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The pendulum that is this Vikings season swung mightily again as the Vikings fell 27-19 to the Ravens Sunday in Week 10.

There was an early spark on offense before messiness and a lack of execution settled over the team in the second quarter and hovered. There was nice containment on defense, but the group still hasn't been able to take away the football aside from Week 3.

Special teams also lacked the ability to provide a spark and served up a short field on a fumbled kickoff return.

Add it all up, and Minnesota has bookended its most impressive performance of 2025 (the Week 9 win at Detroit as heavy underdogs) with two uninspiring showings (a disaster in Los Angeles in Week 8 and the latest disappointment that sent Minnesota to 1-3 in home games this season.

That's not a good way to help one's cause in a highly competitive NFC North and crowded NFC.

At 4-5, Minnesota is in 10^th in the NFC, ironically two games behind the same Lions and Bears teams the Vikings have defeated. Up next is hosting Chicago, which improved to 6-3 with a late rally against the Giants on Sunday.

We'll get to the penalties in a bit but start today with what I (and many of you) considered to be the game's turning point. Holding a 10-9 lead coming out of halftime and facing third-and-1 at the 50 on the opening possession of the third quarter, Head Coach Kevin O'Connell opted for a deep pass from J.J. McCarthy to Justin Jefferson.

The receiver's right foot got tangled up with CB Marlon Humphrey, and Jefferson fell, leaving Humphrey alone to coast under the football. His momentum took Humphrey to the 2-yard line, and then he rope-a-doped Vikings players into enabling him to return the football 27 yards.

Tough to win when you have penalties, turnovers and batted-down balls. The inability to convert in short-yardage situations has been an issue with this staff every year. It's frustrating to see us generate positive runs and a few quick throws for yards and watch us depart from what works to intermediate and long shots that kill drives. K.O. gets a ton of praise for culture and his coaching, but it seems he has a tendency to out-think himself at times with poor calls instead of getting the first down and moving the chains.

— Rick S.

And …

Vikings are 4-for-19 on third/fourth down-and-2-or-less when passing, which is 21%. When running in that same situation, we are 71%.

Help me figure out why we continue to ignore our tendency over more than this year to throw intermediate-to-deep routes with little success.

— Steve

And …

K.O., please learn to stop picking a pass play when third-and-1-or-2 yards will give a first down.

J.J. has shown his inexperience. He has much more to learn. Did I detect a note of panic with him?

We must keep the ball on offense more, by running more.

Defense is tired. I feel so sorry for our defense. They must seem like they play all the minutes of the whole game.

Three turnovers and two turnovers-on-downs (seems like a total of 8 balls given to the Ravens), with over 100 yards in penalties. No team can win a game that way. When will the players learn discipline? there must be a way to practice training the players, including the QB. Some were his fault.

Running plays work. Keep them going until they don't. Defenses have learned how to defend against our passing game, man-on-man coverage, not zone. Can the coaching staff find a way to make the passes when man-on-man coverage? Running plays?

I'm so disappointed, a team with so much All-Pro talent and so many mistakes. O'Connell and staff have a lot of work to do.

— Gill Sorg in New Mexico

I'm combining these thoughts. A major point of emphasis this offseason was trying to be better in short-yardage rushing situations. Hence the trade for Jordan Mason and the investments in the offensive line.

Stats before the game from NFLGSIS had the Vikings at 9-for-13 (69.2%) when running the ball at and 3-for-14 (21.4%) when attempting a pass on third-or-fourth-and-2-or-less.

O'Connell explained after the game that he planned to go for it on fourth down from that spot, as well, so he wanted to capitalize on single coverage against Jefferson.

The NFL has gotten much more aggressive across the league in those situations. But existential questions, 'What kind of game is this?' and 'Is the reward worth the risk?' are always valid.

At that point in that game, it was with a one-point lead following a great first quarter and mid-to-less-than second quarter.

The Ravens had about a five-minute advantage in time of possession in the first half, so it wouldn't be the worst thing to try to even that out with a clock-chewer of a possession.

The Vikings opened the second half with run of 17 yards and another run by Aaron Jones, Sr., for 5 more. A quick pass to the outside resulted in a gain of 4 by Jordan Addison.

The deep shot was selected instead of a safer play, even though a sack also could have negatively impacted the opportunity to go for it on fourth down. The return by Humphrey made it worse because the Ravens got basically normal starting field position.

If things do go as wrong as they did, it's up to the players to limit the damage better than what happened.

Baltimore was awarded 22 more yards on the following snap thanks to a questionable pass interference penalty against Harrison Smith and completely flipped the field with completions of 22 and 23 yards to the Minnesota 4.

The defense made an impressive stand to force a field goal, but Baltimore took the lead and then forced the fumble on the ensuing kickoff return to set up a 23-yard touchdown drive.

