CLEVELAND, Ohio — Leave it to an NFL International game to end in chaos.
The Browns’ 21-17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was the kind of ending that leaves you staring at the screen, wondering how it all unraveled so fast.
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In rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel’s first start, Cleveland looked composed enough — the offense functioning, the defense creating havoc, and a win seemingly within reach.
But with a 17-14 lead and just 3:27 left, everything slipped away.
Here’s how it happened:
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*The Browns led the Vikings 17-14, before giving up the lead with only 25 seconds to play.
*While it’s painful, let’s relive how it happened.
*Cleveland got possession of the ball with only 3:27 to play, up four.
*The drive wound up being a three-and-out, though, thanks to two straight runs against stacked boxes on first and second downs. Those two carries by Quinshon Judkins led to a loss of one yard, then no gain.
*Judkins had been playing well in this game — he ended with 110 yards on 23 carries. So in that moment, the Vikings’ front was ready, and laid it all out to stop the run.
*It worked, as Gabriel threw an incompletion on third down. Those three plays were run over the course of 11 seconds, and the Browns had to punt.
*The Browns defense played so well for most of this game, in fact, my original story about this game was going to be praising them for a performance that I thought was about to win the Browns the game.
*Carson Schwesinger playing with his hair on fire, flying all over the field? Check. Maliek Collins with two sacks in the fourth quarter? Check. Two takeaways, one that led to points? Check.
*The Browns were taking advantage of a Vikings skeleton crew on the offensive line for the most part, as well as backup Carson Wentz starting and his tendency to hold onto the ball too long in search of explosive plays.
*The Vikings were without starting center Ryan Kelly (concussion), backup center Michael Jurgens (hamstring), right tackle Brian O’Neill (knee) and left guard Donovan Jackson (wrist).
*But when the Vikings got the ball back with 3:05 to play, that’s when things fell apart.
*Just after the two-minute warning, Minnesota got two big plays: A 14-yard catch by T.J. Hockenson and a 21-yard grab by Justin Jefferson.
*Jefferson, who is averaging about 120 receiving yards in international games, per NFL Network, met the moment on the final drive. That catch got them to the Browns’ 27. He ended with 123 yards and caught 7 of 11 targets.
*To close out the drive, it was Jordan Addison who took over.
*Addison had three straight catches, including the 12-yard TD grab.
*It was a nice throw by Wentz, over the top of Denzel Ward and outside of where safety Ronnie Hickman had any chance of making a play.
*The Browns got the ball back with only 21 seconds left and no timeouts, a part of the game that really felt head-scratching in terms of management.
*Gabriel’s first throw on that drive was a big one, a 22-yard completion to Isaiah Bond to get to the Minnesota 49. But because the Browns were out of timeouts, Gabriel had to spike the ball.
*Then, an even weirder sequence of events: As Gabriel threw a Hail Mary that was picked by the Vikings in the end zone, a whistle blew.
*The broadcast showed Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell trying to call a timeout, but calling it off. The refs charged Minnesota with a timeout and gave Gabriel and the Browns one final chance.
*Again, Gabriel made a big completion: A 22-yard throw to Jamari Thrash to get to the Minnesota 27.
*Thrash, however, got tripped up by Jeff Okudah, and was unable to slide out of bounds on the left sideline as the clock ticked to zero.
*Bottom line? There will be plenty of blame to go around for this one, between Cleveland’s play calling and the late defensive collapse alone. There were also the 10 penalties that cost the Browns 78 yards.
*Overall, it was an ending that showed exactly who the Browns are — a football team in flux with a lot of inexperience, and a defense that must play perfectly to give them a chance.
*And now, the Browns will return stateside and hardly get a break. This 1-4 team will travel to Pittsburgh next week to take on the Steelers, who are coming off their bye after topping this Vikings team in Dublin last week.
*In a game that started with poise and ended in panic, the Browns learned that no time zone can save them from their own mistakes.
*London may be 3,700 miles from Cleveland, but the ending felt all too familiar.