Ravens Face “Cheating” Accusations after Vikings Matchup
The Minnesota Vikings produced eight false start penalties during a Week 10 loss at home to the Baltimore Ravens, a number so hideous that “cheating” theories have emerged to explain the madness.
The Ravens are facing accusations of cheating following their matchup with the Vikings, sparking controversy and fan backlash online.
Running back Aaron Jones claimed the Ravens’ defense used questionable measures to fluster quarterback J.J. McCarthy — that worked but are also illegal.
“Cheating” Is the Fallout of Vikings-Ravens
He said, he said.
Aaron Jones on the Ravens’ Alleged Antics
Jones brought the allegations to the forefront this week, telling reporters, “They’re making move calls up front, so sometimes it sounds like it could be J.J. McCarthy saying ‘hut.’ They’re making move calls, and you see them stem. So they’re trying to get them to jump, as well.”
Defensive players are not allowed to simulate a quarterback’s cadence; if they were, every team would do it, and the NFL would be a false start festival every game.
It’s also worth noting that Jones is not a bombastic pot-stirrer or liar.
BAL Coach Isn’t Buying It
On the other side, almost naturally, Ravens skipper John Harbaugh isn’t buying it. He checked, and there was no cheating.
Harbaugh explained, “One of the players said that. I read five other players and the head coach said, ‘No.’ But it did catch my attention, yes. So I went back and I watched it. We didn’t have a game plan for that. If we did, I wouldn’t have been happy. But we’re not going to do anything illegal. If you stem, you make a move call. You’re allowed to say ‘move.’ You’re not allowed to say ‘set’ or ‘hut’ or anything else or a cadence, which we never have done.”
“But then I watched all of them, and none of them did we stem. Not once did we move. They were doing a lot of on-two, trying to draw us offsides. And then they were doing some shifts where they could uncover man/zone and try to see what we were in. They jumped a few times when they were doing that to try to get to their alerts and their change of plays. So, like Coach O’Connell said, it wasn’t anything we were doing.”
Nothing Will Come of It
The eight false starts will be chalked up to the Vikings’ incompetence, and the 22-year-old quarterback will be scapegoated. This is a person’s word against another’s.
What may have happened is that a Ravens defender said something once or twice after realizing the false start parade had begun, stoking the fire and hoping to create more havoc. In Jones’ estimation, it happened once, and his quote is then used as a blanket statement for the whole game. Just a theory.
Vikings Must Fix the Penalties
No matter what, the penalties must stop. The Vikings committed 13 penalties against the Ravens — a staggering 102 yards lost — and eight of them were false starts inside their own stadium.
It’s been a recurring problem all year. The yellow flags quiet down for a week or two, then come roaring back. They managed just 56 penalty yards in Detroit, but that proved to be the exception, not the fix.
Minnesota now sits fourth-worst in the NFL in total penalties and leads the league in false starts with 19. When a team is already navigating life with a rookie quarterback, the room for error is razor-thin. Stack 13 penalties on top of that, and it’s game over before it even begins.
O’Connell has vowed to fix the false start issue and penalties, on the whole.
CBS Sports on the Jones Allegation
Carther Bahns noted on the matter, “Vikings running back Aaron Jones suggested there was something more nefarious at play than lapses in focus from his teammates. Jones said the Ravens’ defense made calls and movements at the line of scrimmage designed to draw the Vikings into pre-snap penalties.”
“He said they were also ‘playing a little game there’ with snap counts. Jones, notably, was the only Vikings player to allege that the Ravens’ defense was at least partially to blame for the infractions. Minnesota head coach Kevin O’Connell pushed back on the claim and directed the blame toward his offense.”
In the end, Minnesota probably deserves more of the blame than Baltimore.
“The use of disconcerting signals, whether verbal or physical, is prohibited. It is punishable by a 15-yard penalty. Ravens head coach John Harbaugh denied that his team did anything outside of the rulebook. Unforced errors plagued the Vikings in the loss, as they committed 13 total penalties for 102 yards,” Bahns added.
“Eight of the penalties and 40 of the yards came from false starts. Minnesota’s offense also coughed up the ball three times, twice by way of interceptions and once with a fumble.”
Minnesota should have a reasonable path to fixing the false start problem; this weekend’s game is at home against the Chicago Bears.
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