Dillon Gabriel's two TD passes had the Browns in front, 17-14, as the game went into the fourth quarter. (Cleveland Browns)
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns and NFL analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
LONDON
Instant takeaways from Browns 21-17 loss to Minnesota Vikings …
1. Losers again: The Browns allowed Carson Wentz to move the Vikings 80 yards in 10 plays in the final three minutes. Wentz’s 12-yard pass to Jordan Addison over Denzel Ward in the right corner of the end zone was the crushing blow as the Vikings sent the Browns back to America with a 21-17 loss. The Browns failed to take advantage of two defensive turnovers, two TD passes by Dillon Gabriel in his NFL debut, and 110 rushing yards by Quinshon Judkins. They couldn’t cover Justin Jefferson (7 of 11 targets for 123 yards) or, for that matter, Addison at the end. The Browns are 1-4 and play at Pittsburgh on Sunday.
2. Whew: The Browns couldn’t take advantage of their second defensive takeaway – a Zavier Scott fumble stripped by Isaiah McGuire and recovered by Mahmoud Diabate – in the fourth quarter. They then dodged a bullet when Will Reichard’s 51-yard field goal try was pushed wide right with Denzel Ward bending and diving to just miss a block at the 9:41 mark.
3. Q’s real: Judkins was denied another double-digit run by penalty in the third quarter. It didn’t matter. He ran the ball seven of the next 11 plays and also took a short Gabriel pass for an 18-yard gain to carry a 15-play march to the end zone. Gabriel notched his second TD of the game with a dart from 9 yards to David Njoku. It put the Browns back in front, 17-14, with a quarter to go.
4. Came and Wentz: Wentz finished the first half in the locker room, but returned to start the second half and led the Vikings effortlessly 71 yards in eight plays to regain the lead, 14-10. Running back Jordan Mason ran it from 3 yards for the TD. He set it up with a 14-yard run after Wentz connected with Jefferson (21 yards) and Addison (15).
5. 1,000 paper cuts: Except for Judkins, everything on offense came hard for the Browns. The left tackle rotation of KT Leveson and Cam Robinson combined for four penalties and at least one sack. Judkins’ 32-yard run set up a 7-0 Browns’ lead when Gabriel play-faked and tossed to Harold Fannin from 1 yard. Judkins later had a 56-yard run negated by multiple Browns holding penalties (Isaiah Bond, Fannin). But when Judkins wasn’t on the field, it was hard for the Browns to move the ball. It took them 14 plays to move just 53 yards and position Andre Szymt for a 31-yard field goal at the end of the half. Jerome Ford converted from fourth-and-1 and Gabriel covered a third-and-6 on an 8-yard pass to Jerry Jeudy. Gabriel also had a nice toss to Njoku for 17 yards to make it a short field goal.
6. Vikes still smarting: The half ended with the Browns up, 10-7, and Wentz in the locker room. He took a big hit to his left shoulder from linebacker Carson Schwesinger trying to run for a first down. Schwesinger had seven tackles at the break. Wentz returned to open the second half.
7. Oh, boy: One place Schwesinger wasn’t was in coverage of tight end Josh Oliver on the Vikings’ only score. Everybody was fooled when running back Cam Akers lined up as a wildcat quarterback, took the snap and passed to Oliver breaking down the field. Akers had enough time to wait for Oliver to clear the secondary, and it went for a 32-yard touchdown. It was a great call by Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell, who had a good half despite the Vikings scoring only 7. O’Connell’s quick pass game was keeping rushers off Wentz.
8. You have one job: Jeudy continued to have problems staying on his feet and catching the ball. He missed a perfect Gabriel pass down the middle with 3:55 to go in the first half. Jeudy lost his footing trying to secure the ball and the first ruling was a catch. The Vikings challenged, and won, when replay showed the ball going through Jeudy’s arms and brushing the ground when Jeudy tried to cradle it.
9. Not so special: The Vikings helped the Browns with four penalties on special teams in the first half, including an opening kickoff that didn’t reach the kicking zone. The Browns couldn’t take advantage of the 40-yard field position, though.
10. Take that: The defense set up the Browns’ touchdown with a takeaway when Alex Wright pried the ball loose from running back Jordan Mason and Grant Delpit recovered at the Vikings’ 47. Judkins blasted off for his 32-yard run on first down to get the TD drive going. Judkins also converted a fourth-and-1 from the 6 running behind Big Adin Huntington.
11. Best-laid plans?: The Vikings lobbied in May to play back-to-back games in Dublin, Ireland, and London to eliminate one road trip and play the Steelers and Browns on neutral sites, rather than in Pittsburgh and Cleveland. They also received a bye into next week. The strategy of staying in the U.K. for 10 days backfired, however. They weren’t able to bring in replacements for all their injured offensive linemen because of the difficult logistics. As a result, with both centers inactive with injuries backup guard Blake Brandel had to play center. It was the first time in his career at the position.
12. Pre-game notes: Right tackle Jack Conklin and cornerback Greg Newsome both were active after being listed questionable. Conklin had missed the last three games with an elbow injury. Newly acquired tackle Cam Robinson was active, but KT Leveston started at left tackle. Inactive were: safety Damontae Kazee, running back Rocket Sanders, defensive tackle Mike Hall, offensive tackle Thayer Munford, guard Zak Zinter and offensive tackle Cornelius Lucas. Shedeur Sanders was QB3.