Vikings Defense Picks Jackson Twice but Struggles…

Willekes led all defensive linemen with seven tackles and two quarterback hits in his second NFL game.

But at the end of the day, none of those stats truly matter when the team comes up short. The Vikings defense truly seemed to leave it all on the field in Baltimore, which makes it that much harder to fly home with the L.

The Ravens dominated time of possession, maintaining control of the ball for 46:04 of the nearly 70-minute contest. They also recorded 36 first downs to Minnesota’s 13 and totaled an even 500 net yards.

Zimmer acknowledged the defense was gassed toward the end of the game.

“They started pounding us pretty good late in the game,” he said.

“We were playing pretty good on defense, so for the first half, I thought we played really well on but then kind of got worn down,” Zimmer later added.

Kendricks didn’t use fatigue as an excuse.

“It is what is. We’ve got to do our jobs for sure on defense. There’s only so much we can control,” Kendricks said. “Stopping the run, containing what they’ve got going on offense is what we can do – making plays on third and fourth down. That’s crucial, especially in a game like this where it comes down to the wire.”

The Vikings gave up 116 receiving yards to Marquise Brown, after allowing the wideout only 13 in the first half. Brown had three catches for 43 yards in the second half and an overwhelming four catches for 60 yards in overtime.

Among the most costly plays for Minnesota was an 18-yard catch given up to Brown on third-and-15 in a fourth-quarter drive capped by a Devin Duvernay touchdown.

“We pressured them, and they threw a wide receiver screen,” Zimmer said. “We had a guy jump inside the block who was in charge of contain and didn’t do it.”

Sunday’s loss marked the seventh time in Minnesota’s eight games that the outcome has been decided in the final seconds and by seven or fewer points. The Vikings have also gone into overtime three times before the midpoint of the season, and they now have to prep for a road game on the opposite coast, when they play the Chargers next Sunday.

It’s wearisome, but the Vikings only have their sights set on one thing.

“There’s only one thing to do, man, is to get back work. We’ve been fighting every single game,” Kendricks said. “It seems like every single game we lose in overtime or by a field goal or something. But there’s only one thing to do, and it’s start on Wednesday, [feel] this hurt, come back to work with a new attitude and just do it again and just grind.

“It’ll start coming for us, man,” he added.