A Brief Look At Ravens/Vikings History

As we do almost every week leading up to game time, we’re going to look back at the history between the Minnesota Vikings and the team they’ll be taking on. This week, the opponent is the Baltimore Ravens and. . .well, there isn’t a whole lot of history between these two teams.

The Ravens came into existence in 1996, when the Cleveland Browns moved to Baltimore. Per an arrangement that was reached with the league, the team’s history and records remained in Cleveland, so the Ravens basically started out with a clean slate when they got to Baltimore. Because of that, history only shows five games between these two teams.

So, it probably won’t take us long to go through that history. As always, the numbers and facts in this post are brought to you by the good folks at Pro Football Reference.

Total Games Between the Vikings and the Ravens: 5

All-Time Record: Ravens, 3-2

Total Vikings Points Scored, Head-to-Head: 123 (24.6 points/game)

Total Ravens Points Scored, Head-to-Head: 137 (27.4 points/game)

Longest Vikings’ Winning Streak vs Ravens: 1, twice (13 December 1998 and 18 October 2009)

Longest Ravens’ Winning Streak vs Vikings: 2 (7 January 2002 - 25 December 2005)

Most Recent Vikings’ Home Win in Series: 18 October 2009 (final score 33-31)

Most Recent Ravens’ Road Win in Series: N/A (The Ravens have never won in Minnesota)

Biggest Vikings’ Home Win in Series: 2 points, 18 October 2009 (final score 33-31)

Biggest Ravens’ Road Win in Series: N/A (The Ravens have never won in Minnesota)

Current Streak: Ravens, 1 win

Of the five games that have happened between these two teams, only one of them has taken place in Minneapolis (which is why the Ravens haven’t won in Minnesota since the team relocated). I’m sure that a lot of folks remember that one, with the Ravens coming into the Metrodome for what turned into a wild back-and-forth contest. The Vikings jumped out to an early 14-0 lead, and extended their lead to 27-10 early in the third quarter. After that, the Ravens exploded in the fourth quarter, putting up 21 points to take a 31-30 lead. Ryan Longwell hit a field goal to give the Vikings the lead back, and Steven Hauschka was wide on a last-second attempt to preserve a 33-31 victory for Minnesota.

The last time these two teams got together, we were treated to another wild finish. In the cold and snow of Baltimore, and after Adrian Peterson went out with an injury early in the first quarter, the Vikings held a 12-7 lead just before the two-minute warning. After that, the final 2:05 of the game featured five touchdowns.

• A 1-yard touchdown pass from Joe Flacco to Dennis Pitta
• A 41-yard touchdown run from Toby Gerhart
• A 77-yard kickoff return from Jacoby Jones
• A 79-yard catch-and-run from Matt Cassel to Cordarrelle Patterson
• A 9-yard touchdown pass from Flacco to Marlon Brown

When the snow finally settled, what was a 12-7 Vikings’ lead with about two minutes left had quickly morphed into a 29-26 Baltimore victory.

The only other Minnesota victory in this series came in the first game between these two teams was the first meeting between these them in December of 1998. The Vikings’ offense was setting records that season, as we know, but it was actually kicker Gary Anderson that played a huge role in this one, as he connected on six field goals on the afternoon. The Ravens got out to a 14-6 lead in the first quarter, but then the Vikings’ offense got on a roll, scoring 29 unanswered points to cruise to a 35-14 lead after three quarters. The Ravens got a couple of late scores, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Vikings from winning by a score of 38-28.

That’s a brief look at the brief history between the Minnesota Vikings and the Baltimore Ravens. Hopefully the Vikings can take advantage of finally getting another opportunity to face the Ravens in Minnesota to even the all-time record between these two teams.