NFL
By: Joey MacDonald
On Saturday afternoon, the Baltimore Ravens headed to the Twin Cities for a preseason matchup against the Minnesota Vikings. And, for the 2nd preseason game in a row, the Ravens defense held their opponent to under 10 points. That ended in a 13-3 win over the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday afternoon.
In Week 2 of the preseason, there were many more positives on defense side than on the offensive side. The positives from this game is particular, were the pass rush and blitzes that HC Jesse Minter came with. And what it led to is a total of 5 sacks on the day for the Ravens’ pass rush. Keondre Jackson, Ethan Burke, and Mike Green each had 1 sack, and Chandler Rivers and David Olajiga each had 0.5 sacks.
The Ravens’ defense not only got 5 sacks against the Minnesota Vikings but create 2 turnovers in the 4th quarter. On the first play of the 4th quarter, the Ravens forced a fumble that led to a field goal. The defense also made an interception by undrafted rookie safety Silas Walters with less than 5 minutes left. The defense, for 2 straight weeks, has shown that this defense means business, and it is old-school Baltimore Ravens football.
Even though it’s only the preseason, the Ravens defense has been showing what the team’s greatness came from historically. Not since the late 2000s and early 2010 where the defense been showing what it once was.
The offense in Week 2 was a different story from Week 1, particularly within the running game, where it was quiet. The running attack only had 58 yards rushing on the ground, which shouldn’t be a concern for the regular season. On the day, the leading rusher for the Ravens was 5th-year journeyman Johnathan Ward with only 35 rushing yards. And both QBs, Tyler Huntley and Joe Fagnano, ran for 10 yards on a couple of scrambling plays.
The passing game had another decent day on the field, with 10 players catching at least one pass on Saturday. 5th-round pick TE Josh Cuevas led the Ravens in receiving yards with 46 yards on 3 receptions on the day. Both wide receivers, Devontez Walker and LaJohntay Wester both had good days catching the football with a combined 7 catches. Walker had a 2-catch day for 32 yards on 3 targets on Saturday, while Wester had 5 catches for 24 yards.
LaJohntay Wester had the only touchdown on Saturday afternoon with an 8-yard catch in the 3rd quarter from Joe Fagnano. And, with the return duties as well, LaJohntay Wester will be the main return guy for the Baltimore Ravens in 2026.
The offensive line was a little bit of a nightmare against the Vikings, where they struggled against the rush. But they were able to allow only 1 sack on the entire day, which was better than Week 1. This could be an indicator that the offensive line will be a watch-out-for in 2026 for the offense.
Special Teams on the day had a solid day from both kicker Tyler Loop and rookie Punter Ryan Eckley. Tyler Loop on the day was perfect in both of his kicks from 49 yards and 20 yards. Rookie punter Ryan Eckley punted the ball 6 times and pinned the Minnesota Vikings twice inside the 20-yard line.
With only 1 game left in the preseason, there are still some question marks surrounding the Baltimore Ravens. One question is whether the Baltimore Ravens carry only 2 quarterbacks or will they carry 3 quarterbacks. Another question is whether Tyler Loop can get back on track after making 2 field goals on the day. And the last question is who will be the starting center for the Baltimore Ravens come Week 1 on September 13th.
The Baltimore Ravens’ last preseason game will be against their Beltway neighbors, the Washington Commanders, on Friday, August 28th. And, after that, the Ravens will have some tough decisions on who makes the Week 1 roster for September 13th.
