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 struggled throughout the game, committing eight false start penalties at home.
Second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy aimed to build on his performance against the Detroit Lions but faced challenges, completing 20 of 42 passes for 248 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.
A major takeaway from the loss was the offense’s repeated false starts. According to ESPN, the eight penalties tie for the second-most in a single game since 2000.
Despite McCarthy’s efforts in this game, FS1 host Colin Cowherd didn’t hesitate to take a jab at the Vikings as Sam Darnold continues to impress with the Seattle Seahawks.
“Sam Darnold; total control of the Seahawks offense,” Cowherd wrote on X on November 9. “From pre-snap to production. [Has] anyone checked on the offense he left?”
This season has been a difficult one for Justin Jefferson. He has recorded over 100 receiving yards in only two games, and neither came with McCarthy starting at quarterback. The connection needed for those explosive performances has yet to develop.
Jefferson struggled against the Ravens, catching just four of 12 targets for 37 yards, which contributed to the Vikings’ loss, alongside self-inflicted false start penalties.
Colin Cowherd Continues to Call Out Vikings
Cowherd’s remarks aren’t the first time he’s addressed the Vikings quarterback situation and called out Minnesota for letting Darnold depart. On the November 3 episode of “The Herd,” Cowherd delivered a blunt assessment of Minnesota’s young signal-caller.
“He’s like the UPS driver,” Cowherd said about McCarthy. “I don’t know who he is, but they always deliver on time. The package is never screwed up. I love the delivery system. I don’t know if the UPS driver is any good. Seems like a nice guy.
“So it just felt a lot like the Michigan J.J. McCarthy, which is I love the coach at Michigan and the tight end and the defense. And that’s what I felt yesterday. It was fine. He was good on script, but it’s not a script league.”
Vikings Had Other Issues in Loss to Ravens
While Cowherd is focused on the quarterback play, other issues contributed to the Vikings’ loss to the Ravens, including false starts. After the game, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell addressed the problem with the media as they now have to turn the page to Week 11.
“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.”
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