A loss in Dublin. A win in London. In Sunday's case, two very evenly matched teams battled, and the Vikings overcame two turnovers plus a missed field goal to do just enough to win. As I saw at Croke Park, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was filled with nearly every NFL team jersey. Between the two events, I did see at least one jersey from all 32 teams. This time Vikings fans outnumbered the "home" team fans, and unlike Dublin, Vikings fans were able to get a few quite loud SKOL Chants echoing through the stadium.
The patchwork offensive line held up far better than I feared, and while penalties remain a problem, they didn't derail chances for victory. I remain concerned about the run defense. Cleveland got far too many chunk runs and was able to string together running plays for first downs. I would have expected a game plan that required a rookie QB making his first start to throw more than Dillon Gabriel was required to throw.
Nonetheless, a bye week awaits. Healthy starters should be coming back, and the Vikings can start thinking about stringing together wins.
— Jeff K. in London via Dublin via Sacramento
Thanks to Jeff and others who were able to make it to one or both of the historic games. It honestly was a tremendous opportunity that I'll forever be grateful for being able to cover.
This was my fourth time covering a London game, and it's been tremendous to see the way that American football has gained momentum. Having tried to keep up with scores of Sunday Night and Monday Night Football while there, I fully understand the commitment level of fans who are following teams into wee hours.
The welcomes our travel party received in Ireland and again in the UK are truly special and forever memories.
I can't underscore how impressed I am by the Vikings operations staff for any road trip, whether it's an every-year destination in the division or something like the unprecedented double dip.
O'Connell expressed his appreciation for Minnesota's support staff.
"One thing for sure is my confidence level to take on the endeavor that it was, was very strong because of the people I have a chance to work with, players included, coaches," O'Connell said. "This was a tough week on coaches. We tried to maximize our time with the players, but coaches are not exactly on that player schedule, and I asked these guys to empty the tank and give everything they possibly have — whatever it takes from a game-planning standpoint, maybe having conversations about what it would look like if C.D. hit his snap count or told us it was time — how would we play that game, so we really tried to do every everything we could uncover every stone and make sure that we were prepared.
"But my confidence, because of the people that help us do these things, guys like Paul Martin, who, our fans won't know Paul Martin, but they should, because he's a heck of a travel agent, if you need one. People like Tyler Williams, people like Ben Hawkins, Chuck Peterson, there's these names that hit my mind of why I was confident in it," O'Connell added. "With all that being said, it was a unique thing for everybody to navigate. And I told our players the other day, if you're looking for excuses, you'll find them, so don't look. We just wanted to go 1-0 [Sunday], and we were able to do that."
As for the run defense, it seems like the Vikings are still struggling to set edges from time to time on runs that reach the perimeter.
Rookie Quinshon Judkins impressed on several runs, including his game-long 32-yarder to start Cleveland's second possession that ended with the first touchdown of the game. Forty-one of the second-round pick's 110 rushing yards occurred on that play and the 9-yard rush that immediately followed. Take out those two, and Judkins totaled 69 yards on 21 other rushes (3.3 per carry).
Teams usually do a self-scout during their bye week to address areas of improvement, and there are numerous things, including preventing chunk runs, where the team can apply focus to make improvements beginning in a Week 7 matchup against the Eagles.