What were the positive, negative, and interesting things from the Week 7 NFL game between the Minnesota Vikings and Baltimore Ravens on October 22, 2017?
Entering Week 7 of the 2017 NFL season with a 4-2 record, the Minnesota Vikings currently sit on top of the NFC North and look to create separation with a big win over the Baltimore Ravens on October 22nd.
The Ravens and Vikings have both been dealing with injuries. However, Baltimore has been unable to recover offensively like Minnesota has been, and it has resulted in one of the worst scoring units in the league.
The Vikings were able to come away with a win in Week 7 against the Ravens by a final score of 24-16, making their record on the season 5-2 headed into their London game against the Cleveland Browns.
The big question is what were the positives and negatives from Week 7 against the Baltimore Ravens? Let’s keep the trend alive and talk about all of the good stuff first.
The positives from Week 7 vs Ravens
- That run defense. There were seriously no holes for Baltimore to run through. Minnesota clogged all the holes and even played the edges very well against the run, making the Ravens have to pass in order to move the ball down the field.
- Kai Forbath showing off a boot! One of the biggest criticisms of Forbath’s game is his leg strength, but that is one part of his game that didn’t seem to be lacking at all, knocking through 2 field goals from over 50 yards out.
- Latavius Murray putting together his best game with the Vikings. A couple of big runs and the first touchdown of the game belong to Murray, who was struggling the first few weeks of the season. He should be a huge part of the offense going forward.
- The sacks keep piling up. Everson Griffen keeps his streak of games with a sack alive while Danielle Hunter, Anthony Barr, and Tom Johnson got in on the sack party too. It was a miserable game for Joe Flacco, with no real WRs left and very little time in the pocket.
- Special teams performers. Marcus Sherels made good decisions on returns, Ryan Quigley had a solid average on punts, and Forbath made some great kicks while keeping the Ravens from breaking any long returns. Good stuff from a unit that struggled last week.
The negatives from Week 7 vs Ravens
- You can’t tip the ball up twice. I’m all for trying some deep passes to Treadwell, but bad things will happen when the ball is tipped up by an offensive player. Can’t give the defense too many chances at the ball, especially when you’re trying to prove yourself for more playing time.
- Moving the ball. While the Ravens aren’t a bad squad defensively, I don’t think anyone expected Minnesota to struggle so much early on. Sure, an interception on the first drive set a bad tone, but the Vikings took a long time to recover and still didn’t see the red zone often enough.
- More silly penalties. A false start on Laquon Treadwell, offsides on Everson Griffen, and an unnecessary roughness call on Andrew Sendejo were the big mental mistakes made by the Vikings, even though a roughing the passer call on Tom Johnson got attention, the Treadwell one hurt the most because of the field positioning.
- Killer instinct. I know I say it often, but I’d love to see the Vikings want to put away games instead of sitting on leads and play it safe. I get that playing it safe is smart, but there is something to be said for crushing another’s team’s hopes instead of giving them opportunities.
- Keenum struggling to move the ball. The Vikings quarterback didn’t have the usual zip and accuracy on his passes this game. He seemed a bit out of rhythm but had some help from his receivers to keep the Vikings in contention.
The interesting things from Week 7 vs Ravens
- Andrew Sendejo throws his body around. When talking about Vikings that are big hitters, the conversation starts and stops with Sendejo. He always seems to have at least one HUGE hit each game. This week, he was flagged for a hit on Mike Wallace.
- The Bland pairing of announcers. Typically, I enjoy having two analysts that play well off each other. One to call the action on the field and another to interpret or analyze what is happening. I actually ended up toning out both Greg Gumbel and Trent Green, who just failed to grab any interest.
- Don’t show that. When a player takes a big hit and may have a concussion, stop showing them on the sidelines in a daze. It’s hard to watch that and reminding fans of the damage that can be done on the field during a broadcast probably isn’t good for the NFL. Hopefully, Mike Wallace recovers fully.
- The WWE loves the NFL! The Bar (Cesaro and Sheamus), as well as Minnesota native Curtis Axel of the WWE, are in town for the TLC pay per view and led the SKOL chant and sound the Gjallarhorn for this game. As a huge WWE fan, I absolutely loved seeing this!
- Sitting on top of the NFC North. The Vikings are now on top of the NFC North after the Green Bay Packers lost to the New Orleans Saints. The opponent next week is the Cleveland Browns, who have major issues with their offense.
Overall impression of Week 7 vs Ravens
As a whole, there was a lot to love and hate about the Minnesota Vikings week 7 game against the Ravens, and it should be both frustrating and encouraging for fans of the team hoping for a postseason berth.
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The good things are that the team can overcome adversity. Both the left tackle and left guard left the game, yet the offensive line still did a decent job of protecting the quarterback even though he had an off-day.
Make no mistakes, the Ravens defense isn’t bad. However, plays the Vikings usually make just weren’t working and instead, Minnesota turned to the ground game. Latavius Murray responded in a big way, rushing for over 100 yards and the team’s only touchdown.
Kai Forbath showed a bigger leg than in the past but still missed an extra point. However, the rest of the special teams unit played very well too, giving Minnesota the advantage in all three phases of the game.
Having a dominant defense allows an offense to have days where they struggle, but they won’t be able to do this against teams with a more explosive offensive attack. However, a win is a win, and it’s hard to complain about the results.
Next: Bridgewater thinks he will return this season
Next week, the Minnesota Vikings travel across the pond to London, where they will take on the Cleveland Browns in the International Series. This will be their last game before the bye week, and an important one in determining the future of the Vikings.