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Vikings Head Coach Reveals Why Jordan Addison Was Benched Before Scoring Game-Winner

Liam McKeone

Jordan Addison was benched for the first quarter of the Vikings' win over the Browns in London.
Jordan Addison was benched for the first quarter of the Vikings' win over the Browns in London. / Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images
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On Sunday the Vikings took on the Browns in London. After the game kicked off at 9:30 a.m. ET, fans noticed Minnesota had a glaring absence at wideout in the first quarter—third-year pro Jordan Addison was nowhere to be found. Addison was instead sidelined for the first 15 minutes of the contest.

Addison was back on the field from the second quarter on, and Minnesota is surely glad for it because he wound up making the biggest play of the game. After trailing for much of the international contest with Cleveland rookie Dillon Gabriel holding his own against Brian Flores's defense, the Vikings marched down the field and took the lead with a go-ahead touchdown with less than 30 seconds remaining. And who scored that touchdown? Addison, of course.

It was reported during the game that Addison was held out of the first frame due to a coach's decision. After the win, coach Kevin O'Connell addressed the matter directly, revealing Addison had missed a walkthrough and thus was disciplined by missing the first 15 minutes.

"He missed a walkthrough this week," the coach said. "Those types of things aren't in alignment with our standards and wanted to make sure he was held accountable for that. But at the same time he knows that. I thought he handled it professionally. He spoke with the team to let them know that, whenever I give him the opportunity to go in the game, they can count on him and he makes the game-winning catch."

In three quarters, Addison finished with five catches for 41 yards and the go-ahead score. The Vikings will continue to rely on him as they wait for J.J. McCarthy to get healthy. They undoubtedly hope he'll be more available going forward after missing the first three games of the year due to suspension and the first quarter of Week 5.

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Liam McKeone
LIAM MCKEONE

Liam McKeone is a senior writer for the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has been in the industry as a content creator since 2017, and prior to joining SI in May 2024, McKeone worked for NBC Sports Boston and The Big Lead. In addition to his work as a writer, he has hosted the Press Pass Podcast covering sports media and The Big Stream covering pop culture. A graduate of Fordham University, he is always up for a good debate and enjoys loudly arguing about sports, rap music, books and video games. McKeone has been a member of the National Sports Media Association since 2020.

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