I listen to the Vikings games on SiriusXM. I really enjoy tuning into the Vikings Fan Line on KFAN after games. Living in Tennessee, I don't get to see the Vikings on TV very often. But even when they are televised, I mute the broadcast because I'd much rather hear P.A. (Paul Allen) call the action — his energy and insight make the game come alive.

As for J.J., everyone needs to take a breath. He's going to be just fine. Give him time to grow, learn the system and mature. Remember Peyton Manning's rookie season in 1998? His first five games: a 1–4 record, four touchdowns, and — wait for it — 12 interceptions! I can only imagine what the Colts Fan Line sounded like back then. LOL!

— Alan in Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee

Hello in Soddy-Daisy, which is in a beautiful neck of the woods of my home state. My wife's parents (sending them a good morning in Bristol, Tennessee) also love the KFAN broadcast with P.A., Pete Bercich and Ben Leber, even when the games air on TV there.

I had the unique privilege of helping out the KFAN broadcast team as a pinch-hit spotter/stat tracker during the Dublin and London games and have tremendous respect for the work they do.

Those Manning stats faded over time as he emerged as one of the greatest to ever do it. The ideal for McCarthy is to help his growth while having the team around him play well, which hasn't happened with enough consistency.

McCarthy is now 2-2 as a starter with both wins on the road and both losses in home games.

We all knew controlling Lamar Jackson was going to be a challenge. Our defense managed to keep them out of the end zone early but weakened as the game progressed. Their early fourth quarter drive was a complete, dominating backbreaker. Our end-of-half play was also weak. First, we can't get a first down and burn up a little over a minute until halftime, let alone get points. Second, of course we give up to the Ravens another late first half FG in 28 seconds? Three turnovers is just horrendous? Back-to-back fumbles on our kickoff returns? Repetitive presnap penalties on offense? Blown opportunity on offense with the game on the line in the fourth quarter: two chances to gain 3 yards from inside the 15-yard line, and we get an inconsistent nothingburger?

Below are my 3 Ups and 3 Downs for the game:

UPS:

1. Vikings defense holds Ravens to a three-and-out to open the game. Followed by a beautiful scoring drive that consisted of a top-notch third-down conversion to Jefferson, a beautiful throw to Nailor on the sideline for 62 yards, and Jones walking into the end zone on a great low red zone running play. Very nicely done!

2. Aaron Jones is a great football player. A textbook pass block on a blitzer who just happened to be All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton. Jones just stoned him and enabled the first down pass to Jefferson. Remarkable play. Too bad it was wasted by J.J. McCarthy's foolish interception.

3. The two fourth-quarter passes to Nailor. First for a big first down and the second one is the TD. Nice job by the defense in getting the ball back for us at the end. Too bad we are so completely inconsistent on offense that it mattered not.

DOWNS:

1. Another wasted timeout after the explosive play to Nailor. I really wish K.O. would fix this repetitive problem.

2. J.J. McCarthy has way too many batted passes — five deflected in this game? Also, just a dumb interception thrown up for grabs in the second quarter? In a fourth-and-the-game situation, make that throw; on third down in the second quarter with the lead, take the first down with your legs J.J.

3. Three turnovers by the Vikings. To include the fumbled kickoff return that leads to an easy Ravens TD and a nine-point lead. Just an unmitigated disaster on both sides of the ball in the third quarter.

We are not going to win many games with three turnovers, fumbled kickoff returns and eight pre-snap offensive penalties? A weak and inconsistent overall performance not worthy of a win. Looking forward to Da Bears next week already; hopefully we can right our inconsistent ship next week.

Respectfully,

— Jeff Ludwig

I think if you'd tell a team that Jackson would finish with 176 passing yards, an 87.7 passer rating and 36 rushing yards on nine attempts, that team would ask where to sign on the dotted line.

The Vikings defense played really well, despite disadvantages in time of possession and bad field position.

Easy to second guess, but the clock management and play-calling at the end of the first half backfired. Too many mistakes gave the game away. Discipline, focus and finish! Skol!

Best regards,

— Martin in Munich, Germany

The end-of-the-first half sequence was disappointing. The Vikings got the ball at their 35-yard-line with 1:11 remaining.

A pass to Addison gained 5 but was followed by an incompletion to Addison and McCarthy throwing the ball away when nothing was available, which stopped the clock with 30 seconds remaining.

The Vikings had two timeouts, so they could have tried to run the ball on second-and-5 to see what happened.

Instead, the Ravens drove 63 yards in just 28 seconds before kicking a 30-yard field goal to make it 10-9 at halftime.

