What Minnesota Vikings Fans Need to Know Ahead of Week 10 vs. Baltimore Ravens
The Minnesota Vikings are headed back home to U.S. Bank Stadium this weekend after back-to-back road games.
As the Vikings start their second half of the regular season, they will be met by the Baltimore Ravens in a matchup of two teams hoping to make a playoff push down the stretch after disappointing starts to their seasons. Ahead of that matchup, here is a preview of what Vikings fans need to know.
How to Watch the Minnesota Vikings This Week
The Minnesota Vikings are playing back-to-back noon games for the first time this season as kickoff is slated for 12 p.m. on Sunday, November 9 inside U.S. Bank Stadium. The game will be broadcast on FOX and can be streamed via NFL+ in the NFL app as well as NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV.
Ravens vs. Vikings History
This matchup between the Ravens and Vikings is a relatively rare one as the two teams have met just seven times in the histories of the two franchises. In total, the Ravens lead the all-time series with a 4-3 record against the Vikings. This includes a win in the most recent game between the two teams, an overtime thriller that Baltimore won 34-31 back in 2021. Lamar Jackson totaled 386 yards and three touchdowns in that game.
However, the Vikings are undefeated at home against the Ravens. Minnesota won in 2009 by a score of 33-31, and in 2017, the Vikings won 24-16. We’ll see if history repeats itself again on Sunday.
Ravens Spotlight Player: QB Lamar Jackson
Maybe this can be viewed as a copout, but we’ve seen what this Ravens team has looked like with and without Jackson in the lineup this year. In the five games he’s played, Baltimore has scored 28+ points four times. In the three games he missed, they were held to 10 or fewer points twice.
Jackson returned to the field last Thursday against the Miami Dolphins and immediately greeted them with four touchdown passes in a blowout win. The Vikings also haven’t had to deal with too many mobile quarterbacks so far this season, so it will be interesting to see how they go about making sure that they contain Jackson in the pocket, particularly with Brian Flores’ tendency to send multiple blitzers on defense.
Vikings Spotlight Player: RB Jordan Mason
Aaron Jones was a key component to Minnesota’s win against the Detroit Lions, but now it’s time for his counterpart to get in the mix. Since his 116-yard outburst against the Cincinnati Bengals, Jordan Mason has been held to just 205 rushing yards over the past five games at an inefficient clip of just 3.5 yards per carry.
However, this is a golden opportunity against a Ravens team that has been one of the worst NFL teams at stopping the run. Baltimore ranks 21st in the NFL, giving up 121.6 rushing yards per game, and their 4.5 yards allowed per carry is 23rd. PFF also has them graded 27th in the NFL for their efforts against the run. However, they’ve now gone three straight games allowing fewer than 100 rushing yards and have gone 2-1 in those games.
The best way to beat a dynamic offense is to keep them off the field. Unless J.J. McCarthy comes out and can outperform Jackson, which would be a monumental feat, the Vikings will need to commit to running the football against this team. Jordan Mason will need to be a contributor this weekend.
Editor’s Note: Statistics for this article were found via Pro Football Focus and Pro Football Reference.
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