LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 29: Adam Thielen #19 of the Minnesota Vikings rushes against Briean Boddy-Calhoun #20 of the Cleveland Browns during the NFL International Series match between Minnesota Vikings and Cleveland Browns at Twickenham Stadium on October 29, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images) /
LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 29: Isaiah Crowell #34 of the Cleveland Browns rushes for a touchdown during the NFL International Series match between Minnesota Vikings and Cleveland Browns at Twickenham Stadium on October 29, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images) /
The Downs from Week 8 vs Cleveland
A really bad start. Inability to run the ball early coupled with a turnover gave the Browns an early advantage. Cleveland took advantage of the situation and ran in a touchdown. Minnesota’s offense stalled again, having to punt before something good finally happened.
Very inconsistent QB play. Right now, there is no argument that Keenum is the best healthy passer on the active roster, but you never know what kind of Keenum you’re going to get. And he definitely was not the good version in the first half.
Special teams breakdown. A 71-yard return is something that just can’t happen. The Vikings always seem to make at least one big mistake on special teams per week and letting Matthew Dayes break off a big one can hurt.
Silly penalties. Pulling people off the pile, hands to the face, and tackling players by the head was just a couple of the avoidable penalties that Minnesota was called for. They still need to clean up those kinds of mistakes.
Run defense. Minnesota struggled really badly at stopping Cleveland’s running backs. Isiah Crowell averaged 5.8 yards per rushing attempt while Duke Johnson got 5.5. Both those numbers are much higher than Minnesota should be allowed.
