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Minnesota Vikings late touchdown snatches win from Cleveland Browns and ends international journey on a high
The Minnesota Vikings found themselves involved in another NFL international game thriller after losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Dublin last weekend, but this time they came out on top against the Cleveland Browns at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium where a late touchdown secured the 21-17 win.
A lot of the focus fell on the Browns rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel who was making his first NFL start. For him, starting overseas in London would have eased some of the pressure that would have been on his shoulders if he was under centre at Huntington Bank Field.
His first few snaps saw him handing the ball off to running back Quinshon Judkins to ease the nerves, but Gabriel’s first ever NFL offensive drive came to no avail with a four and out. The Vikings were hoping for a marked improvement from a lacklustre showing against the Steelers, but a fumble from running back Jordan Mason saw the Vikings lose possession just short of the halfway line.
The Browns made this count with an eight-play drive culminating in Gabriel's first touchdown pass to fellow rookie Harold Fannin Jr, that’s one milestone out of the way for the new quarterback.
With the Vikings back on the ball, the offense was probing the Browns defense through the air with Carson Wentz targeting receivers with short passes before going for the ‘big’ play, and this strategy paid off. On the 11th play of the drive, the Vikings caught the Browns by surprise as running back Cam Akers fired a 32-yard pass to Josh Oliver to bring the scores level at 7-7 with just over two and a half minutes remaining.
The Browns then thought they had sneaked a second touchdown shortly after courtesy of a 56-yard Judkins run, but his score was chalked off after two offensive holding penalties.
The defenses dominated proceedings in the second quarter with very little offensive action from either team. We got to see how Gabriel fared in a scramble with an eight-yard run to the Browns 19 on 3rd and 10.
The Vikings did have some success, albeit via a challenge from head coach Kevin O’Connell who got a completed pass call overturned after Jerry Jeudy lost control of the football on the Vikings 49 after a 17-yard throw from Gabriel.
With just over one minute remaining, Wentz was seen wandering into the locker room after picking up a shoulder injury and was deemed questionable when it came to whether he would return to the field.
The Browns took a slim 10-7 lead at halftime after a 31-yard Andre Szmyt field goal ended a 20-play Browns drive. There were once again promising signs from Gabriel who showcased his ability to operate an offense under pressure from the game clock with several quick plays. A standout was a perfectly placed 17-yard throw to tight end David Njoku who hauled in the football on the Minnesota nine.
Vikings fans' worries were eased at the start of the third with Wentz back in action and found Jefferson early with a 21-yard pass to the Cleveland 35. Suddenly, the Vikings offense was moving down the field both in the air and on the ground as Mason moved the Vikings to first and goal with a 14-yard run to the Cleveland six. Mason struck again two plays later with a three-yard touchdown run and it could not have been a better start for the Vikings who led 14-10 with 11:11 remaining in the third.
The Browns struck back with a superb drive which spanned 13 plays and 69 yards, but most importantly it ate up eight minutes and six seconds on the clock. The Browns offense was able to do whatever it wanted, Judkins' running game resulted in the play action and passing plays facing little coverage, and the team got a justified reward when Gabriel’s nine-yard touchdown pass found Njoku and the Browns had once more restored their three-point lead with just over three minutes remaining in the third.
After being sacked six times last week by the Steelers, Wentz would have been delighted to not see himself being sacked by a fearsome Browns defense. This luxury came to an end when Wright got the first Browns sack of the game on the Vikings 18. Then it was Myles Garrett’s turn to get a sack of his own, taking down Wentz at the Minnesota 21 on a third and 17 to force a punt.
With the Browns leading 17-14 in the final quarter, it was imperative the Vikings got off to a positive start, but the fumbling problems persisted with running back Zavier Scott losing the ball and recovered by Browns defensive end Isaiah McGuire on the Cleveland 45 before the team were hit with an unnecessary roughness penalty.
Offensive struggles continued for the Vikings despite Wentz finding Jefferson with a 38-yard pass to the Cleveland 37, but this drive was in vain as Will Reichard missed a 51-yard field goal to tie the game with 09:45 remaining.
Wentz was down once more five minutes later at his own 18-yard line as the offensive woes continued for the Vikings.
As the game ticked past the two-minute warning, the Vikings had one final chance to change the course of this game. A 27-yard pass from Wentz to Jefferson on the Cleveland 27 kept their drive alive with 95 seconds remaining. Then, 70 seconds later, the Vikings took the lead!
Wentz managed to find an open Jordan Addison on his route and caught a 12-yard touchdown pass to put the Vikings 21-17 up with 25 seconds left in the game and more importantly, leaving the Browns needing a touchdown if they were to salvage something.
Despite a late charge from the Cleveland Browns with attempted deep passes galore, the Vikings maintained a perfect 5-0 record when it comes to playing games in London, and move to 3-2 for the season.
While the loss sees the Browns drop to 1-4, rookie QB Dillon Gabriel showed promising signs on the offense which will hopefully serve as the foundations for a solid NFL career.
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