There were many things for fans to be upset about during the Vikings’ loss to the Browns, but at the top of the list are two defensive calls against Minnesota that tipped the scales to Cleveland and helped them come away with a 14-7 victory.
The first call came in the second quarter with the Vikings ahead 7-0. After forcing a turnover on downs at the goal line on Cleveland’s first series, the Browns were threatening again.
On fourth-and goal, Baker Mayfield was flushed out of the pocket and threw the ball away. Although it appeared the Vikings had made another stop, Eric Kendricks was called for a holding penalty.
This was called defensive holding on Eric Kendricks pic.twitter.com/1CWWJrynHo
— Sean Borman (@SeanBormanNFL) October 3, 2021
With one small tug on the jersey, the penalty kept the drive alive and led to a touchdown by Kareem Hunt. It also led to the Browns taking the lead when Sheldon Richardson had his own Chris Webber moment by calling a timeout the Vikings didn’t have. The Browns went for two and converted to take the lead.
The sequence haunted the Vikings throughout the rest of the game. Although the Browns extended their lead on a pair of Chase McLaughlin field goals, Minnesota had an opportunity for a score on the final play of the game.
Kirk Cousins dropped back and heaved a prayer in the direction of Adam Thielen, who was wrapped up by Denzel Ward as the ball fell to the turf. Unlike Kendricks’ tug of the jersey, Ward’s bear hug wasn’t called.
Adam Thielen may be rightfully upset he didn’t get a call here pic.twitter.com/hqfN3Pi68m
— Sean Borman (@SeanBormanNFL) October 3, 2021
“It’s frustrating,” Everson Griffen said after the game. “Some calls can be ticky-tack but that’s just the game of football. We don’t get paid to call pass interference. We get paid to play football. At the end of the day it is what it is and we just got to do better on the next play.”
Now, we can’t overlook the fact that the Vikings offense struggled mightily in the face of the Browns’ top-quality defensive line, or that the Vikings’ run defense once again seemed non-existent on a day that the Browns’ Baker Mayfield was awful.
But had the penalty been called on the final play, Minnesota would’ve had the ball at the goal line for one final play and a chance to tie the game and force overtime, or potentially score a touchdown and win on a two-point conversion.
But now that the smoke is cleared, the Vikings are 1-3 with the Detroit Lions on the schedule this coming Sunday.
