As we have been doing here every week this season leading up to each Minnesota Vikings game, we’re going to look back at the history between the Vikings and that week’s opponent. This week it’s the Baltimore Ravens.
Kickoff is at noon Sunday. The game will be televised on Fox, with Adam Amin on play-by-play, Mark Schlereth as analyst and Shannon Spake on the sideline.
But, there’s not a lot of history between the teams.
The Ravens’ existence began in 1996 when the Cleveland Browns moved to Baltimore.
In an arrangement that was reached with the NFL, the Browns history and records stayed in Cleveland and were picked up by the “new” Browns in a new stadium in 1999.
This will be the seventh time the Vikings have played the Ravens. That’s the second-fewest games against a current NFL team. Minnesota has played Houston six times.
This will be the fifth time in the seven meeting the teams will play in Baltimore.
Minnesota’s last visit to Baltimore was on Dec. 8, 2013, a 29-26 win by the Ravens.
The Vikings took a 12-7 lead with 14:22 to play when Jerome Simpson caught an 8-yard touchdown pass from Matt Cassel.
The finish to the game would be wild, with five touchdowns being scored in the final 2:05:
Joe Flacco connected with Dennis Pitta on a 1-yard touchdown play and Flacco threw the two-point conversion pass to Torrey Smith to give Baltimore a 15-12 lead.
Toby Gerhart scored on a 41-yard run and Blair Walsh kicked the extra point, giving the Vikings the lead back at 19-15 with 1:27 to play.
Jacoby Jones returned the ensuing kickoff 77 yards for a TD with Justin Tucker’s kick putting Baltimore back on top 22-19 with 1:16 remaining.
A 79-yard catch-and-run from Cassel to Cordarrelle Patterson and another Walsh PAT gave the Vikings a 26-22 advantage with 45 seconds left.
Flacco then threw a 9-ysrd TD pass to Marlon Brown with four seconds remaining and Tucker’s PAT made the final 29-26 in favor of the Ravens.
The loss left the Vikings with a 3-9-1 record. They would two of their last three to finish 5-10-1 and Leslie Frasier would be replaced as head coach during the offseason by Mike Zimmer.
Baltimore was 7-6 after the win and would finish 8-8.
First playoff game
The Vikings first ever playoff game was in Baltimore on Dec. 22, 1968, a 24-14 loss to the Colts in the Western Conference Championship game.
Earl Morrall threw two touchdown passes for Baltimore, 3 yards to Tom Mitchell and 49 yards to John Mackey. Mike Curtis returned a fumble 60 yards for a TD and Lou Michaels kicked a 33-yard field goal.
Joe Kapp threw two fourth-quarter TD pass for Minnesota, 1 yard to Bill Martin and 7 yards to Bill Brown.
The Colts would go on to beat the Cleveland Browns 34-0 in the NFL Championship game but lose Super Bowl III 16-7 to the New York Jets.
Stat of the Week
Safety Xavier Woods is one of only four players in the NFL to have at least two interceptions and two forced fumbles this season.
The others:
LB DeVondre Campbell, Green Bay
LB Darius Leonard, Indianapolis
S Kyzir White, Los Angeles Chargers
Notable
Since 2020, Adam Thielen is one of four wide receivers in the NFL to record at least 20 touchdowns. He joins Mike Evans of Tampa Bay, Davante Adams of Green Bay and Tyreek Hill of Kansas City.
Kicker Greg Joseph made three field goals vs. Dallas, marking the fourth time he’s kicked three field goals in a game this season. That ties him with Nick Folk of New England and Tyler Bass of Buffalo for most in the league.
The Vikings offense has allowed the third fewest sacks this season with 10, trailing only the Los Angeles Rams and Buffalo Bills, who have each allowed only 8.
Scores
The series between the Minnesota Vikings and Baltimore Ravens is tied 3-3
12-13-1998: Minnesota Vikings 38, Baltimore Ravens 28
01-07-2002: Baltimore Ravens 19, Minnesota Vikings 3
12-25-2005: Baltimore Ravens 30, Minnesota Vikings 23
10-18-2009: Minnesota Vikings 33, Baltimore Ravens 31
12-08-2013: Baltimore Ravens 29, Minnesota Vikings 26
10-22-2017: Minnesota Vikings 24, Baltimore Ravens 16
Points scored: Baltimore Ravens 153, Minnesota Vikings 147