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The Vikings hosted their lone home preseason game Saturday and fell 13-3 to the Ravens, but the big-picture item of the week was the feeling of having accomplished several items and identifying others to work on during the two joint practices between Minnesota and Baltimore.

In my years of covering joint practices, I'd say the defenses for both teams usually win the first day, which is not dissimilar from the first day of padded training camp practices each year (that happened again this year at Vikings camp). Such was the case Wednesday, except for the 2-minute drill in which Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy each led touchdown drives. Minnesota's offense evened things out a bit more on Thursday while its defense remained dominant.

Even though it was truly great to return to U.S. Bank Stadium Saturday for the first time since Week 18 on Jan. 4, the game action felt a little bit anticlimactic because of a couple ups and downs for McCarthy, who got the start with the second-team offense.

McCarthy did a great job of feeling pressure, climbing the pocket and giving Tai Felton a great opportunity on a 50-50 ball that went for 50. But the QB with 10 career regular-season starts under his belt lamented execution in the red zone on a second-and-goal pass from the 3 and a fourth-and-goal from the 1.

On the other side of the ball, rookies Caleb Banks and Domonique Orange relished their first opportunity at U.S. Bank Stadium, as well as another opportunity to advance their development with meaningful snaps.

Minnesota will close its preseason by visiting Denver at 8 p.m. (CT) Friday.

Before we get to some questions, I'd like to say it was such a treat to welcome Hub Meeds and his family to the Minnesota Vikings Museum on Thursday. Meeds visited dressed in regalia befitting what he wore on the sidelines as the team's live mascot for more than two decades (1970-92).

Meeds' iconic look originated at Super Bowl IV when he and his brother-in-law, Dan Jeans, rented costumes before heading to New Orleans.

Meeds, a White Bear Lake truck driver, and Jeans, a St. Paul hair stylist, had tickets to the game, but approached a player gate at Tulane Stadium. Officials mistakenly let them onto the field. Meeds, who had played football at Stillwater High School, liked the view from the sidelines and asked the Vikings if he could become the team's mascot. He was with the team in an official capacity at their next three Super Bowls. Meeds worked home games until 1992 and attended the final game at the Metrodome.

After first using a fake beard, Meeds grew the real deal. He also found a 36-inch sword that was made in Germany in 1888 and fashioned a shield. The sword and shield are on display at the Museum in an area that pays tribute to Metropolitan Stadium.

Meeds' iconic look was even featured as the cover of the team's 1973 media guide, which happens to be one of the ones mounted on the pillar of Vikings.com's assigned area in the press box.

Viktor the Viking, who launched in 2007, was excited to meet Meeds at the Minnesota Vikings Museum. Both enjoyed posing for pictures with guests, and it was wonderful to see multiple generations of Vikings fans connecting at the exhibits.

Vikings fans have shown their enthusiasm and devotion to the team in a variety of ways, including the way they dress for home and away games, further linking themselves to their team.

Lastly, I'll note that everyone should be on the lookout tomorrow for the unveiling of the Vikings Rivalries uniforms, which will be worn by the team for the first time on Dec. 20 when Minnesota hosts the Detroit Lions.

Two preseason games in the books. For the second consecutive week, the second unit offensive line was bad. Nothing to write home about. Ground game couldn't get going, six pressures allowed on 11 dropbacks for McCarthy, and another crippling penalty that wiped out a first down. When opportunity was there, McCarthy continued to miss. Four open receivers he couldn't hit. Still throwing too hard and too high.

The defense on the other hand looked very good. Tyler Huntley is a very experienced and quality backup QB. He looked awful and very uncomfortable. The D-line looks to have very strong depth. Banks and "Big Citrus" both looked much more settled into NFL football.

One game left to get it together. What are the dates for roster cuts? Do they have to cut to 53 in one shot, or is it still broken up through camp?

— Roman B., counting down the days until kickoff against Green Bay from Grand Forks, North Dakota

In a couple of aspects, Saturday's game reminded me a bit of last year's regular-season game against the Ravens.

