Five extra points: Get Jefferson the ball more, Kirk . . . and a penalty on an intern

1. Get Jefferson the ball, Kirk!

Two weeks ago, the Bengals came into M&T Bank Stadium and targeted Justin Jefferson's former LSU teammate, Ja'Marr Chase, 10 times. He caught eight balls for 201 yards and one touchdown in a 41-17 rout. Sunday, the Vikings came in and started off well, getting Jefferson two touches in the first five snaps, including an 11-yard run and a 50-yard touchdown reception on third-and-7. After that, Jefferson was targeted only four times, three in the final 56 minutes of a 70-minute game the Ravens won 34-31 on the final snap of overtime. In those final 56 minutes, Jefferson had one catch for 12 yards on fourth-and-9. Quarterback Kirk Cousins essentially said he took what Baltimore gave him. "The reason we hit Justin on the post was because the free safety settled his feet and jumped the route underneath," Cousins said. "Justin also caused the corner to jump a route as a result of the way he ran his post. I think after that, they backed up and kept things in front of them." That's not an acceptable answer for a $33 million franchise quarterback. "I think when teams play two deep, they drop underneath a lot," Cousins said. "We get in long-yardage situations, they play that, it makes it difficult to target receivers down the field on the longer passes." Make it happen once in a while. Joe Burrow did two weeks earlier.

2. Fourth downs and a handsy equipment intern?!

These eyes might have finally seen it all after Vikings equipment intern Elijah Johnson shoved Ravens running back Devonta Freeman on the sideline after an 8-yard run on fourth-and-2 in the third quarter. "I didn't think it was a proper call," coach Mike Zimmer said, adding "those guys that aren't in uniform ... need to get" back. Amen. Baltimore went 3-for-3 on fourth down, including fourth-and-goal from the 1 and fourth-and-1 from its own 27. Quarterback Lamar Jackson makes the Ravens almost unstoppable on fourth-and-short. "They have more moving parts on offense, and [Jackson] is an active runner," linebacker Eric Kendricks said. "They've got pullers going one way and the running back going the opposite way, and Lamar gives then an extra [runner]. It's a little bit of everything."

3. How do these officials keep missing calls?

NFL officiating continues to struggle, to say the least. The Vikings should have had three takeaways Sunday, but the first one on the first drive of the game was negated when defensive end D.J. Wonnum was called for a horse-collar tackle that wasn't even close to being one. Wonnum pulled Jackson down by the back of his jersey for a 3-yard loss, stripping the ball on fourth-and-2, and linebacker Anthony Barr recovered. "The rule is specific," said Fox Sports' Dean Blandino, the former head of NFL officiating. "It's name plate or above. That's below." Instead of Vikings ball, the Ravens kicked a field goal six snaps later. "It was a mistake," Kendricks said of the call. "But we had other opportunities to win."

4. Good and bad of throwing past the sticks

Finally! A week after Cousins threw nine third-down passes that traveled an average of 6.2 yards behind the first-down marker, he used perfect protection to launch his first third-down pass 34 yards past the sticks for the 50-yard TD to Jefferson. The Vikings converted their first three third downs but then went 2-for-11. Cousins completed his first three third-down passes for 77 yards, two first downs and the touchdown. Jefferson had two catches for 57 yards. "I think we changed up [the play-calling] quite a bit, especially early," Zimmer said. Cousins' last eight third-down throws? Not so good, as Baltimore ramped up its pressure: 2-for-8 for 31 yards and one first down. Cousins threw behind or to the sticks five times. Twice he threw past the sticks to spots that had no targets anywhere near the ball.

5. Third-down defense got worn out

The Vikings couldn't have started much better on third down against a Lamar Jackson-led offense. The Ravens were 1-for-6 after the Vikings sent Barr on a well-timed blitz on third-and-5. The Vikings led 14-3 at the time. But … The Ravens then converted five of nine third downs the rest of the way. One of the conversions came on a wide receiver screen on third-and-15 during a game-tying drive in the fourth quarter. "The guy that was in charge of containment jumped inside the box," Zimmer said. "And that fueled the play." The Ravens had 36 first downs in 46 minutes of possessing the ball. "Obviously, we were tired," Kendricks said.