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The Ravens cranked up the noise this week.

“Did you guys hear it in there?” coach John Harbaugh asked reporters Wednesday. “In the office in there, you could hear it?”

He was talking about the music the Ravens had piped in for their practice in Owings Mills, tunes blasting “as loud as we could” to simulate what awaits them Sunday inside U.S. Bank Stadium.

But even before the Ravens (3-5) started their on-field preparation for the Minnesota Vikings (4-4), a buzz was building. The team has won consecutive games for the first time all season. Quarterback Lamar Jackson is back healthy. The defense has stabilized and, with the trade for outside linebacker Dre’Mont Jones, can level up again. The schedule in November and December is forgiving.

One way or another, the Ravens will raise the volume a notch or two Sunday. Win, and optimism will find new voices. Lose, and frustration will fuel an uproar.

Here’s what to watch in the Ravens’ Week 10 game against the Vikings in Minneapolis. All stats are courtesy of Sports Info Solutions unless otherwise noted.

1. Almost two years ago, Harbaugh watched from the sideline in Houston as J.J. McCarthy and Michigan won a College Football Playoff national title. He knows how much the quarterback meant to his brother, Jim, the Wolverines’ coach from 2015 to 2023.

“He is just a real fighter,” John Harbaugh said Wednesday. “He’s a never-say-die guy. He never says die within a play, he never says die within a series, never says die within a game, never says die within a season. … So I think you see that on tape; he’s just a fighter, and you respect that."

But, he added: “He’s a young quarterback.”

And young quarterbacks tend to struggle. Because of a knee injury that wiped out his rookie year and an ankle injury that sidelined him for five games this season, McCarthy, 22, has started just three games with Minnesota. His results have been mixed: 57.6% completion percentage, 148 passing yards per game, four touchdowns, four interceptions and an alarmingly high 17.5% sack rate. Star wide receiver Justin Jefferson has just two games with over 100 receiving yards this season, both of which came with Carson Wentz at quarterback.

McCarthy’s footwork and fundamentals are prone to breakdowns, and Minnesota’s banged-up offensive line hasn’t offered much safety in the pocket. But even when kept clean, McCarthy has struggled to deliver in obvious passing spots. On third and fourth down this season, with at least 5 yards to the first-down sticks, McCarthy has an on-target rate of just 60% on unpressured attempts. That mark would’ve ranked tied for 41st among 42 qualifying quarterbacks last year.

2. The Ravens and Vikings took opposite approaches to building offensive lines this past offseason. So far, neither’s worked.

In Baltimore, general manager Eric DeCosta did little to fortify a line that was trending up near the end of last season. His biggest move was drafting Emery Jones Jr., a third-round pick who was sidelined by a shoulder injury until last month. The Ravens have paid the price for that inaction; they struggle to run the ball reliably, lack the depth to bench underperforming starters and lost Jackson to a monthlong hamstring injury.

Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, meanwhile, did plenty to fortify a line that badly needed upgrading. But his moves haven’t paid off. Center Ryan Kelly, who signed a two-year, $18 million contract, has been limited to just three games this season because of a concussion. Will Fries, who signed a five-year, $88 million contract, has graded out as a below-average right guard, according to Pro Football Focus. Left guard Donovan Jackson, the team’s first-round pick, has missed time with a wrist injury and endured typical rookie year struggles.

Offensive line expert Brandon Thorn projected Minnesota to have a top-five line this season. But the Vikings rank 27th in ESPN’s pass block win rate and fifth in run block win rate, and they enter Week 10 with PFF’s 19th-ranked line overall.

Because of minor knee injuries to starting tackles Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill, Minnesota’s best starting five hasn’t played a snap together this season.

“I do think there is something to playing together as a unit, and the more a unit plays together, they understand each other and how to work together that much better,” Vikings offensive coordinator Wes Phillips said in September. “But we’ve had some injuries, and new guys have got to step in, and they’ve got to play with the same technique, fundamentals that we’re coaching any starter to play with to make sure that we don’t have any of those kinds of lapses.”

