MINNEAPOLIS — The Vikings hosted and defeated the Baltimore Ravens **24-16*** *on Sunday behind a **strong defensive performance**, **impressive special teams** and a season-best 169 yards rushing.
Latavius Murray rushed for **113 yards on 18 carries**. He had a 35-yard rush to open the second half and a 29-yard touchdown midway through the third quarter.
Here are three stats that stood out:
1. 3.3 yards allowed per play
The Vikings defense continued to be strong against the run and stymied an injury-depleted Ravens passing game. Baltimore and Minnesota had the same number of offensive plays (64), but the Vikings limited the Ravens to 3.3 yards per play, and the offense averaged 5.6 yards per play.
Nose tackle Linval Joseph received high marks from analytics site Pro Football Focus, garnering an overall grade of 91.4 that topped all interior defenders in Week 7. Joseph was credited with a run-defense grade of 93.7 and three run stops by PFF.
2. Packed with pressure
Everson Griffen led the Vikings with 2.0 of the team's five total sacks of Joe Flacco. In addition to the two takedowns that extended his streak of games with at least one sack to seven, Griffen also was credited by PFF with three other pressures on 40 passing snaps.
Danielle Hunter recorded the first sack of Flacco on the opening drive of the game. Tom Johnson and Anthony Barr also took down the QB.
In addition to combining for 42 lost yards, the sacks also prompted Flacco to get rid of the ball quickly. PFF noted his average time of 2.14 seconds to throw was the fastest of any quarterback in Week 7. When Flacco was pressured, he was 3-of-6 passing for seven yards.
View game action images as the Vikings take on the Baltimore Ravens at U.S. Bank Stadium Sunday.
3. No sacks allowed
The Vikings offensive line endured two injuries during the game but **kept grinding**.
Minnesota averaged 5.1 yards per rush, and Case Keenum was not sacked for a second straight week and third game this season.
PFF said the Vikings offensive line "had one of its strongest pass-blocking performances of the season." The site counted a total of just four hurries allowed by the unit and graded the overall pass blocking efficiency at 90.6.
