In Battle Of The Backups, Vikings Beat Browns 27-12

No fun was had. Here are the game notes, snap count data, and key observations from the TV View of the Browns poor showing in Preseason Week 2.

D’Onta Foreman (Photo - Getty)

There was a game in Cleveland this afternoon. Two straight weeks of saying that, really. It was an lackluster loss as the final score ended up 27-12 in favor of the visiting Vikings. One team executed and the other did not. Simple as that.

The big picture topic looming, which means far more to the success of the 2024 season than the game we just consumed, is the Browns might have lost multiple important pieces of depth at the tackle position. Both Hakeem Adeniji (knee) and James Hudson III (ankle) left the game following dicey situations that do not bode well for their immediate health. That puts even more stress on a concerning position waiting on two veterans to solidify what has been the biggest training camp weakness.

As for the game, while the Vikings out-gained the Browns by just 15 yards, the real difference was the three Browns turnovers. The offense turned the ball over multiple times inside the red zone, and as we know all too well, that is a kiss of death in the NFL. But there are plenty of details well worth covering in the immediate, and in more depth throughout the upcoming week.

Let’s dig into the game notes of what stood out from the TV view of the uninspiring loss.

(Photo - Getty)

• I’m not trying to say the Browns were out-coached but it was obvious to me one team had their depth guys ready to play and the other had their player’s toiling aimlessly at times without much technique or understanding of schemes. Look, if in two months time the Browns are 5-1 and the Vikings are 2-3 nobody is going to be pointing at this game and acting like it mattered at all, but to the outcome today it was obvious the depth of the Vikings just felt more prepared and disciplined.

• The Vikings played the backside of bootlegs well to keep the Browns quarterbacks bottled up. Brian Flores clearly coaches his guys up well for who is responsible for quarterback on these boot looks. and that player doesn't worry about the run. It is a stark difference from the Browns approach which had EDGE players and walked-up linebackers chasing inside and showing a lack of discipline too often. It led to Vikings quarterbacks finding the perimeter too easily, and felt like the type of stuff you saw when Kyle Shanahan was taking league by storm with Cleveland back in 2014.