The Cleveland Browns dropped to 1-4 with a loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday in London, but Myles Garrett doesn’t feel like the season is a lost cause just yet.
The Browns were stunned late against the Vikings when Jordan Addison caught a 12-yard touchdown pass with just 25 seconds remaining. After the game, Garrett provided a message for the team to rally behind as they prepare for their next one.
“Always confident that you can bring it back,” Garrett said. “You don’t look too far ahead or look behind you, you just have to look at the next opponent and figure out how you can win that one.”
Garrett demanded a trade during the offseason, saying he wanted to play for a contender. However, he signed a four-year extension, opting to stay. Garrett had three tackles and no sacks against the Vikings.
The percentage of teams that make the postseason after a 1-4 start is slim. However, the AFC North is fairly wide open. Cleveland just needs to turn things around quickly, which starts next week against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Browns Defense Takes Blame for Loss
The Browns‘ defense allowed the Vikings and quarterback Carson Wentz to rack up 349 total yards. Pro Bowl cornerback Denzel Ward took the blame for Addison’s late touchdown grab.
“Yeah, we were in cover 2 and I’ve got to reroute the guy inside and not put it so wide for the safety,” Ward said. “So I take full accountability for that. And yeah, just got to finish and execute better once it gets down to the last seconds.”
Fellow Browns cornerback Greg Newsome also put the blame on the defense for the loss — something that couldn’t be said earlier this season.
“That’s on us as a defense,” Newsome said. “We got the lead, last drive, that’s what we asked for and we didn’t hold up our end of the bargain. So definitely sucks to play such a good game to not finish it at the end.
“It’s on us. Like I said, we had a lot of plays out there that we should have made that we didn’t make and we gave them one. So we’ve got to find a way to close that football game.”
Browns QB Dillon Gabriel Sharp in Debut
The Browns wanted a spark when they decided to replace quarterback Joe Flacco with rookie Dillon Gabriel. And the rookie did just that against the Vikings. Gabriel completed 19 of 33 passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns. Most importantly, Gabriel did not turn the ball over.
“So much potential,” Browns tight end David Njoku said. “You know what I mean? He can build off this. He can be a great one. He’s just gotta work one day at a time. Obviously, Dillon’s young. He’s 20 years younger than Joe Flacco. He can run a lot more. You saw his legs and his athleticism a little bit today. I’m sure he can build off that.”
It was a step in the right direction but far from perfect. Cleveland was just 3-of-15 on third downs in the matchup.
“We just got to convert,” Gabriel said. “You look back, there’s obvious times you’ve got to go make it happen. It starts with me but us coming together collectively to go make that happen. But you look at a lot of the third downs to extend drives, that’s where we can continue to help ourselves.”
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