Carson Wentz threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Addison with 25 seconds left in regulation. lifting the Minnesota Vikings to a 21-17 win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday in London.
Wentz completed 25 of 34 passes for 236 yards and a touchdown for Minnesota (3-2), which bounced back from a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Dublin last week. Justin Jefferson had seven catches for 123 yards, and Addison tallied five catches for 41 yards and a score despite being benched at times for what was referred to as a coach’s decision.
Quinshon Judkins had 23 carries for 110 yards for Cleveland (1-4). Fellow Dillon Gabriel made his first career start at quarterback and completed 19 of 33 passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns.
Minnesota trailed 17-14 when it got the ball at its 20-yard line with 3:05 remaining. Wentz led a 10-play, 80-yard scoring drive mostly out of the no-huddle offense to put the Vikings on top.
Addison punctuated the go-ahead drive with a touchdown catch along the right sideline. Teammates lined up to congratulate him as he returned to the sideline.
Cleveland opened the scoring midway through the first quarter. Gabriel found rookie tight end Harold Fannin Jr., who hauled in a 1-yard catch to put the Browns on top 7-0.
The connection marked Fannin Jr.’s first career touchdown reception and Gabriel’s second TD pass. The Browns selected both players in the third round.
Minnesota pulled even at 7-7 with 2:30 remaining in the first quarter. Running back Cam Akers took a direct snap out of the shotgun formation, rolled right and lofted a pass to tight end Josh Oliver for a 32-yard touchdown.
Cleveland took a 10-7 lead on Andre Szmyt’s 31-yard kick with nine seconds left in the half.
The back-and-forth battle continued as Jordan Mason punched in a 3-yard touchdown run to put the Vikings back on top 14-10 with 11:11 remaining in the third quarter.
The Browns responded on the next drive to regain a 17-14 lead. Tight end David Njoku ran a slant route across the middle of the field, and Gabriel fired a strike to him for a 9-yard touchdown.
