Stopping the Vikings' offense starts with slowing down arguably the best wide receiver in the game, Justin Jefferson.

That's obviously easier said than done. Jefferson has the fifth-most receiving yards (649) in the league so far, and the four-time Pro Bowler is on pace to top 1,000 yet again, as he's done every year.

So how do the Ravens plan to approach him?

"They've seen every type of coverage you can run at him; so, we've just got to mix it up and not let him get a beat on what we're doing, not let him wreck the game and make sure we always have awareness of where he's at," Defensive Coordinator Zach Orr said.

"Also, it goes hand in hand with the rush as well, so we have to get some pressure on this quarterback, so he doesn't have time to sit back there and find Justin Jefferson all day."

Head Coach John Harbaugh said Jefferson is a "super talented guy" who has "all of the skills." But he's not the only talented receiving threat on Minnesota's roster.

Fellow wide receiver Jordan Addison has 357 receiving yards and tight end T.J. Hockenson has 233. They all have two touchdowns.

"What I think is really unique about them is it's once you start adjusting the coverage his way too much, they have other guys," Harbaugh said. "They have plenty of guys that they can go to that are top-notch receivers and running backs. So, you can't overdo that. I think you just got to trust your defense to play the defense the way it's supposed to be played."

The Ravens have used top cover cornerback Nate Wiggins to shadow the opponent's top receiver at times this year. Wiggins specifically asked coaches for that assignment against the Los Angeles Rams' Davante Adams, for example.

Wiggins said he's approaching his matchup with Jefferson like any other, with his head down and ready to compete.

"Things like this is when I come alive and when I think I play my best," Wiggins said. "It's best on best. I feel like he's one of the best in the game and I feel like I'm one of the best in the game."

Vikings Quarterback J.J. McCarthy Explains His Alter Ego

After missing his entire rookie season due to injury, J.J. McCarthy will make his fourth NFL start Sunday against the Ravens. He already has an alter ego.

McCarthy explained it to reporters this week, following his return from injury and a road upset win in Detroit in which he scored three touchdowns.

He calls his alter ego "Nine," after his jersey number. And fans got a glimpse of it in the Vikings' postgame celebration last week.

"To be honest with you, it really kind of started to show up this year. It came about last year during IR, just never had a full season where you want to be out there so frickin' bad, but you can't," McCarthy said.

"It was this built-up anger that was kind of ready to just explode, and I chose to harness it instead of letting it go into a self-destructive kind of way. And it's unique and I love feeding that wolf, because my entire life, at Michigan, it was the smiley face on my hand and smile and you have fun, you're going to play better and all that, which is true, but I also think there's a lot of power that comes from that built-up anger that you can transmute into your performance."

The Ravens will bring their own energy to Sunday's matchup. They've been particularly good against rookie quarterbacks over the years, and view McCarthy in that light even though he's technically in his second season.

"I would consider that a rookie, if it's your first season playing, in my opinion," linebacker Roquan Smith said. "So, obviously, you don't have a lot of experience in the NFL, but that doesn't take away from who he is as a player. It's just about us going out and being who we are. You have to treat it accordingly."

Zay Flowers Is Friends With Addison

Zay Flowers and Addison will forever be connected by the 2023 NFL Draft. The Ravens took Flowers with pick No. 22 and the Vikings selected Addison one pick later.

Both have had strong starts to their careers. In their first 2 ½ seasons, Flowers has 197 receptions for 2,476 yards and 10 touchdowns. Addison has 156 receptions for 2,143 yards and 21 scores.

Turns out, they have more than just a draft connection.

"That's my dawg," Flowers said. "We became closer through the pre-draft process, but I knew him before."

The two wide receivers first connected in college when they competed against each other in the ACC – Flowers with Boston College and Addison with Pitt. They stayed connected and have visited each other even though they live on opposite coasts.

Flowers still remembers his NFL Draft "green room" being right next to Addison's. They both knew the Ravens and Vikings could draft a wide receiver, and both could have ended up in the opposite city. Turns out, they both landed in purple.

"We were texting each other like, 'What you thinking?'" Flowers said. "We were both nervous like we weren't going to get drafted [in the first round]."

Ravens Have Long Invested in Mental Health Professionals

The NFL world is grieving the loss of Dallas Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland, who passed away Thursday morning by suicide at the age of 24.

The tragic incident has put the importance of mental health back in the spotlight, something with Harbaugh has spoken to his team about.

"Just a tragic, tragic circumstance," Harbaugh said. "We talked to our guys about it, just in the world, there are just a lot of challenges that people face. We encouraged our guys yesterday just to keep an eye on one another, look out for one another, ask questions, see how people are doing, take care of yourself and try to be connected.

"All the craziness with social media, it's really – it's not social media, it's unsocial media more than anything because it becomes something that – as opposed to connecting people – ends up dividing people and separating people out and maybe people are more lonely than ever as a result, unfortunately. If we can, try to do the best we can to connect with people, say hello, just try to make sure everybody's doing OK. And that's what we encourage our team to do."

Harbaugh credited Owner Steve Bisciotti for prioritizing having a full-time psychologist and psychiatrist at the Under Armour Performance Center.

The Cowboys selected Kneeland at No. 56 overall in last year's draft, and there was buzz about how he could be a fit in Baltimore. The Ravens picked offensive tackle Roger Rosengarten at No. 62, but Harbaugh said they took a long look at Kneeland.

"Our scouts had spent a lot of time with him," Harbaugh said. "He was a guy we really, really liked a lot [and that] we thought highly of."

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