How the Cleveland Browns just found a new way to lose in London

The Cleveland Browns invented a new way to lose during Week 5’s defeat in London.

Through three quarters of international football, the Browns did enough to have the Minnesota Vikings on the ropes. But the meltdown came to fruition in the fourth quarter when things mattered most.

Before the last drive, the Browns had four fourth quarter possessions. They only had one first down. Head coach Kevin Stefanski was way too conservative and the team moved away from running the ball.

Gabriel’s debut was far from the issue for the Browns, but he was not necessarily part of the solution, either. The third-round rookie was 19-for-33, with most of those completions coming right around the line of scrimmage. Anything deeper than 10 yards felt like a major heave for Gabriel.

Cleveland found success running the football with Quinshon Judkins, who had 23 carries for 110 yards. The Browns needed to continue to ride their premium rookie running back. Instead, Stefanski preferred to put the game in the hands of his rookie quarterback, who airmailed way too many passes in big moments.

Vikings head coach Kevin O’Conell completely outclassed Stefanski in the fourth quarter. Minnesota orchestrated a long drive, bleeding the clock. Carson Wentz found Jordan Addison for a late touchdown, giving the Browns very little time to try and orchestrate a comeback without any timeouts.

Stefanski trusted that his defense would not allow Wentz to orchestrate an 80-yard touchdown drive. That did not work. The proof is in the pudding – you need to score points in the modern NFL, and the Browns are simply incapable of doing that, regardless of the starting quarterback.