The Minnesota Vikings "visited" the Cleveland Browns in London yesterday. The game started at 6:30 in the morning in my part of the world. With apologies to the great NFL fans in the UK as they are obviously thrilled with these opportunities, I've never been a fan of these long-distance games. Far more often than not the logistics throw one or both teams so out of whack that all fans are treated to a shitty football game. The NFL is all about money so these games aren't going anywhere but shitty football games aren't good for anyone. Good football games will make everyone happy all of the time. Shitty football games won't make anyone happy. I'll get up at 6:30 to see the Vikings all of the time but I won't be, and I wasn't, happy about it.
Enough of the early start, the Vikings "visited" the Browns in London and they played a football game. The Vikings won 33-16. It was a much closer game than that score indicates. Despite coming into the game with a fairly sparkling 5-2 the Vikings had to be careful. Playing an 0-7 Browns in front of a bye week it might be easy for a team to get ahead of themselves. It might be easy to look pass this game and towards a week of rest. All teams in the NFL, even a winless team, have NFL players. Anything can happen. Especially with the logistical hurdles that a London game presents. This game was back-and-forth with neither team getting more than four points ahead for nearly three full quarters. The Vikings put an end to that back-and-forth nature with just over a minute to play in the third quarter. They scored a touchdown on a short Jerick McKinnon run. A successful two-point conversion put the Vikings up by seven, 23-16. Those scores and lead swayed the momentum in the Vikings favor. The defense put in firmly in their favor by forcing three-and-outs on the Browns next three possessions. 10 more points in the fourth quarter and the Vikings had what looks like a comfortable, 17-point win.
There wasn't much about this game that was comfortable for the Vikings.
The Vikings defense have been playing really well this season. The defense is the biggest reason that the team is 6-2 at the midpoint of the season. They were good overall yesterday but there were some uncharacteristic issues. Some of those issues might've due to facing Browns rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer. He's played so sporadically in his first season that no one really knows what the Browns have in him. Hell, the Browns don't even seem to know they have in him. The Vikings didn't look as certain on defense as they had looked the past several weeks. They were a little slower to react and their tackling was less sure. Kizer took advantage of some of the apparent uncertainty. Some of his best plays looked improvised. His best improvisation was a shovel pass after his protection broke down that Isaiah Crowell took for a 38-yard gain. That big play led to the Browns' second touchdown and a 13-9 lead 40 seconds before halftime. Two plays prior to that big play was the Browns' other big offensive play of the game. On third-and-12 from their own 16-yard line, Kizer hit Ricardo Louis down the sideline for 37 yards. This play was uncharacteristic of the Vikings because it was completed against cornerback Xavier Rhodes. It's been a while since Rhodes has allowed a play like this. He was where he was supposed to be but didn't react to the ball. He got turned around and really didn't look much like himself. Those two plays accounted for more than a quarter of the Browns total yards for the game. Both were the result of breakdowns that we haven't seen for a while from the Vikings defense.
Vikings quarterback Case Keenum finished the game 27 of 43 for 288 yards and two touchdowns. The defense might be the biggest reason for the Vikings 6-2 record but they surely wouldn't have that record without Keenum. He was signed in the offseason to be the backup. He wasn't supposed to start six of the first eight games and if he did have to start that many games the Vikings would surely be in trouble. He has started those games and the team isn't in trouble. He plays with an energy that appears to be infectious. The offense responds to him. He hasn't been perfect, his accuracy can surely improve, but he makes plays. He had a few clutch throws on third-and-long yesterday that kept drives alive. He's done that a lot this season. His most impressive statistic is five wins.
The biggest takeaway from this game is that the Vikings got through a mistake-filled first half, made whatever adjustments needed to be made, got out of their own way, and took over the game in the second half. It was nervous through three quarters but the Vikings put away a scrappy, winless team that had nothing to lose and everything to gain. Those are often the most difficult to play. It was a tougher than expected win but no win should be expected in the NFL.
A few quick notes.
Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen collected his tenth sack of the season with just under three minutes to play. That gave him at least one sack in eight straight games. He joins Jim Marshall and Jared Allen as the only players in franchise history to hit that mark.
Browns tackle Joe Thomas was supposed to play opposite Griffen. Instead Thomas missed the first start of his NFL career. He suffered a torn triceps last week and is likely out for the season. He hadn't even missed a single snap in his 11-year career until that injury. He's an all-timer in talent, longevity, durability, and character.
Vikings receiver Adam Thielen is the only player in the league to catch at least five passes in each game this season. He's gained a bunch of yards on those catches. One thing that he hadn't done this season was score a touchdown. He finally did so yesterday. He scored the first of his team's three touchdowns on a 19-yard toss from Keenum.
Vikings quarterbacks were under siege from pass rushers last season. The offensive line was a mess due to injuries and talent. Sacks were routine. In 6.5 games Keenum has been sacked five times. Left tackle Riley Reiff has allowed zero sacks. The offensive line's improvement from last year to this year has been remarkable.
The Vikings enter their Week 9 bye on top of the NFC North with a 6-2 record. 1.5 games ahead of the Packers.
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