The Cleveland Browns were trying to hold on to a 17-14 win over the Minnesota Vikings in London, as rookie QB Dillon Gabriel was close to a win in his first career start. However, the offense failed to close out the game with a couple of opportunities, and then the defense gave up a game-winning drive in the final moments, falling 21-17. Let’s get to the full game recap.
1st Quarter – Browns vs. Vikings
The Browns got the opening kickoff and started at the 40 yard line after the kick was not in the landing zone. After a handoff on first
down, another carry on second down was brought back due to a hold by left tackle KT Leveston. A pass by QB Dillon Gabriel off of a double fake screen pass went to TE David Njoku for 12 yards. His third down pass fell incomplete, though, and the Browns punted down to the Vikings’ 8 yard line.
Minnesota started the drive with success, picking up several first downs with a mix of runs and short passes. As they approached midfield, though, DE Alex Wright punched the ball out from RB Jordan Mason, with S Grant Delpit recovering.
RB Quinshon Judkins then had a burst around the right edge for 32 yards, followed by an 9-yard run to set the Browns up for a 2nd-and-2 at the 7 yard line. After an incomplete pass off of a playfake, on third down, the Browns went back to Judkins, who was stopped short. On 4th-and-1, the Browns went for it, and Judkins was able to move the chains. RB Jerome Ford then came in to give Judkins a brief break, and gained 3 yards to set up 2nd-and-goal at the 2 yard line. Off of the playfake, this time TE Harold Fannin was open on the left side for a 2-yard touchdown to give Cleveland a 7-0 lead.
On the ensuing kickoff, a hold on the Vikings forced them to begin at the 18 yard line. After getting them into a 3rd-and-7 situation, QB Carson Wentz got a first down completion to WR Justin Jefferson on a nice out route. From there, the Vikings kept having the Browns’ defense completely off-balance, with Wentz getting the quick playaction passes to the boundary. Then, Cleveland’s defense was completely fooled when RB Cam Akers lined up at quarterback, sprinted to the right, and threw a touchdown pass to TE John Oliver for 32 yards to tie the game at 7-7 with 2:30 remaining in the opening quarter.
Cleveland had what looked to be an exciting long touchdown run from Judkins, but it was wiped away by two holding penalties on the offense. The Browns then faced a 3rd-and-15 heading to the second quarter.
2nd Quarter – Browns vs. Vikings
On 3rd-and-15, the Browns were pushed back from a false start. A pass to Njoku gained 11 yards to set up the ensuing punt, which went out of bounds at the Vikings’ 21 yard line. Minnesota continued to take advantage of the Browns’ defense, beginning with a jet sweep of to WR Jalen Nailor for 15 yards. A few plays later, on 3rd-and-9, illegal contact by CB Myles Harden led to a first down after an incomplete pass. On the next third down, 3rd-and-1, the defense forced a loss of two yards after Minnesota tried the same pitch play that had worked two plays earlier.
The Vikings punted, with WR Gage Larvadain making the fair catch at the 11 yard line. After two plays that netted zero yards, Gabriel found a gap to run on third down, but S Harrison Smith made a great open field tackle to prevent him from getting the first down. Cleveland then got off a great punt by P Corey Bojorquez to flip the field, as it went 57 yards in air, plus a holding penalty, to put the ball at the 14 yard line.
On the Vikings’ next drive, Wentz did a nice spin move to dodge an oncoming Browns defender as he tried to scramble for the chains on third down, but he came up just short. Minnesota punted right back to Cleveland, with Larvadain getting a couple yards on the return to set Cleveland up at their own 26 yard line. After one first down on an 11-yard run by WR Malachi Corley, Gabriel was sacked a few plays later to set up a 3rd-and-13. Gabriel zipped a 17-yard pass to WR Jerry Jeudy, and Cleveland tried to hurry to the line to run another play. The Vikings challenged the ruling, though, and sure enough, it was another drop by Jeudy, which led to the punt team coming on the field.
