MINNEAPOLIS — Seventeen, plus five, then four meant the Vikings at the ball at 50 on the opening drive of the second half.

Facing third-and-less-than-1, the Vikings opted for a deep pass from J.J. McCarthy to Justin Jefferson, but it was intercepted at the 2-yard line by Marlon Humphrey, who returned the ball 27 yards.

"[Cover 0 defense], 1-on-1, and I have the greatest receiver in the world," McCarthy said. "So I don't care who it is out there, I'm going to give him a chance. And I didn't see him fall. It's just one of those things where he catches it and it's great; he doesn't, it's an incomplete or it's an interception. There's different things where it can lead to that outcome. But 10 times out of 10, I'm gonna give him a shot."

Jefferson's right foot got tangled up with Humphrey, who added a slap to the chest on the play.

"That ball has already left [McCarthy's] hand when Justin's and Humphrey's feet get tangled up," Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connell said. "Things like that happen in football. And I'll take Justin Jefferson 1-on-1 down the field and [Cover 0] coverage, as much as we can possibly do it, especially when you're going to have the ability to then take that shot, and then with the field position we were at, go get that yard on fourth down."

Instead of a chance to build on a one-point lead, the pick easily could be identified as the turning point in a 27-19 home loss which Minnesota had critical lapses on offense, defense and special teams.

Baltimore seized momentum immediately thanks to an iffy pass interference call for 22 yards that went against Harrison Smith, and consecutive completions of 22 and 23 yards to advance to the 4-yard line.

Minnesota's defense rallied for the goal-to-go stop, but the Ravens took a 12-10 lead with 10:19 remaining in the third quarter.

Myles Price, who has been a standout as a rookie, fumbled the ensuing kickoff return.

Baltimore's Keondre Jackson punched out the football and recovered it at the bottom of the pile, and the Ravens drove 23 yards in six plays for their first touchdown, a 1-yard run by Justice Hill for a 19-10 lead with 8:02 remaining.

Price fumbled the next kickoff return, too, but fellow undrafted rookie Ben Yurosek secured the pigskin to keep Minesota on the field.

That drive, however, ended with an incompletion on fourth-and-2. Minnesota went 3-for-14 on third down and 2-for-5 on fourth down.

Minnesota's defense forced a quick stop and missed 56-yard field goal by Tyler Loop, and the offense responded with a field goal to make it 19-13 with 2:16 remaining in the third quarter quarter.

The Ravens leaned on their run game, rushing eight times on an 11-play drive that ended with a 2-yard touchdown pass from Lamar Jackson to Mark Andrews. The Ravens succeeded on a 2-point conversion pass to Rashod Bateman for a 27-13 edge with 10:40 remaining in the game.

The Vikings drove to the Ravens 13-yard line on the following possession but a pass on third-and-3 was tipped at the line of scrimmage, which was a recurring problem for Minnesota on the day, and a fourth-and-3 pass to Jefferson fell incomplete.

The defense forced a quick three-and-out, and Minnesota followed with a 65-yard touchdown drive ended with a 10-yard pass to Jalen Nailor on fourth-and-goal.

An effort to throw to Jefferson on a 2-point conversion fell incomplete and kept the score at 27-19 with 3:23 remaining.

Minnesota's defense gave the offense one more opportunity, but the drive that began at the Vikings 7 only reached the 40. A pass on fourth-and-4 fell incomplete.

The Vikings fell to 4-5 on the season and just 1-3 at home.

Here are four more observations.

1. Flag football

The Vikings were flagged a whopping 13 times for 102 yards, including eight false starts that kept Minnesota from taking two steps forward without a step back.

Different players throughout the offense were flagged for false starts, which shouldn't happen in a home game at the rate it did because the offensive line is not battling road noise. Here's a look at the eight:

1. Q2, third-and-8: FS Blake Brandel; on third-and-13, McCarthy-to-Jefferson for 5; drive result: FG

2. Q2, first-and-10: FS Brian O'Neill; on first-and-15, McCarthy-to-Jordan Addison is incomplete; drive result: interception

3. Q3, first-and-10: FS Ben Yurosek; on first-and-15, McCarthy-to-Adam Thielen for 7; drive result: turnover on downs

4. Q3, first-and-10: FS Christian Darrisaw; on first-and-15, McCarthy-to-Jones is incomplete; drive result: field goal

5. Q4, first-and-10: FS Jefferson; on first-and-15, McCarthy-to-T.J. Hockenson is incomplete; drive result: turnover on downs

6. Q4, first-and-10: FS McCarthy; on first-and-15, McCarthy-to-Addison for 26; and on same drive…

7. Q4, fourth-and-goal from the 5: FS O'Neill; on fourth-and-goal: McCarthy to Nailor for 10-yard touchdown

8. Q4, third-and-6: FS O'Neill; on third-and-11: McCarthy scrambles for 7; drive result: turnover on downs

"In many cases it was things we did to ourselves," O'Connell said. "Lose the turnover battle 3-0 and then the penalty situation, which we've gotta get fixed immediately. Whatever was goin' on with the cadence or whatever it may be, it's just not acceptable in any way. We've gotta get it fixed, and we will.

The 13^th of the day was a holding penalty during a punt return while the ball was in flight, which moved the ball all the way back to the 7.

2. Giveaways and no takeaways

McCarthy finished 20 of 42 passing with 248 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. His passer rating was 54.5.

The two picks, along with the fumble lost on the kickoff return put the Vikings at minus-3 in the giveaways.

The Ravens fumbled three times but recovered each, and Baltimore was able to escape without a pick despite Minnesota tipping multiple passes.

Andrew Van Ginkel nearly tipped and caught a pass from Lamar Jackson inside the 2-minute warning, but Jackson was able to knock the ball down like a volleyballer's spike.

Jackson finished 17-of-29 passing for 176 yards and a passer rating of 87.7.

3. Big day for Nailor

Nailor finished with a career-high 124 yards on five catches and six targets, recording the first 100-yard game of his career.

Minnesota's starting receivers of Jefferson and Jordan Addison, however, didn't have the results they wanted.

Jefferson finished with four catches and 37 yards on 12 targets, and Addison finished with with three receptions for 35 yards on 11 targets.

4. First-half contrast

The Vikings got off to an impressive start with the defense forcing a quick three-and-punt by the Ravens.

The offense followed with an impressive seven-play drive for the first seven points of the game.

J.J. McCarthy converted third-and-6 with a 10-yard pass to Justin Jefferson, and third-and-4 with a beautiful fade to Nailor for 62 yards. Nailor was able to secure the catch at the Baltimore 40, make a move and rack up 36 YAC (yards after the catch) to the 4.

Aaron Jones, Sr., glided in for a 4-yard touchdown on Minnesota's next snap.

The Vikings finished the first quarter with an average of 9.4 yards per play, compared to 3.6 yards per play by the Ravens.

In the second quarter, however, Minnesota's offense settled for a field goal early in the second quarter. Its second possession of the period with an interception (by Malaki Starks) at the Ravens 22 after a deep toss to Jefferson on third-and-6.

The third possession of the period was a bigger disappointment. The Vikings started at their 35-yard line with 1:11 remaining. A 5-yard completion to Addison was followed by two incompletions, and the Vikings punted the ball back to the Ravens.

A 19-yard punt return by LaJohntay Wester gave Baltimore the ball at its 25 with 30 seconds, and the Ravens managed to drive 63 yards in four plays to make it 10-9 with two seconds remaining before halftime.

After converting two of three third downs in the first quarter, Minnesota went 1-for-4 in the second.

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