7 immediate takeaways from the Vikings' preseason loss to the Ravens

Following a pair of joint practices earlier this week, the Minnesota Vikings and Baltimore Ravens stepped onto the field inside U.S. Bank Stadium for a preseason showdown on Saturday.

Unlike their first preseason matchup last week, the majority of the starters, including quarterback Kyler Murray, did not start for the Vikings on Saturday against the Ravens. With this being the case, fans in the building got to see a lot more of the guys fighting for some of the final spots on Minnesota's roster.

The Vikings ultimately walked off the field with a 13-3 loss, and we'll have more in-depth looks into what happened against Baltimore on Saturday, but let's go over some of the initial takeaways from Minnesota's second preseason game of the summer.

Instant reactions from the Minnesota Vikings' second 2026 preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens

J.J. McCarthy had some moments, but the same problems still exist

J.J. McCarthy looked more decisive during Minnesota's first drive of the matchup. After missing on his first pass, McCarthy completed his next three attempts for 24 yards.

During Minnesota's second offensive drive, he completed an impressive 50-yard pass to wide receiver Tai Felton, but then he followed it up by missing two targets in the end zone from inside the Ravens' five-yard line.

Overall, McCarthy had more positive plays in Saturday's game than he did in the Vikings' first preseason matchup last week, but it's not like he had a high bar to clear.

In about a quarter of action, he finished 5-for-10 for 81 yards, no touchdowns, and no interceptions, which amounted to a 77.5 passer rating.

Despite the improved performance, he still had some moments where he held onto the ball in the pocket too long or fired 100 mph passes at his targets when it wasn't necessary, which led to negative plays, and those continue to be aspects of his game that need to be fixed.

Carson Wentz continues to be the obvious choice for QB2 in Week 1

After McCarthy's time on the field came to an end, Carson Wentz stepped into the huddle, and he immediately looked way more in control of the offense than McCarthy did, as he should, though, since he's been in the NFL since 2016.

It's not like Wentz looked like prime Tom Brady out on the field on Saturday; he wasn't perfect (took two sacks), but everything just seemed to run a lot smoother when he was lining up under center.

Minnesota only scored three points in the entire game, and it shouldn't surprise anyone that the scoring took place when Wentz was in at quarterback. During his time on the field against the Ravens, Wentz went 9-for-11 for 92 yards, no touchdowns, and no interceptions, which led to a solid 101.5 passer rating.

At 23-years-old, McCarthy currently has more upside than Wentz. However, if Minnesota head coach Kevin O'Connell wants his offense to continue to run well if a QB2 is needed at any point in the 2026 season, Wentz should be the guy in the No. 2 spot on the depth chart over McCarthy.

Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins makes his presence felt early

Versatile defender Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins continued his rise this summer, getting an early quarterback pressure and a tackle on Baltimore's first offensive drive of the contest. In his second year with the Vikings, Ingram-Dawkins is definitely going to have an important role for the team's defense this season.

Tai Felton makes the catch this time

As mentioned earlier, Felton had an impressive catch in the opening quarter that resulted in a 50-yard gain. A much better outcome than last week against the Giants, when he couldn't haul in a perfect throw from McCarthy.

Catches like that should help Minnesota feel better about the guy who is probably going to begin the regular season as the team's No. 4 receiver

Caleb Banks continues to be a work in progress

Vikings fans are excited about the potential of first-round pick Caleb Banks, but in the last two weeks, it's been very obvious that the young defensive lineman hasn't played much football in the last 12 months.

Banks got a bunch of time on the field on Saturday (started the game and was still getting snaps in the third quarter), but as SKOR North's Judd Zulgad pointed out, Baltimore's offensive linemen seemed to get the best of Banks more often than not in the matchup.

Demond Claiborne didn't shine, but he held onto the ball

Fumbling the football has been an issue for Demond Claiborne in training camp this summer, but the Minnesota rookie running back did a good job of not letting the ball hit the turf on Saturday.

Claiborne only gained 25 yards on nine touches against the Ravens (18 rushing and seven receiving), but zero fumbles is probably what the Vikings' coaches will be the most happy about from his performance on Saturday.

Vikings still don't turn to the run when on the goal line

Even in the preseason, Minnesota's offense couldn't help itself as they called a pass play in a shotgun formation on 4th-and-Goal from the one-yard line midway through the first quarter that resulted in McCarthy missing a wide-open Myles Price on the right side of the end zone.

All offseason long, the Vikings have been emphasizing that they have this totally revamped rushing attack. So, 4th-and-Goal on the one-yard line seemed like a perfect opportunity to test that new-and-improved rushing attack, but Minnesota clearly felt otherwise.

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