Bojorquez came back with another good punt, this time landing out of bounds at the 11 yard line with 4:05 remaining in the first half. The Vikings were right back in a 3rd-and-9 themselves. Wentz again avoided a hit by a Brown (to avoid a sack), but he still came up short of a first down on his run. Larvadain’s return got out to the 34 yard line for an attempt at an extended two-minute drill. RB Dylan Sampson was hit for a loss of 4 yards after an unblocked defender came through, and then a 6-yard slant to Jeudy set up a 3rd-and-8 at the two-minute warning.
Gabriel’s pass to WR Isaiah Bond got 7 yards, and on 4th-and-1, Cleveland quickly lined up and handed it to Ford, who got enough for the first down at their own 45 yard line. A screen pass to Ford was well-timed and gained 17 yards. A few plays later, on 3rd-and-7, Gabriel hit Jeudy on the quick out for a first down, as Cleveland called their first timeout with 0:30 left at the 26 yard line. His best throw of the day then went to the right side to Njoku, between two defenders, for a 17 yard gain to the 9 yard line.
The Browns burned their second timeout, now with 0:24 left. They couldn’t get it any further, though, so K Andre Szmyt hit a 31-yard field goal to give Cleveland a 10-7 lead at the half. Of note, Wentz went into the locker room early with an injury, and undrafted rookie QB Max Brosmer took the kneeldown.
3rd Quarter – Browns vs. Vikings
The Vikings received the opening kickoff of the second half, and Wentz returned to the field. They quickly faced a 3rd-and-7 after only converting one third down in the first half. Wentz targeted WR Justin Jefferson to the left side, and CB Greg Newsome was flagged for pass interference to give them a fresh set of downs shy of midfield. Off of a playaction pass, Wentz found Jefferson for 21 yards against Newsome. The momentum continued, as WR Jordan Addison then caught a pass for 15 yards, down to the Browns’ 20 yard line. A couple plays later, Mason beat Newsome at the edge, allowing him to get down to the 6 yard line. Two plays later, the Vikings handed back to Mason, who punched it in from 3 yards out for a touchdown and Minnesota’s first lead of the day at 14-10.
RT Jack Conklin was then flagged for illegal formation to begin the next drive, wiping away a 9-yard run by Judkins. No matter, though — he got the ball again on the next play and gained 14 yards, and then moved the chains with another carry. Cleveland kept it going on the ground, including Ford getting through the line for a 10-yard gain into Minnesota territory. All of the running set up the first pass play of the drive, which was a quick rollout throw to Judkins that gained 20 yards. A pass to Njoku, and another run, set up 3rd-and-1 at the 11 yard line. This time, the give to Judkins went for no gain, and Kevin Stefanski went for it again. Judkins took on contact and continued to drive forward to get 2 yards and the first down.
After a run for no gain, Gabriel didn’t find anyone on second down and threw the ball away. On 3rd-and-goal at the 9 yard line, Gabriel found Njoku over the middle for a touchdown to put the Browns back on top 17-14 with 3:05 remaining in the third quarter. The Browns’ touchdown drive took up eight minutes of game clock.
Cleveland’s defense then finally got to Wentz in the backfield, as DE Alex Wright got in quickly to sack him for a loss of 8 yards. A quick swing pass was then stopped for a yard, and Mason was down injured after the play. On 3rd-and-17, Wentz was chased down from behind by Garrett to force a punt.
Minnesota completely shifted the field with a 77-yard punt to the 2 yard line, and then to add salt to the wound, a holding penalty on Cleveland put the ball at the 1 yard line with a minute to go in the quarter. The first play was a handoff to Judkins for 1 yard, and then another run by Judkins gained 8 yards to end the quarter.
4th Quarter – Browns vs. Vikings
Facing a 3rd-and-1 at the 10 yard line, Judkins got the ball again to start the fourth quarter and was stopped for no gain. Then, Bojorquez got off a lackluster punt that was returned to the Browns’ 42 yard line. The Vikings handed off to RB Xavier Scott, and he was met in the backfield by DE Isaiah McGuire for a 3 yard loss — and also fumbled! LB Mohamoud Diabate came away with the recovery at the Browns’ 45 yard line. After the play, an unnecessary roughness penalty on DT Shelby Harris moved the ball back to the Browns’ 30 yard line instead.
