Minnesota Vikings @ Cleveland Browns
Final Score: Vikings 21, Browns 17
Writer: Raymi Chavez
The London game was a rematch of a 2017 London matchup, which was also the last time the Browns had been to London. The Vikings won then, and the Vikings won Sunday, as they remain undefeated in London. With the extra week of acclimatizing due to playing the Steelers in Dublin last week, you’d think the Vikings would be at a massive advantage, but it was the Browns who seemed to be in control for the majority of this game. A three-and-out by the Browns to start the game was followed up with a Jordan Mason fumble on what looked like a promising drive, and both teams traded touchdowns before six straight punts brought us to a Cleveland field goal with seconds left on the clock. Carson Wentz got banged up before halftime, but toughed it out in the second half. The teams traded touchdowns again to start the second half, and the rest of the second half was a concoction of punts, lost fumbles and a missed field goal by previously perfect Will Reichard of the Vikings. The Vikings got the ball down three with a timeout and 3 minutes left and manufactured a go-ahead touchdown drive with 25 seconds left. The Browns weren’t able to go 71 yards in 21 seconds with zero timeouts, and that was that. This was one of those peculiar games where the losing team emerged from it feeling good, and the winning team felt lucky to have come out with the result. Let’s dive into the fantasy impact this game had.
Three Up
- Quinshon Judkins — This kid is the real deal, an absolute bell cow. He has all the makings of becoming a star in this league.
- David Njoku — Njoku finally had a great game, which could have been foreseen with a rookie quarterback starting. Could be the first of many.
- Justin Jefferson — Jefferson is back to looking like himself, a handful of eye-popping catches, he is a cheat code, and he is activated.
One Down
- Jerry Jeudy — Jeudy was a nonfactor this entire game. Dillon Gabriel doesn’t seem to be fully trusted with downfield passing. This could become a trend.
Minnesota Vikings
Quarterback
Carson Wentz: 25/34, 236 Yards, TD | 3 Carries, 13 Yards
Maybe it’s that air across the pond, but Carson Wentz has been looking really solid. He was inaccurate on a couple of crucial throws, but he seems to have figured out the most essential part of quarterbacking for the Vikings: throw the ball to Justin Jefferson. Frustratingly, the first touchdown pass was delivered by the third-string running back Cam Akers. Wentz had a couple of third-down scrambles in the last couple of drives of the first half, both of which wound up about a yard short and ended with him taking a shot. He had to go into the locker room early, and the backup Max Brosmer actually came in for the kneeldown to end the first half. He returned with his left shoulder in a brace and toughed it out, but I imagine he’ll be feeling it more right about now. The bye week comes at an excellent time for this team.
Max Brosmer: 1 Carry, -1 Yard
Came in for a kneeldown before halftime when Wentz was banged up.
Running Back
Jordan Mason: 13 Carries, 52 Yards, TD, Fumble (Lost) | 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 4 Yards
He continues to be the bell cow running back with Aaron Jones on the mend. Considering it was the Browns’ defense and a patchwork offensive line, he performed admirably, but he doesn’t seem to have a lot of pop factor. He also had a fumble on the first drive of the game, which was flying through the Browns’ defense. The role that the Vikings originally wanted him to be in as a complement to Jones is far more suitable for him. He also got a little banged up early in the second half, was able to walk off on his own power, but is worth keeping an eye on. Fortunately, they have a bye week coming up. Considering the defenses coming after the bye, I am not sure how confident I would be in him.
Zavier Scott: 5 Carries, 18 Yards, Fumble (Lost)
Zavier Scott had an encouraging game last week and seemed to have an opportunity to capitalize on it. After Mason fumbled on the first drive of the game, Scott got eight snaps on the following drive that ended in a touchdown. He got little work after that, and after Mason was banged up, he seemed to be getting another look before a fumble of his own seemingly ended his night. He finished the day with 14 snaps, eight of them coming on the second drive of the game. Even during the 2-minute drill at the end, the Vikings stuck with Mason. This was not the case last week when the team was in a passing game script. If Mason’s injury is anything and Jones is still out, he is a great streaming option, but otherwise he doesn’t get enough opportunity in promising situations.
Cam Akers: 1/1, 32 Yards, TD
Came in for one direct snap that turned into a 32-yard touchdown pass.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Justin Jefferson: 11 Targets, 7 Receptions, 123 Yards
This guy is looking like the Justin Jefferson we’ve been so accustomed to over the last few years. A slow start to the season is no more. He made a crucial contested catch for 21 yards on the late go-ahead touchdown drive. The Browns don’t have cornerbacks who follow receivers around, and so he mainly especially on the left side of the field away from Denzel Ward, but was able to make a couple of critical catches over him later. The dam has broken, and it’s not going to be long before he has a string of monstrous games.
