O’Connell’s ‘brain hurts’ after Vikings late London win over Browns

After helping the Minnesota Vikings beat the Cleveland Browns at Tottenham, head coach Kevin O’Connell said his “brain hurts.”

In his first NFL start since replacing veteran Joe Flacco as starting quarterback in midweek, Dillon Gabriel looked confident in winning.

The Browns jumped out to a 17-14 lead late in the third quarter thanks to the rookie’s second touchdown pass, which Minnesota returned with three minutes left.

The Vikings, who played their backup quarterback behind a sluggish offensive line, showed great character to put themselves in a win column after almost fighting back in last week’s 24-21 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Dublin.

With 25 seconds left, Wentz made his third start for Minnesota in the first of the three NFL games in London, winning 21-17.

Coach O’Connell once said, “My brain hurts right now, if I’m being honest with you, navigating that at the end.

We experienced some more hardship than we anticipated, some of which we caused ourselves. Our guys simply kept going.

Three of the Vikings’ four offensive line starters were sidelined last week, leaving them without their trip to London.

Fans who traveled from the US for the two-game jaunt feared the worst because Cleveland forced two turnovers while allowing just one.

The Vikings attempted a field goal, which they missed, and then a punt, but they still prevailed despite being penalized on successive drives in the final quarter.

Wentz remarked, “I’m so proud of] the offensive line, to do what they did today in a special week here.”

Running back Cam Akers intercepted tight end Josh Oliver for a touchdown on a trick play in the first quarter to level things up.

Wentz, who was playing for his sixth team in six seasons, showed his experience by passing nine straight passes in the game-winning drive with a touchdown at the start of the third quarter to give the Vikings a lead for the first time.

That helped the Vikings improve their record to 3-2 and saw him finish with 236 passing yards, 123 of which were given to star receiver Justin Jefferson.

Everybody in this locker room is so close, said 32-year-old Wentz, who calls it a “very unique group of guys.”

Cleveland’s defense had a week five to go before the NFL’s final week, where they had given up the fewest yards (222.5 per game) and were seventh in total sacks (11).

They recovered two Vikings fumbles and drew three sacks, as expected, and allowed Wentz and his exhausted offensive line to practice for the majority of the afternoon.

But when it was most important, they were unable to stop Minnesota, and Cleveland’s offence ceased to click at the same time.

A field goal by David Njoku and a touchdown by Harold Fannin gave the Browns a 10-point lead at half-time before the final quarter gave them a command of the game.

However, they didn’t add the finishing touch, only getting two first downs on 17 of their final five possessions.

Head coach Kevin Stefanski said, “We need to do a better job closing out.” That’s offensive, along with defense, special teams, coaches, players, and many other things.

The Browns now lead the team to a 1-4 start, demonstrating that winning a turnover battle doesn’t always mean winning it.

You have to go out and win, defensive end Myles Garrett said.