Browns D answers the bell with another dominant effort to down Vikings

All signs pointed to an offensive shootout after Sunday's opening drive. No one told the Browns defense. For a second straight week, Cleveland's defense dialed up another magnificent effort and put the clamps on Minnesota's potent, balanced offense. It was similarly tough for the Browns to score, but they did just enough in the second quarter to grab the lead and never let go in a 14-7 victory. The win moves the Browns to 3-1 for the second straight year. The Vikings fell to 1-3. "We settled in there after that first draft and played outstanding on the defensive side," head coach Kevin Stefanski said. "These games are hard to come by, and you're gonna play against really tough opponents on the road. You've got to go find a way to get a victory. "It wasn't perfect by any stretch of imagination."

It wasn't the history-making performance from Week 3, but it was equally impressive against a Vikings offense that put up points and yards by the bunch through the first three weeks of the season. The Browns limited Minnesota to 255 yards and kept their opponent to single digits for a second consecutive week. The Vikings were just 5-of-16 on third downs. It marks the first time since Weeks 2 and 3 of the 1995 season that the Browns limited their opponents to single-digit points in consecutive weeks. Up until the midpoint of the fourth quarter, the only thing that was missing was a turnover. That changed when Greedy Williams, making his first start since 2019, grabbed his first career interception on a deep ball by Kirk Cousins. "It's been long," said Williams. "I haven't gotten any interception since September of 2018. This feels amazing, man." Still, the Vikings got two more shots to tie or potentially win.