RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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The Minnesota Vikings hosted the Baltimore Ravens at U.S. Bank Stadium on Saturday after two days of joint practices against them earlier this week. After the starters got plenty of work in practice, Saturday's game featured mostly backups, so it's hard to say how much the Vikings' 13-3 loss matters.
But while the score doesn't matter, what individual players did certainly holds value. J.J. McCarthy got the start and completed a beautiful 50-yard pass to Tai Felton on the second drive of the game, but the third-year quarterback was erratic outside of that. The offense then appeared to find its rhythm when Carson Wentz entered the game in the second quarter.
J.J. McCarthy goes DEEP to Tai Felton! Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/cvO0UUGoCb
— NFL (@NFL) August 22, 2026 Questions remain as to who will be EDGE3 off the bench when the season rolls around, but Minnesota got contributions from several players on Saturday. But is that enough to keep the Vikings from signing or trading for a veteran to back up Dallas Turner and Andrew Van Ginkel?
Here are three takeaways from Minnesota's second preseason game.
Instant Takeaways from the Vikings preseason game against the Ravens
Carson Wentz looks poised to be QB2
This hurts as someone who spent most of the 2025 season defending McCarthy, but for the second straight week, Wentz displayed the composure one would expect of a backup quarterback. He went 9/11 for 92 yards, leading the Vikings on an eight-play, 57-yard drive in the final 1:48 of the first half to set up a 52-yard field goal by Will Reichard.
Wentz completed passes of 36 and 15 yards on back-to-back plays to spark the drive. A three-yard gain on the next play looked inconsequential, but it was an RPO look where Wentz got the ball out of his hands quickly with little wasted movement.
Carson Wentz throws it up to Jeshaun Jones who hauls in the tough 36-yard reception 👀 Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/GdocS8a5jq
— NFL (@NFL) August 22, 2026 Compare that with McCarthy. We shouldn't discredit his 50-yard pass, as he did a great job stepping up in the pocket and giving Felton an opportunity to make a play. But he had two opportunities to finish the drive with a touchdown. He rifled a pass too high to Felton in the back of the end zone, where a bit more touch and accuracy could have given the receiver a better chance to make the play. To be fair, this would have been a difficult completion.
However, on 4th-and-goal from the 1-yard line, McCarthy again threw a fastball that was high and slightly behind Myles Price on what would have been a wide-open touchdown. There was a defender who got his hands up, and the ball did go through Price's hands, but the pass had a lot of heat on it and was much more difficult than it should have been.
McCarthy finished 5/10 for 81 yards, going 4/9 for 31 yards outside of the 50-yard completion. It was another example in a long line of inconsistent performances by McCarthy, who flashes potential but follows it up with questionable ball placement. I'd be surprised if Wentz isn't Kyler Murray's primary backup heading into the regular season.
Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins flashed early
The quarterbacks have dominated the conversations surrounding the Vikings, but the depth at EDGE rusher may be the second biggest storyline to monitor. As long as veterans like Haason Reddick and Joey Bosa remain available, there will be speculation that Minnesota will add a veteran to back up Turner and Van Ginkel.
However, Ingram-Dawkins, who has been playing a lot of EDGE this offseason, was disruptive early in Saturday's game. He got a run stop for a two-yard gain on the first defensive play of the game, then followed that up by splitting a double-team and drawing a holding penalty while flushing Ravens QB Tyler Huntley out of the pocket.
Ingram-Dawkins was limited to only seven snaps and, as of the time of this writing, was given a 45.5 PFF grade, the second-lowest among Vikings defenders. But his early contributions showed that there is potential for him to be a contributor off the bench.
Tyler Batty played 21 snaps after seeing lots of time mixing in with the second-team defense during joint practices. He generated an 80.3 grade, the sixth-highest among defenders, while adding two pressures. Bo Richter and Chaz Chambliss, also battling for meaningful reps at EDGE, graded out at 69.0 and 68.9, respectively.
Are these performances enough to ease concerns about their on-field viability as rotational EDGE guys? Or are these quality special teamers who are overachieving against inferior competition in the preseason? It may not be enough to dissuade GM Nolan Teasley from adding someone like Reddick or Bosa, but it could show there can be some level of trust they can contribute as deep rotational guys if needed.
The depth at wide receiver is intriguing
Minnesota's top three receivers are set, but the rest of the depth chart is in question. Price and Felton seem to be neck-and-neck in their battle for WR4, but they're probably both going to make the roster either way. But whether or not the Vikings carry five or six receivers could come down to how they value three other players.
Dillon Bell, Jeshaun Jones, and Dontae Fleming each bring different skill sets, and they have all made plays throughout training camp and the preseason. Bell, a UDFA out of Georgia, received a 68.2 grade on Saturday, the second-highest on the team behind Felton. He caught six passes for 51 yards on nine targets, taking advantage of a 5.3 ADOT that showed off his YAC ability.
Jones lost a fumble, but he still caught five passes for 63 yards on six targets and has been making plays throughout camp once again. Fleming caught two passes for 16 yards on three targets but also had a punt return for 14 yards.
Special teams ability could be what separates one of these players from the others. Jones has spent the past two years on Minnesota'...
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