It was announced before the game that Sam Darnold and the majority of the Vikings starters would not be playing against the Browns. One can assume that was a result of the team’s joint practices this week and the injuries that resulted.
With that, we saw Nick Mullens give everyone his best Iron Man impression with a tough first half, and a stat backs up just how wild it was for him.
Kevin Seifert of ESPN shared on social media that ESPN stats and info had Mullens hit on nearly half of his 20 dropbacks. The Browns’ defense, which dominated the Vikings’ offensive line, hit him nine times and sacked him two other times.
Despite that, Mullens played the entire first half and led the Vikings to a 13-to-7 first-half lead. He had a couple of nice throws when he was allowed time and converted several third downs to extend drives.
Nice steps taken after missing the game last week.