Step by step, the Ravens are easing away from their awful 2025 start and moving toward relevance again. The Ravens were far from perfect at Minnesota in a Week 10 matchup, but they scored a pair of second-half touchdowns to take control and then held off one final Vikings drive to record a 27-19 win on Nov. 9.
It’s the third win in a row for the Ravens (4-5), who are seeking to become just the fifth team in NFL history to make the postseason after a 1-5 start.
Justice Hill ran for a touchdown in the third quarter, and Lamar Jackson threw a touchdown pass to Mark Andrews early in the fourth quarter as the Ravens opened a 27-13 lead after being held without a touchdown in the first half.
The Vikings (4-5) had their moments behind promising quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who was making just his fourth career start. He connected with Jalen Nailor on a 62-yard pass play on the Vikings’ opening drive, setting up a 4-yard touchdown run by Aaron Jones for an early 7-0 Minnesota lead.
McCarthy and Nailor later connected on a 10-yard touchdown pass with 3:23 left that cut the Ravens lead to 27-19. McCarthy finished 20-for-42 for 248 yards, and the Ravens bottled up his top receiver, All-Pro Justin Jefferson. He was targeted a game-high 12 times and finished with four catches for 37 yards, his lowest total in 15 games.
McCarthy also threw a pair of interceptions, the Vikings lost a fumble on a kickoff return and committed eight false starts, a sizeable portion of their 102 penalty yards.
The Ravens had their own issues, primarily with failed execution deep in Minnesota territory. Twice, they were stopped on drives inside the Vikings’ 10-yard line, including one in which they had first-and-goal at the 4.
That possession ended with Tyler Loop’s fourth field goal of the game, from 22 yards, for a 12-10 lead early in the third quarter.
The game turned on the ensuing kickoff, when Ravens safety Keondre Jackson forced and recovered a fumble at the Vikings’ 23-yard line. Six plays later, Justice Hill powered in for a 1-yard touchdown run and a 19-10 lead.
With the Ravens ahead 19-13, they mounted their best drive of the day. Henry carried six times and caught one pass on the 11-play drive, which ended with Jackson’s 2-yard touchdown pass to Mark Andrews. A two-point conversion from Jackson to Rashod Bateman extended the Ravens lead to 27-13 with 10:40 to play.
McCarthy’s touchdown pass to Nailor got the Vikings again within one score, and a Vikings stop gave them one final chance in the final two minutes. But when McCarthy’s fourth-down pass fell incomplete near midfield, the Ravens had secured their third straight win and taken another step away from the misery of the season’s opening month.
Here are five quick impressions of the win, which was Jackson’s 100th career start (he’s 73-27 in those games):
1. Takeaways lead to wins.
One of the biggest, most tangible changes for this team during its winning streak has been its ability to take the ball away. During their 1-5 start, the Ravens had a total of three takeaways, with two fumble recoveries and one interception.
In the three-game winning streak, they have seven, including three in each of the past two games.
The Ravens picked off Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy twice on deep shots. Malaki Starks essentially played center field on a bomb that McCarthy forced down the middle of the field, and Starks ranged over for his second interception in as many games.
Then on the Vikings’ opening drive of the third quarter, they faced third-and-inches near midfield. Perhaps trying to catch the Ravens off-guard, McCarthy aired out a deep ball intended for All-Pro receiver Justin Jefferson. But Jefferson stumbled and fell, leaving Marlon Humphrey all alone for his first interception of the season.
The third takeaway might have been the biggest. Covering a kickoff after Tyler Loop’s 22-yard field goal, Ravens safety Keondre Jackson poked the ball away from Vikings kickoff returner Myles Price and recovered at the Vikings’ 23-yard line. That led to a 1-yard touchdown run by Justice Hill and a 19-10 Ravens lead.
Jackson, an undrafted rookie, was added to the 53-man roster off the practice squad last week because of his impact role on special teams.
It’s a tale as old as time in the NFL: Create turnovers and you win games. The Ravens, who have talked for months about making it happen, finally are doing that, and it’s a big reason they have reeled off three straight wins.
2. Just play Kyle Hamilton everywhere.
Of course, the Ravens can’t do that, but moving Kyle Hamilton closer to the line of scrimmage has changed the look and play of this defense. Hamilton’s length, physicality and range have a consistent impact. He finished this game with just one tackle, but he also had one quarterback hit and two passes defensed, and McCarthy was affected by the presence of Hamilton throughout.
At one point, Hamilton lined up as if he were ready to fire off the right edge, and just before the snap he bailed, his 6-foot-4 frame quickly floating back to cover deep. McCarthy initially looked deep, but with Hamilton suddenly there, thought better of it, and with the pocket collapsing, he rushed an incompletion elsewhere. That play won’t show up on any stat sheet for Hamilton, but it showed how he can affect the game.
