Hi Browns fans welcome to week 5 and quarterback number 41 for the Browns since 1999. Sunday the 1-3 Browns will be the NFL’s early morning special as they travel to London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to take on the 2-2 Minnesota Vikings. We’re going to need to get up extra early to watch this one, game time is 8:30 AM CT and it will be exclusively broadcast on the NFL Network. If your cable or streaming service doesn’t carry the NFL Network, you can start a steaming subscription for 6.99 per month at NFL.com. Because of the early start time for the game the ChicagoLand Browns Backers/Northside Dawg Pound will not be meeting up for this game, but we’ll be back at Burke’s Public House for the Browns week 6 match-up against the Steelers. Earlier in the week HC Kevin Stefanski announced that rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel would get his first NFL start in this game with Joe Flacco acting as the back-up QB. In 2 games this season Gabriel has thrown 4 passes, completing 3 for 19 yards and 1 TD with no interceptions in mop-up duty. The Browns are hoping that Gabriel can add a spark to an otherwise ineffective offense that’s averaging just 14 points per game, second lowest in the NFL. Gabriel is being asked to improve upon Joe Flacco turnover prone ineffective performance in the season’s first four games. Flacco’s 60.3 QB rating is lowest among starting QB’s while his 6 interceptions in 4 games are second most in the NFL as is his 58% completion percentage. Flacco has also fumbled the ball twice giving him 8 turnovers in 4 games. With Gabriel at QB the Browns hope to take advantage of his increased mobility to use more run/pass options (RPO), roll outs and planned QB runs to finally score more than 17 points this season. Because of his smaller size (5’11” 205 lbs.) and limited NFL experience there are questions about how well Gabriel will handle the various blitz packages and disguised coverages that Vikings Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores will throw at him. Browns’ coaches reportedly rave about Gabriel’s processing speed and ability to get the ball out quickly and on time and he’ll need it facing a Vikings defense that’s third in the league in pass defense allowing just 151.5 yards per game along with the 4th highest sack percentage in the NFL. To help shore up a depleted offensive line, this week the Browns traded for 9-year veteran left tackle Cam Robinson who’d lost his starting position in Houston. In 2024 Robinson allowed 7 sacks and 52 QB pressures in 632 passing snaps for the Texans. The Browns are also hoping that an improved running game led by rookie running back Quinshon Judkins (4.8 yards per rush, 2 TD’s) can take some of the pressure off of Gabriel while exploiting a Vikings run defense ranked 20th in the NFL giving up 109 yards per game. They also want to reduce the Browns over reliance on the pass, currently they average 41 passes per game second most in the NFL while throwing on a league leading 65.3% of their offensive snaps. Minnesota comes into the game with a banged up offensive line featuring 4 back-ups and a league high sack rate of almost 14%. They will be matched up against a Browns defense ranked #1 in rushing defense giving up just 2.7 yards per rush and 4th in pass defense surrendering 152 yards per game through the air. Overall, the Browns defense leads the NFL in total defense and yards given up per play. The Vikings offense is led by veteran back-up Carson Wentz. In his 2 games this season, replacing J.J. McCarthy, he’s completing 66.7% of his passes averaging 7.9 yards per pass with 4 TD’s and 2 interceptions for a QB rating of 98.2 with 9 sacks, 6 of which came last week against the Steelers. When pressured Wentz’s completion rate drops from 70% to 58% and his yards per pass goes from 8.4 yards to 6.7 yards. The Vikings have 3 elite receivers on offense led by 2022 Offensive Player of the Year and 3-time Pro Bowl receiver Justin Jefferson who comes into the game ranked 5th in receiving yards with 22 catches for 326 yards, averaging 14.8 yards per reception with 1 TD. He’s joined by 2- time Pro Bowl TE T.J. Hockenson who’s averaging 8.8 yards per catch with 1 TD and 2-time Pro Bowl receiver Adam Thielen who’s averaging 9.3 yards per catch. Whenever Wentz is under heavy pressure look for Jefferson to be his primary outlet and consistent deep threat. Minnesota’s running game is 20th in the NFL averaging 109 yards per game led by RB Mason Graham who’s averaging 4.8 yards per rush. The Vikings have had major problems on 3rd downs converting just 30.6% of their attempts, third worst in the league. Overall Minnesota is ranked 10th in scoring, averaging 25.5 points per game despite being 23rd in total offense at 294 yards per game. Their points per game average was enhanced by their 48-10 beatdown of the Bengals in week 3 when the Vikings took full advantage of 5 Bengal turnovers to score 2 defensive touchdowns by CB Isaiah Rodgers. In 4 games Rodgers has 2 forced fumbles, 1 interception and 2 tackles for loss (TFL) while holding opposing QB’s to a 42.2 QB rating. Minnesota’s defense also features 2024 Pro Bowl DE/LB Jonathan Greenard who last season accounted for 12 sacks and 18 TFL with Houston. This season he has 1 sack, 18 QB pressures, 3 TFL and 1 forced fumble. Lastly Minnesota leads the NFL in pre-snap penalties with 18 and they average the second most penalties per game with over 9 setbacks per game, so keep an eye for lots of yellow flags with the Browns averaging almost 7 penalties per game.
HAVE A HAPPY SUNDAY GO BROWNS