BALTIMORE — Another roadie, another OT and another soul-crushing loss.
Minnesota had split its previous overtime contests (a Week 1 loss at Cincinnati and a Week 6 win at Carolina), but fell Sunday 34-31 against the Ravens in Baltimore.
Justin Tucker's 36-yard field goal eased its way through the uprights with just 0:16 remaining in the extra period to cap Baltimore's final possession of overtime.
The Ravens had thrown an interception to end their first.
Anthony Barr tipped a ball near the line of scrimmage and pulled it down at the Minnesota 38-yard line.
It was the second interception thrown by Lamar Jackson, but the Vikings failed to capitalize, going three-and-out after a deep pass against a blitz by Baltimore on third-and-9 fell incomplete.
The Ravens overcame a first-and-20 situation during the winning drive with a 13-yard pass to Marquise Brown, a 5-yard run by Jackson and a 12-yard scamper by Le'Veon Bell on third-and-2 to move the ball to the Minnesota 19-yard line.
The Vikings offense snapped a long scoring drought by going 75 yards over the course of 10 plays and 2:26 to tie the game with 1:03 remaining.
Minnesota's defense was able to stop Baltimore at its own 49-yard line thanks to a holding penalty on Mark Andrews that created a third-and-13 with 17 seconds remaining. Sheldon Richardson and Kenny Willekes combined to sack Lamar Jackson on the final play of regulation.
The Ravens totaled 500 yards on 89 offensive plays, possessing the football a gargantuan 46:04 and wore down a shorthanded Vikings defense.
Jackson rushed 21 times for 120 yards, Devonta Freeman added 79 on 13 carries, and Le'Veon Bell added 48 yards and a score on 11 rushes.
Dalvin Cook led Minnesota with 110 rushing yards on 17 carries with 60 percent gained on a 66-yarder.
Justin Jefferson rushed on Minnesota's first play of the day for a gain of 11, and Kene Nwangwu recorded a gain of 9 on a fake punt.
Nwangwu returned the opening kickoff of the second half 98 yards for a touchdown.
Jefferson led Minnesota with 69 receiving yards, highlighted by a 50-yard reception but finished with three catches. Adam Thielen was limited to two receptions for 6 yards, including a score.
Kirk Cousins finished 17-of-28 passing for 187 yards, failing to crack 200 through the air for the second consecutive game after hitting the mark a franchise-record 15 games in a row.
Scoring Summary
Q1, 10:34 remaining
Ravens 3, Vikings 0
Justin Tucker kicks a 37-yard field goal [11 plays, 56 yards, 4:26 time of possession]
Costly and questionable: A fumble by Lamar Jackson on an option play that was recovered by Anthony Barr was negated due to a horse-collar tackle penalty on D.J. Wonnum, who started in place of Danielle Hunter. Wonnum appeared only to grab Jackson by the number on the back of his jersey.
Q1, 8:32 remaining
Vikings 7, Ravens 3
Justin Jefferson catches a 50-yard pass from Kirk Cousins (Greg Joseph kicks PAT) [5 plays, 79 yards, 2:02 time of possession]
Explosive start: The Vikings involved Jefferson on the first play of the game by rushing with the receiver and followed with a 15-yard run by Dalvin Cook for 26 quick yards. Three plays later, Jefferson ran past the Ravens secondary and protection allowed Cousins time to find him.
Q2, 13:15 remaining
Vikings 14, Ravens 3
Cousins rushes for 1 yard (Joseph kicks PAT) [11 plays, 94 yards, 6:29 time of possession]
Surge and second chance: Cook did the brunt of the damage during the drive with a 66-yard rush on third-and-1, going from the Minnesota 15-yard line to the Baltimore 19. Check out the extra block made by Brian O'Neill to spring Cook.
Minnesota tried a pass to Tyler Conklin on fourth-and-goal from the 1 and received a fresh set of downs when linebacker Chris Board was flagged for pass interference.
Q2, 1:25 remaining
Vikings 17, Ravens 3
Joseph kicks a 36-yard field goal [4 plays, minus-1 yard, 0:16 time of possession]
Trouble with change: The Vikings got the ball at the Baltimore 16 after Camryn Bynum returned his first career interception 27 yards. Cook was tackled for a loss of 2 on the next play, taking momentum out of the Vikings sails. Two incompletions stopped the clock without Baltimore having to use a timeout.
Q2, 0:19 remaining
Vikings 17, Ravens 10
Devonta Freeman catches a 5-yard pass from Jackson (Tucker kicks PAT) [6 plays, 75 yards, 1:06 time of possession]
Scramble drill: With the benefit of two timeouts remaining, Jackson was able to scramble three different times for a total of 24 yards, and the Ravens got 42 on a pass interference call against Xavier Woods.
Q3, 14:47 remaining
Vikings 24, Ravens 10
Kene Nwangwu returns a kickoff 98 yards (Joseph kicks PAT)
Welcome to the show: Nwangwu showed his speed on just the second kickoff return of his career. He had debuted last week against Dallas but the Cowboys recorded touchbacks on all their kickoffs.
Q3, 8:39 remaining
Vikings 24, Ravens 17
Patrick Ricard catches a 1-yard pass from Jackson (Tucker kicks PAT) [10 plays, 72 yards, 6:08 time of possession]
Triple threat: Ricard's scoring catch was his third reception of the drive. He gained 12 on third-and-14, allowing Baltimore to go for it on fourth-and-2 and added a 22-yard reception a play later.
Q4, 9:19 remaining
Vikings 24, Ravens 24
Devin Duvernay catches a 5-yard pass from Jackson (Tucker kicks PAT) [18 plays, 82 yards, 10:17 time of possession]
Right back to him: Jackson had the ball knocked out by his own teammate but it landed back in his hands for a gain of 7 on the second play of the drive. The Ravens converted a fourth-and-1, a third-and-2 and a third-and-15 on the way to tying the game.
Q4, 3:29
Ravens 31, Vikings 24
Le'Veon Bell rushes for 1 yard (Tucker kicks PAT) [7 plays, 61 yards, 4:16 time of possession]
Chunk plays: The Vikings defense looked exhausted from the previous drive, allowing at least 5 on all of Baltimore's plays before the score. The Ravens didn't need a third-down conversion during the possession, easily picking up a pair of second-and-2s.
Q4, 1:03 remaining
Ravens 31, Vikings 31
Adam Thielen catches a 1-yard pass from Cousins (Joseph kicks PAT) [10 plays, 75 yards, 2:26 time of possession]
OT, 0:16 remaining
Ravens 34, Vikings 31
Tucker kicks a 36-yard field goal [10 plays, 72 yards, 5:01 time of possession]