The reasons were beyond the plentiful purple and centered on McCarthy's day.

Both games featured a completion of 50-plus yards by McCarthy, as well as some misses on passes he wishes were completed. Both games also included some leaks along the offensive line. In the regular season last November, the Ravens racked up 12 QB hits on McCarthy. On Saturday, the group hit him four times across Minnesota's final two possessions of the first quarter, including a couple at the knee or below (no flags were thrown on either).

One of those hits occurred when he stayed in the pocket and uncorked a beautiful pass to Jeshaun Jones for a gain of 19 on a third-and-13, but the positive was erased because of a holding penalty against Henry Byrd, who has worked at tackle this season after spending earlier seasons on the interior. No one on social media is pointing out that execution by McCarthy.

With the Vikings resting starting tackles Christian Darrisaw and Brian O'Neill, and rookie Caleb Tiernan working his way back from an ankle injury in the preseason opener, the Vikings opted to start veteran Ryan Van Demark at right tackle and Byrd at left tackle.

Both defenses stymied the ground game. There was only one run the entire game for 10 or more yards (a 15-yarder for Jermar Jefferson who finished with two carries for 15 yards), so that didn't help any quarterback who played.

I'm in the camp that McCarthy has improved certain aspects of his game this offseason, but the Vikings didn't establish the running game the way they did early at New York, and the protection didn't hold for McCarthy on some passes.

The play that has generated the most alacrity on social media is the missed throw on fourth-and-goal from the 1. There's a bit of nuance that has been left out. The outside linebacker for the Ravens, Ethan Burke, is 6-foot-6 with 33-inch arms and synched his jump to maximize its effect thanks to a little hitch at the top of the drop by McCarthy. That pressure caused a high throw out of reach of Price.

I'm not going to pretend to be a coach, but perhaps a quicker release (before the defender can get his arms up or a pump fake and then release after the OLB lands might have helped a better outcome.

I'm also quite bullish on the long-term combination of Banks and Orange, especially in the context of a really encouraging group of players that also includes Jalen Redmond and Levi Drake Rodriguez, a pair of absolute hosses.

Banks and Orange were drafted where they were because of some pretty incredible traits that are fun for Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores to add to his concoction.

The deadline for teams to reduce their rosters from 90 to 53 is 5 p.m. (CT) on Sunday, Aug. 30, but reductions could happen at any point between Friday's preseason finale and that deadline. Teams could make claims on players subject to the waiver process, so there could be some more fluidity. Practice squads of up to 17 (if one is an International Player) can then be formed next Monday.

I have to admit I felt a little sick to my stomach with Minnesota's effort against Baltimore, but then I felt better after I saw that a bunch of starters didn't suit up. So it was second and third stringers trying to make an impression ahead of cutdown days. Although I wondered if it was fourth and fifth stringers manning the o-line. They do realize they're not playing Pop Warner, right? There's no participation trophies in the NFL.

Even so, did the QBs have to act like a pillar of strength, or a mannequin? Isn't that why they have legs? But I'm guessing the Vikings may not be able to keep four quarterbacks on the 53-man roster, so the odd man out will have to hope they get signed to the practice squad or another team. But I'm pretty sure the team invested too much in J.J., so I doubt they'll release him. Which means Wentz or Brosmer will draw the short straw.

But with roster cuts coming up, I don't know what the numbers are and when they fall, but there's just one preseason game left, so who looks like they've put in the extra effort to survive the first or second cuts? And has Hitman Harry officially hung up his cleats, or is his protracted indecision causing anxiety for rookies in the secondary?

After the game and watching the highlights I do feel a bit queasy. And September is just around the corner, so for those who want to be wearing Purple come December, or eternally hopeful for late January and February, they need some urgency and some "dawg" in their play style.

Sincerely,

— David A. (from the North Shore but melting in the South)

I mentioned Minnesota's thinness of experienced players at tackle in the above answer.

