Minnesota Vikings vs Cleveland Browns Match Player Stats & Game Breakdown
Picture this. A Sunday morning in London, England. 61,000 fans packed into Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. And two American football teams playing what would become one of the most dramatic finishes of the entire 2025 NFL season.
The Minnesota Vikings walked away with a 21-17 win. But that four-point margin tells you almost nothing about how close this game really was. There were trick plays. A quarterback injury. A benched wide receiver who caught the game-winning touchdown. And two Browns rookies who nearly pulled off a stunning upset on their opponent’s day.
This is the full story — every player, every stat, every moment that mattered.
Quick Match Facts
| Detail | Info |
| Date | October 5, 2025 |
| Venue | Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, England |
| Final Score | Minnesota Vikings 21 – Cleveland Browns 17 |
| Kickoff | 9:30 AM ET (2:30 PM London time) |
| Attendance | 61,082 |
| Series | NFL International Series, Week 5 |
| Vikings record after | 3-2 |
| Browns record after | 1-4 |
| Vikings QB | Carson Wentz (starting for injured J.J. McCarthy) |
| Browns QB | Dillon Gabriel (first career NFL start) |
| Game-winning play | Wentz to Addison, 12-yard TD, 0:25 remaining |
| Celebrity spotted | Jason Sudeikis (“Ted Lasso” actor) in attendance |
| Vikings London record | 5-0 all time |
The Stage — A London Game With Real Stakes
The Vikings had already been in Europe for nearly two weeks. They played and lost in Dublin against the Pittsburgh Steelers the week before. Their star second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy was out injured. The backup was Carson Wentz, a 33-year-old veteran on something like his fifth NFL chapter.
The Browns arrived in worse shape. Their record was 1-3. Their starting quarterback situation was unsettled. Dillon Gabriel, a 22-year-old rookie who had just been drafted, was given the reins by head coach Kevin Stefanski and instructed to lead an NFL team in London while the entire world watched.
The stakes couldn’t have been any higher for either side. Both teams desperately needed a win. Neither wanted to fly home empty-handed.
See also “Dodgers vs Phillies Match Player Stats: The Full Story of the 2025 NLDS“
Scoring Summary — Quarter by Quarter
| Quarter | Vikings | Browns |
| Q1 | 7 | 7 |
| Q2 | 0 | 3 |
| Q3 | 7 | 7 |
| Q4 | 7 | 0 |
| Final | 21 | 17 |
The halftime score was 10-7 in Cleveland’s favor. Minnesota trailed going into the locker room. They came back in the second half. And the winning moment didn’t arrive until the clock showed 25 seconds remaining.
The Vikings’ Quarterback — Carson Wentz
He took a hit on his left shoulder before halftime that sent him to the locker room. Nobody knew if he was coming back. For a few minutes, the Vikings’ season in London rested on backup Max Brosmer’s shoulders — who took exactly one snap, a kneeldown, before Wentz returned.
And when Wentz came back, he was a different player. He was locked in.
His final stat line: 26 completions on 35 attempts. That’s a 74.3% completion rate. He threw for 268 yards. He threw two touchdown passes and zero interceptions. His passer rating finished at 114.9.
But the number that tells the real story is this one: 9 for 9.
On the final drive — 10 plays, 80 yards, starting from his own 20-yard line, trailing by three, 25 seconds on the clock between him and defeat — Wentz completed nine of his ten throws. He moved through his receivers without panicking. He found T.J. Hockenson. He found Justin Jefferson on a leaping grab. He kept the chains moving. And when the moment came, he floated a perfect ball to Jordan Addison in the back of the end zone.
That was the game. That was the season, right there in one drive.
Minnesota Vikings — Full Team Offense
| Stat | Vikings |
| Total Plays | 61 |
| Total Yards | 349 |
| Passing Yards | 268 |
| Rushing Yards | 97 |
| First Downs | 20 |
| Turnovers | 2 (both fumbles) |
| Penalties | 7 for 50 yards |
| Avg. Yards Per Play | 5.7 |
| Time of Possession | 29:31 |
| Third Down Conversions | 3 of 9 |
Minnesota’s offense was far from perfect. They fumbled twice — something that comes back in detail when we talk about Jordan Mason. They only converted three third downs all afternoon. They had four backup offensive linemen playing at the same time by the fourth quarter, because the medical staff had put star tackle Christian Darrisaw on a snap limit.
But when it mattered most — on that final drive — none of those problems showed up.