Jordan Addison: 6 Targets, 5 Receptions, 41 Yards, TD
An unusual start to the game for him as he sat the entire first quarter because of a coach’s decision. It was punishment for missing a walkthrough this week. He was still relatively quiet the rest of the first half, but came through in a big way in the second half. A chunk-play reception in the first touchdown drive of the second half, and then three catches in a row, ending with the go-ahead touchdown to close the game. Hoping Addison can fully find his groove after the bye week, as it’s only come in spurts so far.
T.J. Hockenson: 6 Targets, 6 Receptions, 38 Yards
Not being used nearly as much as he has been in the past, but still incredibly reliable. He is very much the team’s third option in the passing game, running the second-most routes this game, primarily due to Addison’s absence in the first quarter. They tried a couple of screens with him, and that is just not his strength. He lost him some yards, but came through with back-to-back big catches on the team’s game winning drive.
Jalen Nailor: 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 27 Yards | 1 Carry, 15 Yards
Jalen Nailor has definitely earned himself a share of targets and routes during Addison’s suspension to start the season. Even with his return, he’s received a lot of snaps and routes. He ran 27 routes and was still targeted on one deep route. He’s a playmaker and is a solid streaming option in deep leagues and an acceptable option in super deep leagues.
Josh Oliver: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 36 Yards, TD
Josh Oliver‘s only notable play came on the team’s trick-play touchdown. He was targeted a couple of other times in play-action goal-line situations.
Cleveland Browns
Quarterback
Dillon Gabriel: 19/33, 190 Yards, 2 TDs | 2 Carries, 5 Yards
Dillon Gabriel became the first quarterback to make his debut start overseas, and he was promising. He doesn’t seem to have a big arm, and the team doesn’t seem to trust him to make many passes downfield, but he played mistake-free football. It did seem to be his intention in this game, as he had many throws throughout the game that he threw away when it wasn’t a third down. On first and second down, he seemed to have a 1-second, 2-second, throw mentality. He seemed confident in the pocket. I think he’s going to get a reasonably good runway of games before we ever see Shedeur Sanders.
Running Back
Quinshon Judkins: 23 Carries, 110 Yards | 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 18 Yards
Look, I will put my hand up and say I don’t watch a lot of Cleveland Browns games. I knew Quinshon Judkins was putting up some solid numbers, but I didn’t wholly understand the evident superstar talent he possesses. He was consistently following his blocks and popping his run to the outside for explosive gains. He finishes every run hard, gaining a couple of yards while being tackled, and he had a fantastic game. He even had a 56-yard touchdown brought back due to a holding call. This kid is the real deal; we’ll be drafting him high next year.
Jerome Ford: 5 Carries, 18 Yards | 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 20 Yards
Jerome Ford is firmly entrenched as the backup running back and go-to passing down back with the emergence of Judkins. He got 26 of the 70 snaps and ran 15 routes on those snaps. He didn’t make the most of his opportunities.
Dylan Sampson: 1 Carry, -4 Yards | 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 6 Yards
After his hot start to the season, Dylan Sampson has been reduced to a fill-in spot as the third running back in the pecking order. If you haven’t dropped him yet, you can.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
David Njoku: 9 Targets, 6 Receptions, 67 Yards, TD
There he is! These are the kind of games we anticipated this season, especially with how David Njoku had performed with Joe Flacco in the past. Funny enough, it took the rookie backup quarterback for him to break through finally. This may very easily become a trend as Gabriel is far more comfortable in the short and intermediate passing game and heavily relied on Njoku and Harold Fannin Jr. Njoku paced the team in targets and ran the second-most routes on the team.
Isaiah Bond: 8 Targets, 2 Receptions, 29 Yards
Don’t be too concerned, half of those uncaught targets were really just throwaways by Gabriel thrown in Bond’s general vicinity. He was heavily involved in the game plan, which is not surprising, as the team has been openly glowing about his potential. He is going to have a breakthrough game at some point this season, I’m not sure if it’s worth rostering him yet.
Harold Fannin Jr.: 4 Targets, 4 Receptions, 13 Yards, TD
Harold Fannin Jr. is this team’s king of the short game. He’s going to be a startable tight end while Gabriel is playing. He had the third-most snaps and fourth-most routes ran on the team. This team is young, and the further along the season goes, especially with losses piling up, the more opportunity these young guns will get.
Jerry Jeudy: 4 Targets, 2 Receptions, 15 Yards
Jerry Jeudy paced the team in snaps and routes, but he was completely invisible out there. The next time we see Jeudy will be on the side of milk cartons. Clearly, he will be hurt the most by the change in quarterbacks. Jeudy owners can give it another week to see if it was just because it was Gabriel’s first start. I would keep a short leash.
Jamari Thrash: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 22 Yards
Malachi Corley: 1 Carry, 11 Yards