The turnover helped Baltimore win its third straight

MINNEAPOLIS — All season, Ravens coaches and players have been preaching turnovers. Finally, they began to see the mantra come true.

On Sunday against the Vikings, rookie safety Malaki Starks threw his second interception in as many games, cornerback Marlon Humphrey added another and undrafted rookie free agent safety Keondre Jackson helped force a punt return and recover it to help propel Baltimore to its third straight win, 27-19, at a raucous U.S. Bank Stadium that drew slightly more sedately in each game.

The win puts the Ravens (4-5) within .500 play after starting the season with five losses in their first six games. More importantly, the defense that has been maligned through the first five weeks of the season appears to be turning around and returning to its swagger.

Three of Baltimore’s turnovers led to two of Tyler Loop’s four field goals on the day and Justice Hill’s 1-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter. Then the defense, along with Derrick Henry (75 yards on 20 carries) and Lamar Jackson (17 of 29 passing for 176 yards and a touchdown; 36 yards rushing on 9 carries), helped put the game away.

But no turnover was more important than the two in a row to open the second half.

With Minnesota (4-5) holding a 10-9 lead on the opening possession of the third quarter and facing third-and-1 from midfield, quarterback JJ McCarthy threw it to Justin Jefferson, but the All-Pro wide receiver went down. Humphrey settled under the ball like a midfielder and easily pulled it in. One play later, Harrison Smith was flagged for pass interference on tight end Isaiah Likely, resulting in a 22-yard gain and ultimately a 22-yard field goal by Loop.

This gave Baltimore its first lead of the day, which it would not relinquish.

On the ensuing kickoff, undrafted rookie free agent Myles Price was picked off by quarterbacks Trenton Simpson and Keondre Jackson with Jackson recovering the ball at Minnesota’s 23. That helped set up the Ravens’ first touchdown six plays later with Hill scoring from one yard out.

Once the Ravens got the lead, the defense started to slack off, and the offense ended up being pretty fluid as well.

On the Vikings’ next possession, McCarthy’s pass to Jordan Addison on fourth-and-2 from Baltimore’s 46 fell incomplete. That eventually led to Loop’s 56-yard field goal attempt, but it went wide left.

Ravens vs. Vikings, November 9, 2025 | PHOTO

Will Reichart added a 43-yard field goal on Minnesota’s next series to cut the deficit to 19-13 at the 2:20 mark of the third quarter, but that was as close as it would get the rest of the game.

When Baltimore got the ball back, it leaned on its ground game to eat up valuable time and wear down the Vikings. Henry carried the ball six times for 39 yards, and Jackson completed all three pass attempts, including to Mark Andrews for a 2-yard touchdown followed by a 2-point conversion to Rashod Bateman to push the lead to two scores.

Still, the Vikings managed to stay away.

McCarthy led a nine-play, 65-yard drive that was aided by a replay assist that reversed an interception by quarterback Roquan Smith and ended with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Nailor in the back of the end zone with cornerback Nate Wiggins thinking the receiver was out of bounds. That got Minnesota within eight points, but the 2-point conversion attempt – a pass to Nailor – fell short.

Facing a fourth-and-4 with 21 seconds remaining, McCarthy’s pass to Aaron Jones fell short.

This article will be updated. Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1.