Justin Jefferson — The Quiet Superstar
Jefferson was the best receiver on the field all afternoon. He finished with seven catches from eleven targets for 123 receiving yards. His longest catch was 38 yards. He scored zero touchdowns, and it didn’t matter — he was the engine that kept every drive alive.
The play that stands out most came on that final winning drive. The Vikings needed yards. Wentz looked right and found Jefferson, who went up and leaped over Browns cornerback Denzel Ward and came down with the ball. That catch pushed the ball inside Cleveland’s 30-yard line. It broke the Browns’ will. Three plays later, Addison scored.
Jefferson also had something to say after the game. He didn’t hide the pressure the team was feeling. “Having been in Europe for two weeks, pretty much, and losing last week in Ireland, a W was a must. We couldn’t go home on that plane 0-2.”
That quote tells you everything about what winning this game meant to this team.
Jordan Addison — From Benched to Beloved
This is the story within the story.
Before the game kicked off, head coach Kevin O’Connell suspended Addison from the first quarter. He missed a walk-through practice session, and the Vikings have standards. So their second starting wide receiver watched the first quarter from the sideline.
When he came back, it took him a while to get going. Most of his catches came on short routes. He wasn’t the guy anyone was thinking about when the fourth quarter started.
Then the final drive happened. With 25 seconds on the clock, Wentz took the snap and looked right. Addison had a step on his defender. The ball arrived perfectly. Addison caught it at the back of the end zone, kept his feet in bounds, and set off a celebration that the 61,000 people in that stadium will probably never forget.
Final line: 5 catches, 41 yards, 1 touchdown. The touchdown was 12 yards. It was enough.
O’Connell spoke with great warmth about his receiver afterward. “I love Jordan Addison. He’s a guy that I care about tremendously. Every person in that locker room has his back, he knows.However, he also made it apparent that the benching was justified. “We’ve got standards.”
Jefferson also had a word. “It’s just all about growing up and just being a part of the team.”
Jordan Mason — Fumbles and Fifty-Two Yards
Mason was the Vikings’ starting running back in London, and his afternoon had two very different stories inside it.
His first carry of the game resulted in a fumble. Cleveland’s Alex Wright punched it out. The Browns recovered at the Minnesota 47-yard line. TCleveland’s first touchdown drive was directly caused by the fumble.
Mason then scored the game-winning touchdown in the second half, a 3-yard run up the middle that gave Minnesota a 14–10 lead in the third quarter.
He finished with 13 carries for 52 yards and that one score. He was also slow to get up after a reception late in the third quarter, raising some concern on the sideline. But he finished the game.
Running back Zavier Scott also fumbled — another costly turnover in a game where Minnesota came in with a clean turnover record on the season. Both fumbles cost the Vikings early in the game.
Cam Akers — The Trick Play That Tied the Game
Nobody saw this coming.
Minnesota was trailing 7-0 and needed an answer. Running back Cam Akers lined up, took a direct snap, tucked the ball like he was going to run, then — completely surprising the Cleveland defense — threw a deep pass to the right.
The receiver was Josh Oliver, a tight end whose job is almost entirely blocking. He’d never been a receiving option before in this game. He was wide open.
The pass traveled 32 yards through the London air. Oliver caught it. Touchdown. Vikings tie the game 7-7.
It was Akers’ first career pass attempt in the NFL. He was a high school quarterback years ago. He remembered how to throw. The Browns were unable to respond to it.
T.J. Hockenson — The Unsung Connector
Hockenson didn’t score. But he was Carson Wentz’s security blanket on that final winning drive. Wentz hit him twice in critical moments when the Vikings needed to move the chains. Without those completions, that drive stalls.
He had catches in the intermediate range — the 12-to-20 yard area where Hockenson has always lived. He moves chains without the flash. He was exactly what a veteran tight end should be in a pressure moment.
Dillon Gabriel — A Debut Nobody Will Forget
Here’s what you have to respect about Dillon Gabriel’s first NFL start. The kid was playing in London. In front of 61,000 people. For a team that was 1-3. With almost no experience at this level.
And he nearly won the game.
Gabriel finished 19 of 33 for 190 passing yards. He threw two touchdown passes with zero interceptions. His passer rating was 94.3 — an excellent number for a rookie making his first career start anywhere, let alone on an international stage.
His first touchdown came on a play he drew up himself — sort of. He faked a handoff to Quinshon Judkins, then rolled left and found fellow rookie Harold Fannin Jr. near the end zone’s corner. The two rookies celebrating together in the end zone in London was a genuinely touching moment.
His second touchdown was a 9-yard pass to David Njoku that gave the Browns a 17-14 lead heading into the fourth quarter. At that moment, Cleveland fans genuinely believed their team was going to win.
