In his first career start, Dillon Gabriel lived the full Cleveland Browns experience. The rookie performed well, but still lost 21-17 against the Minnesota Vikings in London.
Things got off to a rocky start for Minnesota after fans noticed wideout Jordan Addison wasn’t on the field for the team’s first couple drives. The receiver missed the entire first quarter due to a coach’s decision. No other information was made available about why Addison missed time early.
Advertisement
Addison came back in a big way though, hauling in the game-winning touchdown pass from Carson Wentz with 30 seconds left.
Gabriel wasn’t asked to do much in the game, though came through when needed. The rookie finished 19 of 33 with 190 yards and two touchdowns. He was helped by an excellent running game. Quinshon Judkins turned in a star-making performance on an international stage, rushing 23 times for 110 yards. Judkins could have had even more if a long touchdown run hadn’t been taken off the board as a result of holding.
[Yahoo Sports TV is here! Watch live shows and highlights 24/7]
On the rare instance where Judkins was stopped, Gabriel found ways to deliver. His first touchdown pass of the day came with the team on the 1-yard line midway through the first quarter. After a fake to Judkins, Gabriel found fellow rookie Harold Fannin Jr. in the flat for an easy score.
Advertisement
Gabriel’s second touchdown pass late in the third quarter was more impressive. On a third-and-9, Gabriel found tight end David Njoku on a tight window throw to the center of the field. Njoku had three defenders closing in on him, but Gabriel was able to drive the ball to Njoku before anyone could knock it away to give the Browns a 17-14 lead.
Despite those touchdowns, Gabriel and the Browns couldn’t fully pull away from a Vikings team that experienced multiple obstacles — some self-inflicted and some incidental — during the contest.
Wentz briefly left the game at the end of the second quarter due to a left shoulder injury. Though undrafted rookie Max Brosmer briefly entered the game to take a knee and end the half, Wentz was able to return for the start of the third quarter. He seemed unaffected by the injury the rest of the way, leading the Vikings to a score during the team’s first drive of the third quarter.
The Vikings also lost running back Jordan Mason to an injury briefly. But after backup running back Xavier Scott fumbled the ball away, Mason returned to action for the fourth quarter.
Advertisement
The Vikings managed to overcome those issues, setting up for a game-tying field goal with 9:41 to play. But Will Reichard missed a 51-yard attempt, keeping the Browns ahead 17-14.
Minnesota managed to force Cleveland to punt twice with chances to run out the clock. Wentz managed some clutch throws against the Browns, including a 21-yard pass to Justin Jefferson that put the Vikings in game-tying field goal range. Jefferson finished with seven catches for 123 yards, game highs for both teams.
Gabriel hit Isaiah Bond on a 22-yard gain to set up a Hail Mary attempt with just seven seconds to play. He hit Jamari Thrash for another 22-yard gain on the next play, but Thrash couldn’t get out of bounds, helping the Vikings seal the win.
Advertisement
Vikings vs. Browns live blog
Follow along with Yahoo Sports for live updates, highlights and more as the Minnesota Vikings and Cleveland Browns face off in the next installment of the NFL’s international series from London.
Source link
