The two biggest plays the Vikings made on Sunday in Baltimore — Kirk Cousins' 50-yard touchdown pass to Justin Jefferson and Dalvin Cook's 66-yard run — came on their first two third downs of the day, suggesting things could be markedly different from a Week 8 loss to the Cowboys where they'd posted the NFL's worst third-down conversion rate (7.6 percent) of the season.
But as the rest of their 34-31 loss to the Ravens became another study in offensive frustration, there was perhaps no down more emblematic of their struggles than the one they needed to keep drives alive.