Baltimore Ravens fans held their breath when Marlon Humphrey appeared on the injury report ahead of the matchup with the Vikings. The veteran corner suited up anyway, finger wrapped, and ended up playing a key role in the Ravens’ 27–19 win. After the game, John Harbaugh explained what was going on.

“He’s got a finger thing that happened in practice, so he was dealing with that. You probably noticed it all wrapped up there. And he still caught the interception…He probably wanted to protect it a little bit, but I didn’t see him not make a tackle,” John Harbaugh said in the post-game presser.

He finished with four tackles (two solo) and a second-quarter interception that set up a Tyler Loop 28-yard field goal ten plays later. But late in the fourth quarter, he exited again, clearly favoring the same hand. The team will run more tests to determine the severity, and for now, his status for next week’s AFC North clash with the Browns is uncertain.

It would be a tough loss if he can’t go. The Ravens’ defense is just starting to get healthy again after a long stretch of injuries. Losing Humphrey would sting, especially with Justin Madubuike already out for the season because of a neck injury and Broderick Washington, Ar’Darius Washington, and Tavius Robinson all managing various issues.

The unit looked closer to full strength tonight, and the difference showed. The defense flew around, tackled well, and set the tone from the start. That’s the version of Baltimore fans have been waiting to see.

It’s like Roquan Smith said, “A healthy team is a good team, and your best ability is your availability, as they always say. So, it’s about just continuing with that and just going out and being ourselves throughout the week and echoing that into the weekend on Sunday.”

When this Ravens defense is intact, it looks like one of the most complete units in football. It was clear today.

The Ravens’ defense shut down the Vikings

The Baltimore Ravens have quietly turned things around on defense. After giving up an average of 35 points over their first five games, they’ve tightened up in a big way, allowing just 15 per game over their last four. Sunday night in Minnesota was another step forward, and it came against one of the NFL’s toughest cover in wide receivers, Justin Jefferson.

The Ravens’ secondary made Jefferson work for everything. QB JJ McCarthy threw his way 12 times, and Jefferson came down with only four catches for 37 yards. That’s about as good a result as any defense can hope for against him. Baltimore’s front had a lot to do with it, too. McCarthy rarely had a clean pocket, and several of his throws were tipped at the line.

Additionally, the sophomore QB never looked comfortable. He finished 20-of-42 for 248 yards, with two interceptions and just one touchdown, under constant duress from a Baltimore front that kept rotating pressure. Travis Jones racked up a sack, two pass deflections, and three tackles, while C.J. Okoye and John Jenkins each batted down a pass of their own.

The win pushed Baltimore to 4–5, good for second place in the AFC North, just behind the Steelers at 5–3. With a softer schedule ahead compared to Pittsburgh’s, John Harbaugh’s team suddenly has a realistic path back into the division race.