MINNEAPOLIS — Lamar Jackson played it patient and smart in his second game back from injury, and the Baltimore Ravens continued their defensive resurgence to beat the Minnesota Vikings 27-19 on Sunday for their third straight victory.
Malaki Starks and Marlon Humphrey each intercepted deep passes by J.J. McCarthy, whose touchdown throw to Jalen Nailor with 3:19 left cut Baltimore’s lead to one possession but was too little, too late for mistake-prone Minnesota.
The Ravens (4-5) turned three takeaways, including a fumbled kickoff return early in the third quarter by rookie Myles Price, into 13 points to keep their climb back into the AFC North race going after a 1-5 start.
After trailing 10-9 at halftime, following their first half without a touchdown in 21 games with Jackson as the starter, the Ravens leaned harder on their rushing attack in the second half to wear down a Vikings defense that fared well with little help from the offense.
Jackson, making his 100th regular-season start, improved to 73-27 after going 17 of 29 for 176 yards and a fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Mark Andrews. Jackson, who missed three games last month with a hamstring injury, ran nine times for 36 yards.
The overaggressive decisions by McCarthy and coach Kevin O’Connell were one forgivable issue for a quarterback playing his fourth career game, but the Vikings (4-5) were so off-kilter on offense they committed an astounding eight false-start penalties — as the home team.
Aaron Jones played through a shoulder injury and had 69 yards from scrimmage, including his first rushing touchdown of the season on Minnesota’s opening possession, but he had only had 12 touches against a Baltimore front that has been consistently vulnerable against the run.
The secondary has been another story for the Ravens after the acquisition of Alohi Gilman last month. That move has allowed them to frequently use a three-safety scheme and feature the many talents of star Kyle Hamilton, who was a pest for McCarthy all afternoon.
After allowing an average of 35 points over their first five games, the Ravens have given up just 15 per game over their last four. Though they yielded some chunks of pass-interference yardage down the stretch as a byproduct of the tight coverage, the Ravens held Vikings star Justin Jefferson to four receptions for 37 yards on 12 targets.
McCarthy finished 20 of 42 for 248 yards and ran five times for 48 yards.
Injury report
Vikings: OLB Jonathan Greenard (shoulder) was hurt when he landed hard after diving to try to catch Jackson on a scramble during the third quarter. He didn’t return. … TE Josh Oliver (foot) missed his second straight game. Backup CB Jeff Okudah (concussion) went on injured reserve this week. Safety Theo Jackson (concussion) was out.
Up next
• Baltimore plays at Cleveland next Sunday.
• Minnesota hosts the Bears on Sunday (noon, Fox 32).