What went wrong for Gabriel wasn’t the stats. It was the clock. After Addison’s touchdown put Minnesota up 21-17 with 25 seconds to go, Gabriel got the ball back with zero timeouts. He had one shot. Wide receiver Jamari Thrash caught his pass but couldn’t get out of bounds in time. The clock hit zero. Game over.
Gabriel held his head up. This wasn’t a bad debut. This was a good one that ended in the worst possible way.
Quinshon Judkins — The Rookie Running Back Who Dominated
If Gabriel’s debut surprised people, Judkins’ performance flat-out stunned them.
The rookie running back from Ole Miss carried the ball 23 times for 110 rushing yards. That was a career high. He averaged 4.8 yards per carry. He set up Cleveland’s opening touchdown drive with back-to-back big runs — a 32-yard burst down the right sideline and then 9 more yards on the very next carry.
Minnesota’s defense was simply unable to stop him consistently. Every time the Browns needed a possession to stay alive, Judkins churned out yards.
For any running back at any stage of the season, the final rushing total of 110 yards on 23 carries is outstanding. For a rookie making his early appearances, it was genuinely remarkable. The Vikings gave up 140 total rushing yards on the day, and most of that was Judkins.
Harold Fannin Jr. — Touchdown in London, Rookie to Rookie
Harold Fannin Jr. is a rookie tight end out of Bowling Green. In London, on October 5th, 2025, he caught the first touchdown of Dillon Gabriel’s NFL starting career.
Fannin ran into the left corner of the end zone. Gabriel pump-faked, created a split second of hesitation in the defense, and threw left. Fannin caught it cleanly. 1-yard touchdown. The rookie connection that gave Cleveland a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.
He finished the game with 4 catches for 13 yards and that one score. The yards don’t matter. The moment does. In front of the entire NFL globe on a Sunday morning, he and Gabriel, two rookies beginning their careers together in London, exchanged a touchdown.
David Njoku — The Veteran Tight End Who Put Cleveland Ahead
Njoku is the opposite of a rookie. He’s been in the league for years and knows how to find the end zone.
In the third quarter, with the Browns needing to respond to Jordan Mason’s go-ahead rushing touchdown, Gabriel went to his veteran tight end. The pass was short — 9 yards — but it was precise. Njoku caught it in traffic and extended through the tackle to reach the end zone.
That score put Cleveland ahead 17-14 with about three minutes left in the third quarter. Njoku finished with 6 catches for 67 yards and that one critical score. He was Gabriel’s most reliable receiver target all afternoon.
Cleveland Browns — Full Team Offense
| Stat | Browns |
| Total Plays | 67 |
| Total Yards | 322 |
| Passing Yards | 190 |
| Rushing Yards | 140 |
| First Downs | 17 |
| Turnovers | 0 |
| Penalties | 10 for 78 yards |
| Avg. Yards Per Play | 4.8 |
| Time of Possession | 30:29 |
| Third Down Conversions | 3 of 15 |
The Browns held possession for slightly longer than the Vikings. They had zero turnovers. They ran more plays. They held Minnesota’s defense to just three third-down conversions.
And they still lost.
The reason is one final drive. Their third-down conversion rate — 3 of 15 — is the real killer. When they needed to sustain possession in the fourth quarter to run out the clock, they couldn’t do it. Three straight three-and-outs when Minnesota needed stops gave the Vikings’ offense enough time to work.
Andre Szmyt and Will Reichard — The Kickers
This game’s kicking battle was a wash, but both kickers did their jobs.
Szmyt made Cleveland’s only field goal — a 31-yarder just before halftime that gave the Browns a 10-7 lead going into the locker room. He went 1 for 1 on attempts.
Reichard went 0 for 1 on a field goal attempt from 50-plus yards that didn’t connect. But he made all three of his extra point attempts. In a game decided by four points, those extra points mattered enormously.
The Defensive Battle — Minnesota’s Stop When It Counted
Minnesota’s defense gave up 110 rushing yards and two passing touchdowns. On paper, that doesn’t look great.
But in the final minutes, that defense showed its character. After Addison’s go-ahead score, Cleveland got the ball back with 25 seconds and no timeouts. The Browns tried two plays. On the last one, Thrash caught a pass in the middle of the field and couldn’t stop his momentum. He stayed in bounds. The clock ran out.
Minnesota’s defense generated five three-and-outs across the game. They put constant pressure on Gabriel — blitzing 28 times, which is an eye-popping number. They got two sacks, nine quarterback hurries, and forced Gabriel to make quick decisions repeatedly.
