Vikings snatch late win over Browns in London

Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell confirmed that Jordan Addison did not play during the first quarter as he missed a team walk-through this week

Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell said his "brain hurts" after he and quarterback Carson Wentz masterminded a late win over the Cleveland Browns at Tottenham.

Dillon Gabriel looked set for victory on his first NFL start after replacing veteran Joe Flacco as Cleveland's starting quarterback in midweek.

The rookie's second touchdown pass helped the Browns into a 17-14 lead late in the third quarter and they still led by three as Minnesota got the ball back with three minutes left.

But after almost fighting back in last week's 24-21 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Dublin, the Vikings again showed great character to put themselves in position to win despite playing their back-up quarterback behind a depleted offensive line.

Wentz was making his third start in place of the injured JJ McCarthy and, with 25 seconds left, he found Jordan Addison in the corner of the end zone to give Minnesota a 21-17 win in the first of this year's three NFL games in London.

Coach O'Connell said: "My brain hurts right now, if I'm being honest with you, navigating that at the end.

"We had a little bit more adversity, some caused by ourselves, but we found a way to win. Our guys were just relentless."

It was a morale-boosting victory in front of a crowd of 61,082 and also meant the Vikings avoided back-to-back defeats as they became the first NFL team to play two games in a foreign country in the same season.

New-look offensive line steps up for Vikings

Carson Wentz played with a support on his left shoulder in the second half and was sacked twice by Maliek Collins in the fourth quarter

This Minnesota team is a credit to coach O'Connell and his staff. They have overcome one obstacle after another since he took charge in 2022 and one of the latest was 2024 first-round draft pick McCarthy (ankle) adding to their injury woes after two games this season.

Another two players were sidelined last week, meaning three of the Vikings' four starters on the offensive line were out for their trip to London.

Some of the fans who travelled from the US for the two-game jaunt feared the worse against arguably the NFL's meanest defence and Cleveland forced two turnovers while conceding none.

Wentz was also sacked on successive drives in the final quarter, forcing the Vikings to attempt a field goal - which they missed - and then punt, yet they still prevailed.

"I'm so proud of [the offensive line], to do what they did today in a unique week over here," said Wentz.

Minnesota dialled up a trick play to draw level in the first quarter, with running back Cam Akers stepping in at quarterback to make a touchdown pass to tight end Josh Oliver.

Jordan Mason then punched in a touchdown at the start of the third quarter to put the Vikings in front for the first time and Wentz, playing for his sixth team in six seasons, showed his experience by completing nine straight passes in the game-winning drive.

That saw him finish with 236 passing yards, 123 of them to star receiver Justin Jefferson, and sparked wild celebrations on the sideline as the Vikings improved their record to 3-2.

"It's a very unique group of guys in this locker room, everybody is so close," said 32-year-old Wentz.

"It's hard to win in this league and when you get it done in a dramatic fashion like that, it doesn't matter who you are playing, if it's week 17, the Super Bowl, week one - you have to enjoy those moments, especially the guys who stepped up like that."

Browns need to develop killer instinct

Dillon Gabriel finished with 190 passing yards, completing 19 of his 33 passes.

Coming into week five of the season, Cleveland's defence had conceded the fewest yards in the NFL - 222.5 per game - and were seventh for total sacks (11).

As expected, they gave Wentz and his depleted offensive line a testing time for most of the afternoon, recovering two Vikings fumbles and claiming three sacks.

But they were unable to get a stop on Minnesota when it mattered most, and simultaneously Cleveland's offence stopped clicking.

The Browns opened the scoring with a Harold Fannin touchdown before a field goal edged them into a 10-7 lead at half-time, and a David Njoku touchdown put them back in front heading into the final quarter.

They failed to add the finishing touch, though, as over their final five possessions they earned just two first downs from 17 plays.

"We need to do a better job closing out," said head coach Kevin Stefanski. "That's an offensive thing, defence, special teams, coaches, players - you name it."

The Browns now have a 1-4 record, with Sunday's defeat showing that winning the turnover battle doesn't always mean you win the game.

"At the end of the day, you've got to go out and get the win," said defensive end Myles Garrett.

"That's holding them to less points than you've got, and that's not guaranteed with sacks or takeaways. You've got to show up when you need it."