4 things we learned from Vikings’ comeback win over the Browns in London

The Minnesota Vikings and Cleveland Browns collided in a Week 8 matchup in London — and the Vikings walked away with a 33-16 victory.

This matchup got off to a fast start for Cleveland. On the Vikings’ opening drive, quarterback Case Keenum threw an interception to linebacker Joe Schobert. The Browns capitalized on that turnover with an Isaiah Crowell 26-yard touchdown, but kicker Zane Gonzalez missed the extra point.

In the second quarter, Minnesota and Cleveland traded touchdowns — but the Browns held a 13-12 lead going into the half.

It wouldn’t last. After exchanging field goals to open the third quarter, the Vikings pulled away with back-to-back touchdown drives that robbed the Twickenham crowd of any hope of fourth quarter drama.

Kizer didn’t have an eye-popping performance across the pond, but he avoided turnovers and made plays when Cleveland’s offense needed it. He completed eight of his 10 passing attempts for 102 yards and a rushing touchdown in the first half.

When the Vikings jumped out to a 9-6 lead late in the second quarter, Kizer orchestrated an eight-play, 82-yard drive and capped it off with a rushing touchdown with 42 seconds left on the clock. He also made some big plays on that drive, like this 38-yard pass to Ricardo Louis near the sidelines.

That quietly efficient performance didn’t last. Kizer struggled to complete any pass more than five yards downfield as the Vikings adjusted to Cleveland’s screen and short-pass heavy game plan. He was in danger of finishing his day with a sub-50 percent completion rate, but a string of passes against a disinterested Minnesota defense in garbage time pushed his final line to 18-34 with 179 passing yards and zero touchdowns.

On the plus side, he didn’t turn the ball over and he wasn’t replaced mid-game by a backup, which is a step in the right direction for the rookie.

The rookie kicker was 11-for-11 on extra points in his NFL career until Sunday, when he biffed an XP and pushed a 35-yard field goal wide left. Those points loomed large through three quarters before Minnesota pulled away to a place where Cleveland’s ineffective offense couldn’t reach. The GrassMaster hybrid turf-grass field at London’s Twickenham Stadium may have had an impact; the unique system is common on Europe’s soccer pitches, but only a handful of U.S. stadiums — Lambeau Field and Lincoln Financial Field, notably — use it.

Vikings kicker Kai Forbath didn’t have any issues; despite a blocked extra point in the second quarter, he recovered to split the uprights with all four of his field goal attempts.

The Vikings’ run game output had increased from 108 yards per game to 147 after losing Dalvin Cook to a torn ACL, but the improving Cleveland defense zeroed in on Minnesota’s ground game to strong results. The Browns went heavy at the line of scrimmage, daring Case Keenum to beat them through the air. Their strategy worked both ways; the Vikings gained just 2.6 yards per carry in an 88-yard day, but Keenum responded with his second 285-plus-yard performance of the season in the win.

It took until the final drive of the game, but Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen recorded a sack, giving him at least one in the first eight games of the season. Griffen joined Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney as the only three players in NFL history to get a sack in his team’s first eight games.