We can find many faults in the Vikings inability to defend home field. I'm going to focus on just one. PENALTIES! Including 8 "pre-snap" penalties! I've said it before, that there is 50/50 blame for penalties ... the player / the coaching. We must start to perform consistently like a "playoff team" or we will not be one!

— Randy in Las Vegas, Nevada

And

Thirteen penalties and three turnovers. How many points were scored off turnovers? How many drives were stalled by penalties? Baltimore is a tough team. We don't need to help them. That call on Dallas Turner was very questionable. What did he do wrong?

— Gerald Goblirsch

Penalties and turnovers are a bad way of conducting business, especially for a team that has some inconsistencies in other aspects and hasn't been establishing its ability to overcome penalties on offense and has struggled to even-out the giveaways with takeaways.

Here's a rundown of the eight pre-snap penalties.

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

The Ravens scored 13 points off the three turnovers.

The Turner penalty was akin to one that went Minnesota's favor at Detroit. It's a tough situation for defensive players when quarterbacks can be so elusive.

Many years ago, my mother told me "If you can't say anything nice, then don't say anything at all."

VERY DISAPPOINTED!

— Derek in North Dakota

That sums things up well but doesn't fill out the Mailbag. I do understand your disappointment level.

I have been a lifelong Viking fan for over 60 years. My window and patience are running short. How can a group of men getting paid $1 million or more a year make so many fundamental mistakes?

It should be unacceptable from the ownership to admin, coaching and players on the field.

— Jon, a Lifelong fan in Willow Park, Texas

And

I will start off by saying I have been a fan for 50+ years, and I will ride and die with this team. But with that said, this year has been the biggest disappointment of a Vikings team that I can remember. Today's game was the tipping point for me as a fan of the Vikings. Issues they have that should not be happening after nine games, with a bye week thrown in. Six turnovers, between interceptions, fumbles, and turnovers on downs. Special teams play continues to absolutely ruin field position. Procedure and motion penalties that appeared to be due to a cadence issue, so not sure what happened this week on that particular issue. The toughness of this team is a serious issue, as our tackling is about as bad as a team that I can remember. Their body language on the field speaks volume to either having lost faith in the "process", the scheme, or the personal that is on the field. I am starting to question our coaching decisions. We had to use a timeout in the first half after the long completion, but why? Run the ball when in short-yardage situations. We proved we can do that today on the first touchdown of the game. Have McCarthy tuck it and pick up a first down, instead of two ill-advised long throws that turned into interceptions. I feel as a longtime fan that we deserve better from the entire organization. We traveled to L.A. for the Chargers game a couple of weeks ago, and I didn't think we could get much worse, but today proved me wrong. We would love to come to a game at U.S. Bank, but I am not sure I want my hard-earned money to be spent on a team that feels like they have cashed it in. Frustrated Fan in Nebraska.

— Paul Dwyer in Elmwood, Nebraska

And

"Too many mistakes." (— Pete Bercich, 11/10/2025) I agree with the statement but not as a final conclusion. Vikings fans have seen this too many times. Yes, turnovers and penalties were exclamatory keys. But those are symptoms of a deeper issue. Minneapolis Miracle, followed by a loss. Darnold celebrated loudly and wildly after a win against Green Bay, followed by two losses. Now an emotional victory in Detroit, followed by … yup. A loss. This pattern must stop. My recommendation? Act like you've been there. Bill Parcells would tell the media in very similar situations, "Hey, we haven't done anything yet." And he would say this after the New York football Giants had won a key game to get into the playoffs or clinch the division or whatever.

The talent is there. The team is rarely outcoached. The resources for success and winning are in place. Expect the win. Get it. Act like you expected it. Move on.

I would love to be wrong. But this feels like one of those Vikings seasons where they play tough enough to be in contention until the end and fall just short with a season near a .500 win/loss record. This was a tough opponent with its back to the wall playing what they considered a playoff game. That's about where the Vikings are now. The division is far from decided but without a winning streak of more than a game or two, this very talented Vikings team will be taking an early vacation. Let's avoid that. One game at a time. Stack wins.

A final thought. When the Vikings defensive players were working on turnover celebrations prior to games, they tended to get them. It seemed an exercise virtually willing turnovers into existence. Let's try that again. Plan those celebrations. Then make sure you get to celebrate.

Skol!

— Jeff in Sacramento, California

Combining these thoughts that stretch from Nebraska to Texas to California.

This team has had to face plenty of adversity this season but also has plenty examples so far of not doing things well enough to win football games. That's how things shake out to arrive at 4-5 and leaving itself with little room for coming up short in the final eight games if it hopes to return to the playoffs.

Many could have viewed the win at Detroit as a launch point for course corrections, but a week later, and it's another low point.

The Vikings nabbed five takeaways against the Bengals in Week 3, but the team has four takeaways combined in the other eight games.

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