3 Things That Must Happen for Vikings to Beat Ravens
Last week, the Minnesota Vikings were expected to lose to the Detroit Lions by nine or 10 points. This go-around, the Ravens are expected to down the Vikings by four or five. Here’s what the Vikings must do to ensure a victory in Week 10.
Three must-do items for the Vikings to knock off the Ravens in Week 10 — en route to perhaps pushing their record over .500 to 5-4 with half the season left.
Meanwhile, Minnesota evened its record to 4-4 in Week 9. Now, they have a chance to hit 5-4 and think about the January postseason tournament.
Vikings’ Keys to Victory over Ravens
The formula is pretty familiar.
1. Stop Derrick Henry’s Explosion
So far in 2025, aside from Bijan Robinson, who cooked the Vikings in Week 2, Minnesota has stopped Saquon Barkley and Jahmr Gibbs in crucial games, while allowing other lesser-touted runners like Kenneth Gainwell and Kimani Vidal to operate at will. The contrast here is weird.
Still, defensive coordinator Brian Flores must continue the trend on Sunday and worry about the Gainwells and Vidals at a later applicable date.
The Vikings took down the Lions last Sunday for one main reason: for the very first time in five tries, they tamed Gibbs, who had otherwise been an absolute Viking killer to start his career.
The plan didn’t work versus Philadelphia, because Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown, and De’Vonta Smith decided to get their poop in a group for the first time all season. Nevertheless, Minnesota’s chances this weekend all start with stopping Henry.
It’s also worth noting that Henry’s production has taken a slight downturn this year due to age.
Henry told Fox Sports this week about his team’s dub over the Miami Dolphins in Week 9, “You know, adversity comes at some point in everybody’s season, and unfortunately for us, it came pretty early. We had to keep trusting and believing in each other, knowing that at some point, we’d get rolling, everybody would get back healthy, and we’ll be right where we want to be.”
“We’re coming off two wins in a row and a lot to build off. We know it’s not going to be easy to get where we want to be, so just taking it one week at a time and focusing on being 1-0 each week.”
Henry also said about his durability and consistency: “I think it’s just trusting and believing in your work. Taking care of your body, doing everything that gets your body ready, week in and week out, and working even harder in the offseason, so your body is ready to withstand a full season, because it’s not easy.”
“It isn’t easy to do, especially having discipline in your diet, but it’s a big discipline you have to have to be able to do all those things. I’ve been able to get down on my recovery plan, what I need to have my body feel good, to be able to perform and do the things I have to do to help my team.”
2. Run the Football on Offense — and Don’t Stop
Similarly, the Vikings must run the ball on offense — and continue rushing the rock so long as they don’t fall behind by three scores or more.
Under Kevin O’Connell, the Vikings have quietly built one of the NFL’s most dependable formulas for winning: run the ball, win the game. Since he took over, Minnesota is 23-6 (.793) when rushing for at least 100 yards — meaning they win nearly 80% of the time when the ground game hits that mark.
It’s not about one workhorse back, either. Those totals come from a collective effort — whoever’s moving the chains that week. For comparison, the average NFL team wins about 62% of the time when rushing for 100+ yards. Since the start of 2022, the Vikings’ 23-6 record in such games ranks fourth-best in the league. When Minnesota runs efficiently, it transforms into a top-tier operation.
O’Connell leaned hard into the rushing attack at Detroit and never looked back. The Vikings piled up 142 yards on the ground, with Aaron Jones setting the tone — 78 yards on nine carries (8.7 per). Jordan Mason added 36 on 10 attempts, and J.J. McCarthy chipped in 12 yards and a touchdown.
There’s an undeniable pattern. In Week 3, Minnesota rushed for 169 yards and blew out Cincinnati by 37. Against Detroit, the total dropped slightly to 142 — but the result was another win. The correlation is simple and steady: when O’Connell’s Vikings stay committed to the run, they’re almost unbeatable.
3. Fluster Lamar Jackson, and Protect J.J. McCarthy
Minnesota won last week in large part because it got on Jared Goff’s nerves. In the last handful of games against Detroit, Goff was allowed to sit in the pocket and cook. Not last weekend.
Of course, Jackson is significantly more agile and mobile than Goff, but the Vikings must carry the same philosophy into Week 10 — get after the quarterback.
On the other hand, Minnesota must prevent the sack parade from beginning on McCarthy. Even though the Vikings won in Week 9, the Lions still sacked McCarthy five times, and that’s too much.
Keep McCarthy upright; put Jackson down on the ground.
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