JuicyTalk
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Carson Wentz threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jordan Addison with 25 seconds left in the game to defeat the Cleveland Browns 21-17. Wentz threw for 236 yards and a TD in the win.
The Vikes’ first drive was derailed by a turnover. After picking up 36 yards through the air and on the ground, Cleveland forced a fumble that was recovered by safety Grant Delpit on Minnesota’s side of the field. That was the Browns’ third takeaway of the season.
On their second series, Browns rookie running back Quinshon Judkins bounced a handoff outside for a 32-yard gain to get into the red zone. Eventually, that led to a 4th and 1 at the Vikings’ six, which Cleveland picked up with ease. A few plays later, Dillon Gabriel completed a one-yarder to tight end Harold Fannin Jr. for his second career touchdown pass. That put the Browns on top, 7-0.
The Vikings responded with their own TD drive. They used a little trickery when running back Cam Akers took a direct snap and threw the football to a wide-open Josh Oliver for a 32-yard touchdown pass to even things up, 7-7. 84 of Minnesota’s 92 yards on that possession came through the air.
On Cleveland’s next series, a 56-yard touchdown scamper by Quinshon Judkins was taken off the board due to a holding penalty on the Browns. Another false start flag killed any hope of Cleveland extending that drive, which resulted in a punt early in the second quarter.
Flags were a killer for Cleveland. They were penalized ten times for 78 yards in this game. One of those penalties came on a third-down stop, which kept a Vikings second-quarter drive alive. Thankfully for the Browns, they stopped Minnesota’s next third-down attempt.
The offensive fireworks slowed down noticeably in the second quarter. After the Vikes scored their touchdown, these teams combined for six straight punts. In the first half, Minnesota and Cleveland were just three for 13 on third-down attempts.
With time ticking in the second, Cleveland converted a 4th and 1 near midfield for a new set of downs. A little while later, Dillon Gabriel completed a 17-yard pass to tight end David Njoku to get into the red zone. The Browns made it down to Minnesota’s 13 yard line, where they kicked a field goal to take a 10-7 lead into halftime. Cleveland was three for three on fourth down attempts in this game.
Though Vikings quarterback Carson Wentz left the contest late in the second quarter with a shoulder injury, he returned to the field in the third quarter.
Minnesota wide receiver Justin Jefferson was exceptional, as he often is, with seven catches for a game-high 127 yards. His 21-yard reception on the opening series of the third quarter got the Vikes into enemy territory. Following a 14-yard rush, running back Jordan Mason found the end zone from three yards out to give Minnesota its first lead of the day, 14-10.
Quinshon Judkins continued to build on an impressive rookie campaign with 110 rushing yards and 18 receiving yards. Judkins’ two-yard run on a 4th and 1 set up a nine-yard touchdown pass to David Njoku to give Cleveland a 17-14 advantage late in the third quarter.
While the Vikings did a good job of neutralizing the Browns’ pass rush – even though they were dealing with multiple injuries to starting offensive linemen – Cleveland’s defense finally came alive. They had two quarterback takedowns on Minnesota’s last drive of the third quarter.
Early in the final frame, the Browns’ defense forced its second turnover of the game. Cleveland recovered a fumble to give their offense the ball on their own 30 yard line after an unnecessary roughness penalty. Coming into this matchup, the Browns only had two takeaways on the season.
Following another Cleveland punt, Justin Jefferson made a phenomenal 38-yard catch on a 3rd and 10 to get onto Cleveland’s side of the field. However, Carson Wentz was sacked on the Vikings’ next third-down attempt, forcing them to settle for a 51-yard field goal that they missed by a mile. That allowed the Browns to take over on their own 41 yard line with less than ten minutes to go in the game.
The Vikings got the ball back with 6:53 to go in the fourth quarter, but self-inflicted wounds killed their drive. They committed an offensive holding penalty that overturned a 19-yard run. Two plays later, Carson Wentz was sacked for a seven-yard loss to force a punt with 3:37 remaining. Wentz was sacked three times in this one.
The Browns failed to pick up a first down, so Minnesota got the ball back with 3:05 left in the game on its own 20.
Soon, the Vikes found themselves at their own 38 yard line with two minutes left in the fourth quarter. Wentz then connected with tight end T.J. Hockenson for a 14-yard gain. On the next play, Justin Jefferson made a fantastic catch along the sideline to get to Cleveland’s 27. With 30 seconds left in the game, Carson Wentz hit wideout Jordan Addison for a 12-yard touchdown to take a 21-17 lead.
The Browns made it to midfield on their last-gasp drive, where they would attempt a 51-yard pass with seven seconds left on the clock. Though they completed the pass, Cleveland’s wide receiver was taken down in bounds as the time expired to give the Vikes the victory.
With the loss, the Browns fell to 1-4 on the season. In his first regular-season start at the NFL level, Dillon Gabriel completed 19 of 33 passes for 190 yards, two touchdowns, and zero turnovers.
*Author’s note: all information and statistics are tracked in real time and are provided by the game’s broadcaster, NFL.com, and ESPN.com*