Cleveland’s defense was also impressive. They sacked Wentz three times for 16 yards. They defended 5 passes. They even forced two fumbles — both by Vikings running backs. If they had converted even a few more third downs offensively, this game ends very differently.
Final Words
Two teams on the same London pitch. Two completely different vibe lines.
The Vikings arrived desperate, banged up, and needing to prove they could win without their franchise quarterback. They left 3-2 with a story to tell.
The Browns arrived with two rookies making their moments and nearly stole a game in front of 61,000 fans in England. They left 1-4 with a lot to process — but also with real hope. Dillon Gabriel showed enough. Quinshon Judkins showed everything.
History will remember Carson Wentz going 9 for 9 on that final drive. History will remember Jordan Addison going from the bench in the first quarter to catching the winning touchdown in the final seconds. History will remember a trick pass from a running back that tied the game and changed everything.
This was not a perfect game. Neither team played perfectly. But it was a game full of people finding something inside themselves when it mattered most. That’s the kind of football people travel all the way to London to watch.
FAQs
1. What was the final score of Vikings vs Browns in London 2025?
The Minnesota Vikings won 21-17 over the Cleveland Browns at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on October 5, 2025. It was a Week 5 NFL International Series game.
2. Who caught the game-winning touchdown?
Jordan Addison caught a 12-yard touchdown pass from Carson Wentz with just 25 seconds remaining. It completed a 10-play, 80-yard drive and gave Minnesota a four-point lead they held for the win.
3. Why was Jordan Addison benched in the first quarter?
He missed a walk-through practice session, which violated the team’s standards. Head coach Kevin O’Connell suspended him for the first quarter. He returned in the second quarter and ultimately caught the game-winning score.
4. How did Carson Wentz perform statistically?
Wentz completed 26 of 35 passes for 268 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. His passer rating was 114.9. He was 9 of 10 on the final game-winning drive.
5. What happened to Carson Wentz during the game?
He took a hit from linebacker Carson Schwesinger on his left shoulder just before halftime and briefly went to the locker room. Backup Max Brosmer took one snap — a kneeldown — before Wentz returned for the second half.
6. How did Browns rookie Dillon Gabriel do in his first NFL start?
Gabriel went 19 of 33 for 190 yards with 2 touchdowns and zero interceptions. His passer rating was 94.3. It was a genuinely impressive debut but ended in heartbreak when time expired after Addison’s go-ahead score.
7. What were Quinshon Judkins’ stats in this game?
Judkins carried the ball 23 times for 110 rushing yards — a career high at that point. He averaged 4.8 yards per carry and set up Cleveland’s opening touchdown drive with back-to-back big runs.
8. How did Justin Jefferson perform?
Jefferson caught 7 passes from 11 targets for 123 receiving yards, including a key leaping catch over Denzel Ward on the winning drive. He did not score a touchdown but was Minnesota’s most productive offensive player.
9. What was the trick play in the first quarter?
Running back Cam Akers took a direct snap, faked a run, then threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to tight end Josh Oliver to tie the game 7-7. It was Akers’ first career NFL pass attempt.
10. Who scored for Cleveland?
Harold Fannin Jr. caught a 1-yard TD pass from Gabriel in Q1. David Njoku caught a 9-yard TD pass from Gabriel in Q3. Andre Szmyt kicked a 31-yard field goal just before halftime.
11. Who scored for Minnesota?
Josh Oliver caught Cam Akers’ trick-play TD pass in Q1. Jordan Mason ran for a 3-yard TD in Q3. Jordan Addison caught a 12-yard TD pass from Carson Wentz in Q4.
12. What was the turnover battle in this game?
Cleveland had zero turnovers. Minnesota had two — both fumbles by running backs Jordan Mason and Zavier Scott, both forced by Cleveland’s defense. Despite losing the turnover battle 2-0, Minnesota still won.
13. How many times was Wentz sacked?
Cleveland’s defense sacked Wentz three times for a total of 16 yards. Minnesota also blitzed heavily, sending extra rushers on 28 of Cleveland’s 33 passing plays.
14. What is the Vikings’ all-time record in London after this game?
The Vikings’ record in London is now 5-0 overall. This game continued their remarkable run of never losing a game played in England.
15. What was the context of the Vikings’ two-week European trip?
Minnesota played in Dublin, Ireland in Week 4, losing 24-21 to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Then they flew to London for Week 5. The London win gave them a 1-1 record on the trip and prevented a demoralizing 0-2 international stretch. Justin Jefferson said winning was essential: the team couldn’t face a long flight home after two straight losses.
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