4 Biggest Vikings Winners From 8/20 Joint Practice With Ravens

EAGAN, MN — Thursday wrapped up two days of intense joint practices between the Vikings and the visiting Baltimore Ravens before both teams face off on Saturday. Both teams’ starters got plenty of work before letting the backups have the spotlight when game time comes around.
Thursday followed a similar script to Wednesday, with a more balanced day from the first- and second-string offenses overall.

Kyler Murray was neither spectacular nor awful, instead having ups and downs with occasional “wow” throws that showcased touch, timing, and accuracy that were sorely missing from the 2025 offense. J.J. McCarthy had a solid day as well, with some impressive TD throws in red-zone work. He also threw a pick-six on a play where he likely would have taken a sack.

Whole squad lit 😂 pic.twitter.com/RZZDF8xvU6
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) August 20, 2026

Overall, the offense was once again a mixed bag until two-minute drills, when both units put together impressive drives. The defense had another dominant day, even with Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore offense making adjustments. While completely slowing down one of the AFC’s premier offenses is a nearly impossible task, Brian Flores and his defense sure slowed them down, especially late. Baltimore’s number one offense fell short in the two-minute situational as new Viking corner James Pierre picked off Jackson to end the day.

Here are my four biggest winners from Thursday’s joint practice for the Vikes:

Dallas Turner

I cannot say enough about how impressive Dallas Turner was over two days of joint practices. He was everywhere, especially in the backfield. When Ronnie Stanley closes his eyes tonight, he’ll see number 15.

Ronnie Stanley has had an awfully difficult time with Dallas Turner in these practices. Turner has at least two sacks today.
— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) August 20, 2026

In all, Turner ended the two joint days with at least five sacks, and that's playing it safe by giving credit to Lamar Jackson’s elusiveness in a real game setting. He just dominated, plain and simple. The third-year pass rusher will need to carry this kind of performance over into the season to prove Minnesota right for betting so much on him, both in the 2024 draft and by trading OLB Jonathan Greenard in April.

Jauan Jennings

The Vikings' WR3 had a nice showing on Thursday, even if Kyler Murray and the rest of the passing game worked to find their footing against a strong Ravens defense. Jennings brought in a TD from Murray after beating safety Jaylinn Hawkins to the corner of the end zone.

Up and over to Jauan‼️ pic.twitter.com/ScNchQCSex
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) August 21, 2026

He also had the key play of the first team’s two-minute drill, down two with just over one minute left. Murray found a sprinting Jennings down the right sideline for a gain of about 20 yards. The catch set up a successful Will Reichard field goal from the 30, giving the first-team unit another clutch, late-game simulation win.

Jennings will have a key role as a blocker in the Vikings’ new run scheme but will also benefit as a pass catcher from the attention defenders must give to Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison. His connection with Murray is already a promising sign of his potential in the offense.

Demond Claiborne

At this point, the best analogy I can use for Claiborne is that he’ll either give you a home run or a strikeout and not much in between. Claiborne had two solid runs on Wednesday, but a fumble to end the second dominated discourse as ball security has quickly become a major concern for the shifty rookie. He needed to remind the team why his highs are worth working through the lows, and he did that Thursday.

The second unit had about 20 seconds remaining, down 2 in the late-game situation. Claiborne gets the ball on a draw and, boom, a game-winning TD run of about 25 yards. The rookie can truly do special things when he holds onto the ball.

Look at Demond Claiborne goooooo 💨💨 pic.twitter.com/mv33nDKio9
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) August 21, 2026

With Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason likely both out Saturday, Claiborne will have a massive chance to put together a consistent showing.

Eric Wilson

Eric Wilson didn’t want Dallas Turner to have all the fun for himself, so he joined in on the chaos-causing fun. Wilson was all over the field, getting multiple sacks and tackles for loss. Anytime the Ravens’ first-team unit tried to gain yardage, Wilson was getting in the mix to stop them and was often successful in doing so.

Eric Wilson is getting into the backfield like crazy today
— Jason Harmon (@JasonHarmonNFL) August 20, 2026

The 31-year-old LB seems to have new life in his second stint as a Viking, providing a massive impact for Flores’ already stacked group at the position. This week has been a great indication that he doesn’t plan to slow down anytime soon.

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