The Browns tried a screen pass on first down, but it was covered and thrown away. A 6-yard run by Judkins set up 3rd-and-4, but on third down, a stunt flashed in the face of Gabriel. He avoided it, but was still sacked, leading to a three-and-out and a quick punt for Cleveland.
The punt only went 41 yards and was marked out of bounds at the Vikings’ 25 yard line. S Ronnie Hickman began the drive with a nice run stop for no gain. On second down, S Grant Delpit nearly had an interception on a nice diving pass breakup. On 3rd-and-10, Wentz found a big play with Jefferson for 38 yards into field goal range. The defense was able to get the stop after that, including sacking Wentz for a loss of a yard on third down.
They sent the field goal unit out, and from 51 yards out, K Will Reichard wasn’t even close —no good! That gave the Browns the ball at their own 41 yard line with 9:41 to go in the game. Unfortunately, the drive started with a hold by Leveston again, setting the offense back to a 1st-and-20. A dumpoff to Njoku got all of it back, making it 2nd-and-9. That was followed by a run to the right edge by Judkins, which was sealed off for an easy X-yard gain and a first down.
Gabriel had his first miss on a short throw, for an incompletion on first down. A second down run to Judkins gained 3 yards, and then on 3rd-and-7, Gabriel threw the pass out of bounds. With 7 minutes to go, Cleveland punted from the Vikings’ 42 yard line. They nearly saved the punt at the 1 yard line, but the long snapper’s foot touched the end zone as he tried to down it for a touchback instead.
After picking up a first down through the air, Mason broke free for a big run into Cleveland territory — but a holding penalty on the Vikings’ guard brought it back and put Minnesota in a 2nd-and-8 situation. The tight end screen on second down didn’t fool anyone and was blown up for a loss of 3 yards, making it a pivotal 3rd-and-11. The Browns sacked Wentz on third down, which forced a punt.
Larvadain returned the punt to the Browns’ 41 yard line, where they began the drive with 3:27 to go. Judkins got the ball on first down and was stopped for no gain, as the Vikings called their first timeout. Minnesota kept keying in on the run, stopping Judkins for a loss on second down and calling their second timeout. On 3rd-and-11, Gabriel’s pass was incomplete, as Cleveland sent in the punt unit again. Bojorquez’ punt was returned to the 20 yard line, and the defense needing one more stop to get a win.
Minnesota started with a 9-yard run, followed by a short pass for 3 yards to move the chains. A 6 yard pass set up a 2nd-and-4 at the Vikings’ 38 yard line at the two-minute warning, and then another pass to the tight end got into Cleveland territory. Jefferson then made a terrific one-on-one catch against Ward up the right sideline for 21 yards, to the Browns’ 28 yard line.
Cleveland then called their first timeout with 1:10 remaining. The Browns used another timeout before a 3rd-and-3 for Minnesota. The Vikings converted, and then the Browns used their final timeout with 0:54 left.
On 1st-and-10 at the 17 yard line, a quick pass gained 5 yards. With the clock running, the Vikings then found Addison for a 12-yard touchdown up the right sideline to give them a 21-17 lead with 0:25 left.
With the Browns having no timeouts, they got a completion off to midfield to give them a chance at a Hail Mary with 0:07 left. Instead, they went for a drag route to the sideline for WR Jamari Thrash for 22 yards, but he was tackled in bounds to end the game.
Quick Hitters
- QB Dillon Gabriel: 19-of-33 for 190 yards, 2 TD.
- RB Quinshon Judkins: 23 carries, 110 yards. 1 catch, 18 yards.
- TE David Njoku: 6 catches, 67 yards, 1 TD.
Next up, the Browns travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers.