The Ravens were wise to acknowledge that they are a better defense with Hamilton playing closer to the line of scrimmage, and it led them to trade for safety Alohi Gilman. By pairing Gilman with Malaki Starks at the back end of the Ravens’ defense, Hamilton is freed up to range all over the field.
For his part, Hamilton said he’ll play wherever they need him to play, and there might be gameplans that call for him to focus on covering deep.
After being among the league’s lowest-rated defenses over the first six weeks of the season, the Ravens have held four straight opponents under 20 points. To be sure, facing Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes in the first month, and a rash of injuries to defensive players — including Hamilton — played a role in that putrid start.
But among the many reasons this defense looks more complete and more composed recently, Hamilton’s positioning is near the top of the list.
3. Red-zone woes hampered the offense, but give Todd Monken credit for creativity.
The Ravens have consistently had trouble in short-yardage situations this season, and early in this game they did again. Facing third-and-2 at the Vikings’ 10-yard line, Derrick Henry tried to run left behind Pro Bowl fullback Patrick Ricard and Pro Bowl left tackle Ronnie Stanley. He got nowhere.
Later, the Ravens had first-and-goal from the Vikings’ 4-yard line. They netted 0 yards on three plays with a run by Henry and two incompletions. That series ended with Tyler Loop’s fourth field goal for a 12-10 lead.
Offensive coordinator Todd Monken, though, did have a couple of creative short-yardage wrinkles that worked and deserve credit. After the Ravens recovered a Vikings’ fumble, they faced third-and-1 from the Vikings’ 14. They lined up in their “tush push” formation with Mark Andrews under center. Surely the Vikings have seen the play on tape. But instead of surging forward, Andrews took the snap and tossed a pitch to Lamar Jackson, who ran around right end for 3 yards and first down. Three plays later, Justice Hill scored a touchdown for a 19-10 lead.
Later, the Ravens faced third-and-2 from the 9-yard line. Rather than give to Henry, Jackson kept the ball and ran left, with Henry, Ricard, Stanley and pulling center Tyler Linderbaum all forming a rolling wall in front of him. Jackson gained 7 yards and a first down. On the next play, Jackson threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Andrews and a 27-13 lead.
The Ravens’ short-yardage offense needs to be better, and missed opportunities have been a recurring problem this season. Credit to Monken for getting creative and trying a couple of different things in those spots.
4. The Ravens could call Keaton Mitchell’s number more often.
The Ravens came out of their bye week self-evaluation determined to get fleet-footed running back Keaton Mitchell more involved; that wasn’t hard to do considering he was inactive for the first month of the season.
The Ravens have indeed rediscovered Mitchell, but in just limited spurts.
Against the Vikings, Mitchell carried on three straight plays, including runs of 22 and 9 yards, in the second quarter. He had just one other touch the rest of the game. He finished with four carries for 31 yards.
Mitchell has 15 carries for 93 yards this season, and his average of 6.2 yards per carry is easily the best among Ravens running backs. (Derrick Henry is at 4.8, Justice Hill at 5.2, with that number skewed by a 71-yard touchdown at Kansas City that accounts for all but 22 of his yards.)
The Ravens’ short-yardage struggles have been most pronounced running between the tackles. Mitchell has the ability to stretch the field laterally.
To be sure, Henry remains the workhorse of this backfield and rightfully so. He finished this game with 20 carries for 75 yards, and he was the dominant force on the Ravens’ last, best touchdown drive of the game.
But when a guy is averaging better than 6 yards a carry, with speed to win to the edge on a team that struggles to run inside, it might be worth calling his number more often. Good things tend to happen when the ball is in his hands.
5. The Ravens need to keep taking advantage of their schedule.
Ever since their 1-5 start, the Ravens have said they are in playoff mode, with a must-win mind-set to dig out of that hole and get back into the AFC North discussion. To their credit, they have done that, with three straight wins, and three more highly winnable games before they face the Pittsburgh Steelers in early December.
The Ravens’ next three games are against teams with a combined record of 7-20, beginning with an AFC North matchup at Cleveland (2-7) on Nov. 16. They then host the New York Jets (2-7) on Nov. 23 and Joe Flacco and the Cincinnati Bengals (3-6) on Thanksgiving night.
Yes, it’s a week-to-week league, and winning in Cleveland is a challenge no matter the records — who can forget Kyle Hamilton dropping a game-clinching interception last year before Jameis Winston threw a game-winning touchdown with 59 seconds left? The Ravens are 1-3 in their last four trips to Cleveland.
But for the first time all season, this team has some momentum and the defense has some swagger.
For all the early-season flaws, if the Ravens can keep up that momentum and take advantage of the soft underbelly of their schedule as they have done lately, first place in the division could be on the line when they host the Steelers at M&T Bank Stadium on Dec. 7.
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