At home, Vikings commit 8 false start penalties vs. Ravens - ESPN

MINNEAPOLIS — How could the Minnesota Vikings commit eight false start penalties Sunday, the most by a home team in the past 16 seasons?

Players and coaches offered a variety of explanations after a 27-20 loss to the Ravens, including the possibility that the Baltimore defense was making calls designed to simulate quarterback J.J. McCarthy's cadence.

«Sometimes it's hard to hear,» Vikings running back Aaron Jones said. «They're making 'move calls' up front, so sometimes it sounds like it could be J.J. [saying], 'Set hut,' but they're making move calls and you see them stem and so they're trying to get them to jump as well.»

Asked if the Ravens were playing a game with snap counts, Jones said: «Yeah, they're playing a little game there, too. So that's what they get paid to do. And we just got to lock in a little more.»

NFL rules prohibit the use of «acts or words by the defensive team that are designed to disconcert an offensive team at the snap.» It can be difficult for officials to distinguish between such acts and genuine defensive calls, however, and it is rarely penalized during games.

Coach Kevin O'Connell said he asked some players during the game if there were «some calls on some of the motions.» But ultimately, he said: «I did not get any indication from our guys they were doing that.»

Right tackle Brian O'Neill, who jumped three times, did not want to comment on how the Ravens might have contributed to the penalties but did say: «I've got to be better and I will, and we've got to be better as a unit to figure it out.»

McCarthy, making the fourth start of his career, said he wanted to take full responsibility for each penalty because «as a quarterback, you're the orchestrator of the orchestra.» He also declined