In addition to sacking McCarthy once, the Ravens dropped Carson Wentz and Max Brosmer twice each and totaled nine QB hits. That's less than ideal when trying to give McCarthy and Brosmer developmental reps.

It's accurate to categorize Wentz as a known commodity, given his 99 career regular-season starts that included five with Minnesota in 2025.

Head Coach Kevin O'Connell was disappointed with nine penalties, including six on offense that seemed to undermine the establishment of rhythm in Saturday's game.

The Vikings have had their depth at safety tested, with Jakobe Thomas experiencing back tightness for multiple weeks and with Theo Jackson leaving during the joint practices during a deep play. It looked like Jamal Adams was going to help out there and potentially at inside linebacker before his heartbreaking, season-ending injury at New York.

Undrafted rookie Jacob Thomas has capitalized on the extra reps.

I wanted to share an idea about how I believe the Vikings could use the preseason to create an advantage heading into the regular season.

My suggestion is to treat the three preseason games as three additional opportunities to prepare our starting team before the games actually count.

The NFL gives every team three games with no consequences to their regular-season record. I believe we should take full advantage of that.

Rather than using preseason games primarily to determine the depth chart, I would use training camp practices for that purpose. Let players compete every day for their positions and establish who has earned the right to play.

Then, when the preseason games begin, play our starters.

What the opposing team chooses to do with its own lineup shouldn't really matter. Whether they play their starters, backups or third-string players, our objective should be preparing the Vikings.

The value isn't necessarily who is lined up across from us. The value is getting our starting players into an actual NFL game environment.

They get to experience the speed of the game, communication, timing, substitutions, play-calling, situational football and the process of playing together under game conditions.

And there is a very simple way to manage the risk:

If we're destroying the other team, take the starters out.

If we're up by a significant margin after three quarters, there is little reason to keep exposing them. Let the backups finish the game.

But if we're not playing well, or the game is competitive, keep the starters on the field and use the opportunity.

That's what makes the preseason so valuable.

If everything is going well, you've gotten your starters meaningful reps and can get them out early.

If things aren't going well, you have another quarter — and potentially another preseason game — to work on it before anything counts.

You're essentially being given three games to identify and correct problems for free.

I also believe this approach would make roster evaluation more effective. Instead of relying heavily on third-string players playing against third-string players, use training camp to evaluate those players against the Vikings' best players every day.

A young offensive lineman shouldn't need four quarters against another team's third-string defensive line to determine whether he belongs. Coaches can learn a tremendous amount by watching him compete against the Vikings' starting defensive line throughout training camp.

Then the preseason games can serve their most important purpose:

Preparing the players who are actually expected to carry the team during the regular season.

My philosophy would be:

Training camp: Determine who deserves to play.

Preseason: Get those players ready to play.

Regular season: Let the results count.

The Vikings have three games where a loss doesn't hurt the standings. I believe that's an opportunity that shouldn't be wasted.

If we're dominating, pull the starters. If we're not, keep working.

Either way, we're using those three games to make the team better before Week 1.

Thank you for taking the time to consider my perspective.

Skol,

— Ryan Vossen

O'Connell prioritizes the joint practices as two of the best days of training camp to prepare first and second teamers for the regular season. The benefits include the number of snaps that can be accomplished each day, as well as going through some scripted and unscripted scenarios in a controlled environment that hopefully makes teams less susceptible to injuries.

That means a preseason game at the end of a week of joint practices is likely to have third stringers or folks further down the depth chart in for most of the time, and the players who are suited up won't have gone through as many preparation reps, which are still few, during the week.

Five years ago, Irv Smith, Jr., was entering his third pro season, and the Vikings had designed some plays to create mismatches for him. On the heels of catching 30 passes for 365 yards and five touchdowns in 2020, Smith was looking good in camp.

For some reason, Smith was playing in the third preseason contest at Kansas City and suffered a season-ending injury. Fellow tight end Tyler Conklin went on to have a breakout season with 61 catches for 593 yards and three touchdowns, but I have wondered what the combo of Smith and Conklin could have done in 12 personnel and how that duplicity may have helped other aspects of the offense.

