Baltimore Ravens at Minnesota Vikings: Fourth Quarter Open Thread

Holding on to a 9-6 halftime lead over the Baltimore Ravens, the Minnesota Vikings got the football first when the teams came out of the locker room at halftime. The kickoff from Justin Tucker went through the back of the end zone for a touchback, giving Case Keenum and company the start at their own 25-yard line. Latavius Murray got things going early, as he took a handoff on the first play and burst 35 yards into Baltimore territory at the 40-yard line. Two plays later, Keenum scrambled for nine yards and another first down to the Baltimore 26.

Murray then picked up nine more, and for the first time on the afternoon, the Vikings were in the Baltimore red zone. Minnesota appeared to have another first down, but Adam Thielen was called for offensive pass interference to negate it. Jerick McKinnon could not pick up the first down, and Kai Forbath came in once again. He hit his fourth field goal of the afternoon, this one another 43-yarder, and the Vikings extended their lead to six at 12-6.

Baltimore’s first drive of the second half resulted in a three-and-out, capped by a sack of Joe Flacco by Anthony Barr, giving the team three sacks on the afternoon. Sam Koch came in to punt it away to Marcus Sherels, and he once again returned a punt into Baltimore territory, this time to the 46-yard line.

A couple of Case Keenum completions, one to Adam Thielen and one to Kyle Rudolph, moved the ball down to the Baltimore 29. Latavius Murray did the rest from there, as he took a handoff from Keenum and found his way into the end zone for his first touchdown as a Minnesota Viking, a 29-yard run for the game’s first touchdown! That gave the Vikings a 18-6 lead, and Forbath. . .he who absolutely cannot miss on field goals. . .bounced the extra point off of the right upright.

Forbath’s next kickoff went into the end zone for a touchback, giving Flacco and company the ball at their own 25-yard line. They started the drive with an inside handoff to Michael Campanaro, a 19-yard gain that put the Ravens near midfield. Two carries for Alex Collins then gave the Ravens another first down and moved them into Minnesota territory at the 44. Facing another third down, however, the Ravens could not convert, and found themselves facing 4th-and-5 from the Minnesota 29. In came Justin Tucker for another field goal attempt, this one from 47 yards, and he split the uprights to put the Ravens closer to the Vikings at a score of 18-9.

On the next drive, for just the second time on the afternoon, the Vikings had to punt the ball away after a three-and-out. Ryan Quigley’s punt was fair caught by Campanaro at the Baltimore 21. As we move to the fourth quarter, the Ravens are looking at 3rd-and-10 from their own 21.

We’ve got fifteen minutes of football left at U.S. Bank Stadium, and the Minnesota Vikings lead a fairly ugly ball game over the Baltimore Ravens by a score of 18-9. Can the good guys hold on for a third consecutive victory?