The Cleveland Browns kept it close on Sunday, but in the end came up short against the Minnesota Vikings.
A late touchdown drive from the Vikings left the Browns on the wrong end of a 21-17 score, as Cleveland lost its second consecutive game to fall to 1-4 on the season.
There were some good things from the game for the Browns, but as always, there were just enough bad things to ruin the debut of quarterback Dillon Gabriel.
So with that in mind, let’s hand out some Brownies and some Frownies from the
game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.
Brownies:
QB Dillon Gabriel: The rookie put up a solid game in his first NFL start, finishing 19-of-33 for 190 yards, two touchdowns, and a QB rating of 94.3. Most importantly, Gabriel did not turn the ball over, which is always a nice touch from a quarterback. He led the Browns on a pair of touchdown drives, culminating both with touchdown passes to Harold Fannin Jr. in the first quarter and David Njoku in the third quarter.
Even though the loss means the Browns are 0-17 since 1999 in a quarterback’s first start, the moment did not appear too big for Gabriel, and if he can build on it, the Browns may finally have some stability at the position.
RB Quinshon Judkins: It was another solid day from the rookie, who posted his first 100-yard rushing day in the NFL, carrying 23 times for 110 yards. Judkins had a 56-yard touchdown run nullified by a holding penalty, or else his day would have been even more impressive. He still managed to become the first player in franchise history to have at least 70 yards from scrimmage in each of his first four career games.
Defense taking it away: After a stretch of not forcing a turnover seemingly since Joe Flacco was in short pants, Cleveland’s defense recovered two fumbles on Sunday, their third game in a row with at least one forced turnover.
Getting it (mostly) done on third down: Cleveland held the Vikings to just 3-of-9 on third down. Unfortunately, one of those conversions came on Minnesota’s game-winning touchdown drive in the fourth quarter.
TE David Njoku: The third-quarter touchdown catch by Njoku was the 31st of his career, leaving him one touchdown behind Reggie Rucker on the franchise’s all-time list for touchdown receptions.
RT Jack Conklin’s return: After missing all but one series in the first four games, starting right tackle Jack Conklin returned to the field and made it through the entire game in one piece.
Frownies:
Left tackle still an issue: Cleveland tried rotating KT Leveston and newcomer Cam Robinson at left tackle, and it did not go well. Leveston was called for a hold on the first offensive series of the day, one of his three penalties on the day, and Robinson had consecutive penalties to help stall a drive at the beginning of the second quarter. It is not going to be easy, but the coaching staff needs to get this sorted out soon.
CB Greg Newsome on WR Justin Jefferson: There is a reason why Jefferson is one of the game’s best wide receivers, and he had his way on Sunday with seven receptions for 123 yards. Some of his best work came against Newsome, who struggled all game whenever the Vikings were smart enough to have Jefferson line up across from Newsome.
Who would like a penalty? While some of them were certainly questionable, it is hard to win when you commit 10 penalties in a game.
Third down is filled with woe: If 10 penalties were not hard enough to overcome, then going 3-of-15 on third down certainly upped the degree of difficulty.
Fourth-quarter offense: Cleveland only had the ball once in the third quarter, but turned that into a tidy 13-play, 69-yard touchdown drive. The fourth quarter, however, was not as kind as the Browns had four drives that totaled 29 yards, and all ended in punts. And the fifth and final drive in desperation time ended with the clock running out on the Browns.
The final offensive drive: Even with all that, the Browns still held a three-point lead when they took over at their 41-yard lie with 3:27 left following a Minnesota punt. From there, the Browns:
- 1st down: Ran Judkins off right tackle for minus-1 yard on a play where right guard Wyatt Teller pulled to the right. Was Judkins supposed to follow Teller to the outside? Was Teller just on a afternoon stroll? We may never know.
- 2nd down: Judkins over right guard for 0 yards.
- 3rd down: Gabriel throws deep down the right sideline toward Isaiah Bond, but the pass is incomplete.
- 4th down: A punt.
- Total: 3 plays and just 22 seconds off the clock, thanks to a pair of timeouts by the Vikings and the third-down incompletion.
Final defensive series: Despite the Vikings being down three starting offensive linemen, Cleveland’s defense did not touch Minnesota quarterback Carson Wentz on the final 10-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that sealed the win for the Vikings, as Wentz hit Jordan Addison with a 12-yard touchdown pass.
Stuck on 17: While it felt and looked, at times, like the offense was actually getting its act together, the reality is the Browns only matched their season high with 17 points. This is now 10 consecutive games where the Browns have scored 17 or fewer points, dating back to last season.
It is now your turn, Browns fans. What did you like about today’s game? What made you start to hit the bottle extra early? Let us know in the comments!
