Ravens vanquish Vikings' hopes

Quarterback Kyle Boller led Baltimore's comeback win, 30-23.
BALTIMORE (AP) -- They had overcome a 2-5 start and the loss of starting quarterback Daunte Culpepper to put themselves in position to reach the postseason entering their final two games.
The Minnesota Vikings accomplished plenty this year, yet none of that mattered Sunday night after their flickering playoff hopes were vanquished by Kyle Boller and the Baltimore Ravens.
Boller went 24-for-34 for 289 yards and three touchdowns, and the Ravens used a 20-point rally in the second half for a 30-23 victory.
"It's horrible man," said Vikings receiver Travis Taylor, who scored a touchdown against his former team. "We've been working out since April 3. Now it's December 25th. For it to come down to Week 16 and be out of the playoffs, it's hard."
Worst defensive performance
Needing a win to stay alive, the Vikings (8-7) came up with their worst defensive performance in two months. Minnesota, which hadn't given up more than 23 points since Oct. 30, allowed the Ravens to go 10-for-15 on third down.
"We didn't play well at all. Our offense gave us enough points to come out with a win," cornerback Antoine Winfield said. "What hurt was third down. They kept drives going. We can't do that."
The loss gave the New York Giants (10-5) a playoff berth.
"We obviously dug ourselves too big a hole early in the season to think that anything but winning out was going to be a clear path to the playoffs," Minnesota coach Mike Tice said. "It doesn't take a guy from the University of Virginia to figure out we didn't win out."
Tice, who played at Maryland, at least attempted to muster a joke in the wake of the bitter loss. Some of his players, however, couldn't follow suit.
"I can't even say anything now," safety Corey Chavous said. "I'm totally empty, along with my teammates."
Unsuccessful
In an effort to stop the Ravens' suddenly potent offense -- Baltimore scored 48 points on Monday night against Green Bay -- the Vikings tried almost everything.
None of it worked.
"We played man, zone, three deep, short deep," Tice said. "We just didn't make the plays on third down."
Baltimore trailed 20-17 before Boller threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to Derrick Mason with 14:47 left. Then, after Minnesota punted from the Ravens 38, Boller directed a 68-yard drive that produced a 38-yard field goal by Matt Stover with 1:55 to go.
Any chance the Vikings had of winning their fourth straight road game vanished when Brad Johnson fumbled on a sack by Adalius Thomas. Baltimore turned it into a field goal with 1:03 remaining, and the Ravens followed Paul Edinger's 46-yard field goal by recovering the ensuing onside kick.
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