From Shedeur Sanders and his lip-synching answers to the return of Jordan Addison, we look at some of the big storylines heading into the first NFL London game of the 2025 season.

The Minnesota Vikings will make NFL history when they face the Cleveland Browns at Tottenham this Sunday by becoming the first team to play games in two countries outside of the United States in the same season.

Kevin O’Connell’s team are coming off their 24-21 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers at Dublin’s Croke Park as they look to extend their perfect record in the UK to 6-0. Cleveland meanwhile arrive with a new face under center in their first visit to London since 2017.

Pantomime Sanders and Gabriel’s first start

The Browns decided it was time for change at quarterback on Wednesday as they announced rookie Dillon Gabriel would make his first NFL start at Tottenham, replacing benched 40-year-old Joe Flacco. The perennial nagging question for Kevin Stefanski in recent years has been whether he can orchestrate an offense finally capable of complementing and rewarding what is consistently one of the best defenses in the league.

Flacco had thrown six interceptions in the opening four games, through which Cleveland rank second-worst in scoring and 27th in total yards. Second-round pick Gabriel now gets his shot and an opportunity to stake his claim as a long, desperately-coveted answer to the Browns’ quarterback nightmare. He becomes the 13th rookie quarterback to start for the Browns since their return to the NFL in 1999 after a three-year hiatus, and the first quarterback in NFL history to make his first career start in an international game.

The headlines, though, came elsewhere in mid-week as Shedeur Sanders bizarrely mimed silent answers when asked about the move by reporters in the Browns locker room. Sanders, once projected as an early first-round selection, had been the shock slide of the NFL Draft as he fell all the way to the fifth round, before entering the season as Cleveland’s third-string quarterback.

It came a week after Sanders told reporters: “If you see the quarterback play in the league right now, I know I’m capable of doing better than that.”

Redmond’s rise in Minnesota

Brian Flores and his Vikings defense tormented Aaron Rodgers with three interceptions when they met the then-New York Jets quarterback in London last year. But the four-time MVP enacted his revenge, of sorts, on Sunday as he buffered Flores’ famed unit to lead the Steelers to victory in Dublin.

In truth, missed opportunities with the ball in hand had dented Flores and his defense’s ability to be aggressive, denying them any sustained pressure and momentum in the game. But no Vikings performance is without its positives on defense these days, among the latest unsung stories of their season being the emergence of Jalen Redmond.

Redmond posted two sacks on Rodgers from nose tackle on the day to continue his ascent as a thriving successor to offseason departure Harrison Phillips. The 26-year-old has battled adversity on his route to an opportunity in the NFL having missed large portions of his college career at Oklahoma due to blood clot issues before eventually signing as an undrafted free agent by the Carolina Panthers in 2023.

He was waived by the Panthers that August and later played four game for the Arlington Renegades in the UFL, posting 4.5 sacks, five tackles for loss and 18 total tackles to earn a chance with the Vikings in June 2024. With Phillips out the picture, Redmond is on the way to making the role his.

Flores’ defense, with its nastily-disguised coverages, its simulated pressures and its blitz frenzies, enters as a daunting acid test for any quarterback, let alone a rookie making his first start. Gabriel has his work cut out.

Garrett vs the Vikings o-line

If ever there was an NFL defense deserving of a more capable helping hand on the other side of the ball, it is that of Cleveland. The Browns have allowed the fewest first downs of any team in the league since with 1,619 since 2020, the San Francisco 49ers their closest competition with 1,628 allowed. What’s more, they have allowed a league-best 611 since 2023, 92 fewer than the next-best Kansas City Chiefs in that period, while having also allowed the third-fewest yards by opponents since 2020.

Jim Schwartz leads one of the NFL’s stingiest, most dominant and yet criminally-unfulfilled units, which arrives in London ranked ranked first in total yards, fourth against the pass and first against the run. Quarterback purgatory continues to hinder them, and notably Myles Garrett, whose 106.5 sacks since entering the league as the No 1 pick in 2017 are bettered only by TJ Watt’s 111.

Garrett and co have the opportunity to feast on Sunday against a banged-up Vikings offensive line that just surrendered six sacks and 14 quarterback hits on Carson Wentz to the Steelers in Ireland. They lost offensive tackle Brian O’Neill to a knee injury and center Ryan Kelly to a concussion during the game, while rookie guard Donovan Jackson is sidelined after undergoing wrist surgery. The Vikings could also be down to their third-string center Blake Brandel, who has never played the position, after Michael Jurgens missed practice in mid-week with a hamstring problem. Just the small matter of Myles Garrett next

Can Wentz hit back?

Wentz is set to make his third successive start for the Vikings as he continues to stand-in for injured second-year Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who remains in the process of nursing a high ankle sprain suffered in Week Two.

A former No 2 overall pick, Wentz is playing on his sixth team in his 10th season. He threw two touchdowns in Week Three’s 48-10 win over the Cincinnati Bengals before posting 350 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions against a dominant Steelers defense in Week Four’s 24-21 loss.

Memories of O’Connell’s ability inspire a Sam Darnold career resurgence have prompted questions over whether Wentz could yet lock down a starting job over the remainder of the campaign, even beyond McCarthy’s return. A mixed day in Dublin saw him miss throws with moments of hesitation while also pulling the Vikings within three to threaten overtime; there were familiar Wentz phases of erratic decisions and snowballing negative plays, albeit behind a depleted offensive line, tied in with encouragement that he can yet keep Minnesota in the hunt. From the Steelers to the Browns, defensive tests don’t get much greater.

McCarthy delivered a mixed opening fortnight to the season prior to his injury, with O’Connell keen to avoid rushing the former Michigan man back sooner than required.

“J.J. is working his way back and is entering the next phase of his rehab where he can get a little more active. Looking forward to getting him back on the field practicing with the team as soon as we can,” said O’Connell on Wednesday.

“But at the same time, we want to be smart and let that high ankle fully heal, and then he can really start attacking it. Working on his technique and fundamentals and getting reacclimated, which I think he will do very quickly.”

The Addison effect

Minnesota were boosted by the return of Jordan Addison last weekend as the wide receiver made his first appearance since serving a three-game suspension to start the season.

O’Connell wasted no time in reintegrating one of the league’s most underrated second receiver options as Addison played 73 offensive snaps (96.1 per cent) while making four catches for 114 yards. He should have raced clear for a touchdown late in the game only to somehow be caught by linebacker Payton Wilson – who hit 22.48mph in pursuit – and settle for an 81-yard catch-and-run down to the goalline.

Addison is highly-regarded inside the Vikings building as a perfect complement to teammate Justin Jefferson, who ignited his own campaign with 10 catches for 126 yards in his first 100-yard outing of 2025. A prominent feature to O’Connell’s offense is three receiver sets out of which he is a master for spacing and dagger concepts, with Addison’s slickness as a route salesman and his ability to hit multiple levels a key asset in not only his own production by opening the floor for Jefferson. When he is around, defenses are less equipped to double up on the Vikings talisman.

He made 63 catches from 99 targets for 875 yards and nine touchdowns at 13.9 yards per reception last season; Addison’s availability is a welcome sight for his quarterback, be it Wentz or McCarthy.

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