The Minnesota Vikings dropped to 4-5 after a 27-19 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on November 9 at U.S. Bank Stadium. The offense never found its rhythm, committing eight false start penalties in front of the home crowd.
Second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy tried to build on his performance against the Detroit Lions but had a rough afternoon, completing 20 of 42 passes for 248 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.
While the Ravens did record 27 points, for the most part, the defense kept them in check as Baltimore didn’t score a touchdown until the third quarter. Moreover, Vikings star Justin Jefferson believes that the loss was more a result of the self-inflicted wounds that Minnesota imposed upon itself throughout the game.
“When you look at eight pre-snap penalties, that’s very difficult to recover from,” Jefferson told reporters postgame. “Moving from first and 10 to second and 15 or second and 20 makes the play call smaller. There are only a few plays you can run to get those first downs.
“We were shooting ourselves in the foot, moving backward, and that’s not something the defense caused. It’s something we can control and fix ourselves. We have to look in the mirror and figure out how to improve this offense.”
Kevin O’Connell Also Talks About False Start Issues
The eight false start penalties are tied for the second-most in a game since 2000, per ESPN. After the game, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell also addressed the issue with the media.
“Well, I think we got to have a conversation as a group,” O’Connell told reporters postgame. “What transpired? It doesn’t feel like all eight of those were the same scenario, the same sequence. We try to eliminate them all.
“That’s been a huge point of what we think it’s going to take to win the game every week, whether it’s Monday or Wednesday or Friday, talking with the team about eliminating those self-inflicteds, and we didn’t do that in any way, shape, or form. We’ve got to fix it. We’ve got to understand what was different today than what had been something we felt like we eliminated from maybe early on in the season.”
Justin Jefferson Comments on Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy
Minnesota hurt itself with several false start penalties, but that wasn’t the only reason the team fell short against the Ravens. Justin Jefferson’s quiet outing played a part as well, as he was targeted 12 times but came away with only four catches for 37 yards.
It’s been a difficult 2025 NFL season for Jefferson, who has topped 100 receiving yards in just two games, and neither of those came with McCarthy under center. So far, the chemistry between the two hasn’t clicked the way Minnesota hoped it would.
Following his performance in the loss, Jefferson was asked about his connection with McCarthy, as it still needs significant improvement.
“Just going back to work,“ Jefferson said. “Of course, giving him that motivation and giving those words to keep going keep fighting, not let the bad plays affect him. It falls on us as a whole offense.”
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