The Vikings did well to threaten a late fightback against the Steelers given their offensive line has been decimated by injuries, leaving back-up quarterback Carson Wentz exposed.
Wentz will make his third start in place of injured starter JJ McCarthy and will face one of the NFL’s most fearsome defensive players in Myles Garrett, who already has four sacks this season.
Minnesota reached last season’s play-offs but come in with a 2-2 record, while Cleveland are 1-3 after Sunday’s 34-10 defeat at Detroit.
That put veteran Joe Flacco under more scrutiny after the veteran won a four-way quarterback competition to be the Browns’ starter this season.
Kenny Pickett was then traded, with Dillon Gabriel named back-up and fellow rookie Shedeur Sanders third on the depth chart.
The Browns selected Gabriel in the third round of this year’s draft while Sanders – the initial favourite to be the first overall pick – made a dramatic slide to the fifth round.
With Cleveland facing a tough start to the season, there was speculation coach Kevin Stefanski would look to make an early change and Sanders last week told ESPN: “If you see the quarterback right now, I know I’m capable of doing better than that.”
That was just a few days after his father Deion – a two-time Super Bowl winner and his college coach at Colorado – told the Kelce brothers’ New Heights podcast that Shedeur would start at some point this season.
After Sunday’s defeat, Stefanski said: “There are so many things that we need to do better, quarterback included, but this is not about one person.”
Gabriel has come in for a handful of snaps so far and while it may be too soon for Sanders to start in London, Cleveland’s quarterback situation is sure to be a big talking point this week.