3. If Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores takes a more passive approach to containing Jackson, Caleb Williams and Justin Herbert could be a big reason why.

The Chicago Bears and Los Angeles Chargers quarterbacks punished Minnesota with their scrambling ability earlier this season, combining for 120 rushing yards on just 13 scrambles. Williams scrambled three times for 24 yards when blitzed in Week 1, while Herbert scrambled five times for 46 yards when facing five or more pass rushers in Week 8, according to SumerSports.

The Vikings lead the NFL in blitz rate (48.7%), according to FTN, and are especially aggressive on early downs (51.4%). But Jackson is one of the NFL’s best blitz-beating quarterbacks, and in his return from a hamstring injury last week against Miami, he showed he can still turn would-be sacks into explosive plays for the Ravens’ offense. Flores probably can’t go back to the “Cover 0”-heavy plan he frustrated Jackson with as the Dolphins’ head coach in 2021.

With the talent along Minnesota’s defensive front — linemen Jonathan Allen, Jalen Redmond and Javon Hargrave, along with outside linebackers Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel — the Vikings could steal a page from the playbook of a division rival. In the Lions’ Week 3 win in Baltimore, Detroit often turned a pass rusher into a quarterback spy on obvious passing downs, hoping that its coverage would hold up long enough and that its three- or four-man pass rush would get home quickly enough to flush Jackson out of the pocket. From there, the spy could hem Jackson in and limit his out-of-structure damage.

“If you’re going to turn the rush loose, do you have to have somebody accounting for that quarterback when they move?” Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell told local reporters Wednesday. “To me, it’s about disruption and it’s about getting him off his spot. And then the player that gets him off his spot is more than likely not going to be able to always make the play. So who’s the next guy there?”

4. Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton is one of the NFL’s best chess pieces. But Van Ginkel isn’t far behind.

A second-team All-Pro last year for Minnesota, Van Ginkel has played in just three games this season because of a neck injury and a concussion. ​​The Vikings are 3-0 in those games, holding the Chicago Bears, Cincinnati Bengals and Detroit Lions to 19.3 points per game and 246.3 yards per game. (In their five other games, they allowed an average of 25.6 points and 348.2 yards.)

In his return to action Sunday against the Lions, the versatile Van Ginkel played 39 defensive snaps, lining up primarily as an edge rusher. He had two pressures and a quarterback hit on just 14 pass rush snaps, according to PFF; recorded three run “stops” on just 12 run defense snaps; and dropped into coverage 13 times, allowing two catches for 23 yards.

Last season, his first in Minnesota and fourth overall under Flores, the 6-foot-4, 242-pound Van Ginkel had 11.5 sacks, returned two interceptions for a touchdown and racked up 18 tackles for loss.

“He can pass, rush, can play off the ball, on the ball,” Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken said Thursday. “His initial quickness is something that, to me, stands out. A really smart player. Obviously, [Flores] had him in Miami, and when the head coach of Miami wants him [when he becomes] the defensive coordinator in Minnesota, it’s a good sign as a player.”

5. With nine weeks left in the regular season, the Ravens are two games behind the Pittsburgh Steelers (5-3) in the AFC North. But they’re almost neck and neck in division title odds.

According to FTN, Pittsburgh is a decent favorite (53.3%) over the Ravens (40.7%). On ESPN, Pittsburgh’s edge (47.7%) over the Ravens (47%) is slimmer. And according to The New York Times, the Ravens (50%) have a slight edge over their division rival (48%).

Both teams face tough tests Sunday. If the Ravens beat the Vikings and the Steelers lose to the Los Angeles Chargers (6-3), the Ravens’ AFC North championship odds would rise to 63%, according to the Times. If the Ravens lose and the Steelers win, however, those chances would plummet to 29%.