Cleveland Browns At Minnesota Vikings: Second Quarter Open Thread

The Minnesota Vikings got the ball first in this one, and they wasted little time moving the ball down the field and getting on the board.

The Vikings mounted a very impressive opening drive, moving 80 yards in 11 plays. Quarterback Christian Ponder was 3-of-4 for 52 yards on the drive, and Adrian Peterson carried the ball seven times for 28 yards, including the 2-yard touchdown run (with Letroy Guion serving as lead blocker) to give the Vikings an early 7-0 lead. Included in the drive were completions of 27 yards from Ponder to Greg Jennings and 20 yards from Ponder to Jarius Wright.

Cleveland went three-and-out on their first possession, and the Vikings responded with a three-and-out of their own. On the Browns' second drive, with Chris Cook on the sidelines with an injury, backup cornerback A.J. Jefferson got burned on two consecutive plays, with the second being a 47-yard touchdown pass from Brian Hoyer to the returning Josh Gordon. It was the first touchdown the Browns had put up since the second quarter of Week 1.

The Vikings again went three-and-out and Cleveland got the ball back after a third-down sack of Christian Ponder. The Vikings showed some really poor tackling on a long pass from Hoyer to Gordon, and the Browns are currently driving in Vikings territory, looking at second-and-11 inside the Minnesota red zone at the 19-yard line.

That's where we stand after fifteen minutes of football, ladies and gentlemen. A lot of people thought this would be an easy one for Minnesota, but it certainly hasn't been that way thus far.