbaugh

I’ve beaten up John Harbaugh for much of this season. And on Sunday he made a few more head scratching calls with time management. He insists on trying to draw teams offsides when it’s 4th and less than 5 and to do so on the road in a loud environment is just a bad decision when it costs you a timeout that could have been handy at the end of the first half – helping to open the playbook for Todd Monken. But John will never change.

Funny thing is, while watching the Steelers at Chargers last night, the decision making between brothers John and Jim is so similar, I wonder if their father Jack is making the calls.

Who’s got it better than us?

Todd Monken

The red zone play calling is awful. Monken’s inability to get Mitchell more involved is a failure. The reluctance to replace their incompetent RG costs the team every week and their inability to get the wide receivers involved seems to be a rite of passage for any Ravens offensive coordinator.

Zach Orr

Things appear to be coming together on defense since Gilman’s arrival but now they need to continue to tap into the ingenuity of the team’s brain trust to scheme more pressure. Without it, they might beat the Browns, Jets and Bengals but they’ll be hard-pressed to beat the better teams in close games.

But they did win and now have a chance to put together another 3 more consecutive wins against teams with a combined record of (7-20).

SHOUT OUT

Let’s give some props to the traveling 12th man that arrived in force in Minneapolis. Need proof?

The post Turnovers and Penalties Choke Out The Vikings appeared first on Russell Street Report.


Source: https://russellstreetreport.com/2025/11/10/gbu-paige-spiranac/vikings-ravens-2025/


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