O'Connell also believes in the importance of developing younger players. To that end, the preseason contests offer in-game reps, even though the scoreboard results don't matter.

In a league where every regular-season game means so much, it's weird to think a team can have different goals not necessarily tied to the final score in the preseason, but that's likely going to be the case.

Our defense is going to be our strength. Banks and Orange were very disruptive and will make for an awesome rotation. It is too early to throw J.J. out or even drop him to third-string. Who did J.J. play against? Who did Carson play against? Both of them will help us in my opinion. We have a good QB room. How did Walter Rouse play? He moved inside and did a great pancake block on that poor Baltimore DB. Every game in the NFC North will be tough. Skol to this season,

— Gerald Goblirsch

Minnesota's defense is showing signs of being extremely difficult to deal with. On back-to-back days, the first team seemed to cause headaches throughout the Baltimore offense led by two-time NFL MVP Lamar Jackson. It's worth noting the highly elusive QB didn't seem to break pocket as much as he might in live action, but the team periods were one-sided on both days.

Flores will be able to create multiple different packages and pressure looks with his system. The d-line looks capable of getting into the backfield from time to time on pass plays or for run stuffs, and the linebackers' blitzes could be quite a calling card, given what Blake Cashman and Eric Wilson have accomplished so far in this scheme.

Andrew Van Ginkel is one of one for this system, and Dallas Turner's growth as an edge rusher was on full display Thursday against two-time Pro Bowl left tackle Ronnie Stanley.

Elijah Williams Is the real deal. Please let him make the roster. Honestly, we have a good DL. Why did we draft more depth? I understand, but we need help other places and the DL wasn't it. How about edge and linebacker or corner. We miss a lot when you look back at draft. Banks looked like he should have gotten draft in Round 2 but not in the first round. What do you think? We're deep on WR, which also makes me think Jordan Addison won't get a deal. What is your opinion? Demond Claiborne looks good. A year under his belt, he would be a monster.

— William W.

Williams isn't the only player on Minnesota's roster who is easy to root for based on a vivacious personality. He's often flashing a smile to and from the locker room but also means business between the lines.

How cool was it for the Jersey City native to record a sack in Preseason 1 just minutes from his hometown?

I've already touched on the merits of Banks and Orange in earlier responses, but Minnesota parted ways with Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave in the offseason. That's two starting roles to fill, and Minnesota likes the projection of what Banks and Orange will accomplish. Other teams thought highly of Banks, and I don't believe he would have carried into the second round. It also appears that second-round pick Jake Golday is off to a great start of his career, too.

While the Vikings d-line depth is probably stronger than other positions, it's a grueling position, and having a rotation to keep guys as fresh as possible is important.

The trio of Justin Jefferson, Addison and Jauan Jennings could be one of the best in the NFL in 2026. Beyond that trio, the Vikings don't have a ton of proven regular-season experience. Price and Felton have had some strong days in training camp and are also likely to help significantly on special teams.

Claiborne's bounce to the outside for an explosive touchdown run to end the second-team offense's 2-minute drill is an encouraging element to add to a room led by Aaron Jones, Sr., and Jordan Mason, even though Claiborne has been bottlenecked in the preseason to 52 yards on 20 carries. Many of those have been short-yardage between the tackles, which likely will never be his bread and butter, but he got the call based on who was available to play at various junctures of games. He's learning at every turn. It's also worth pointing out the Vikings aren't scheming their runs to try to attack opponents' defenses.

This Dillon Bell is very impressive with his size and speed. If they can coach him up to catch the ball, his run after catch could be off the charts.

Go Vikes and Skol,

— Nicholas Balkou

Bell is listed at 6-foot, 209 pounds and has shown his ability to pop on a couple of run plays (two at New York for 27 yards with a long of 17). He's also caught six passes for 51 yards so far.

The undrafted rookie out of Georgia also has returned one kickoff for 16 yards so far this preseason.

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