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In an NFL preseason matchup that featured former quarterbacks from BYU and Utah facing each other, the former Cougar won the day.
Jaren Hall threw two touchdowns for the Minnesota Vikings while Tyler Huntley threw two interceptions as the Vikings beat the Cleveland Browns 27-12 Saturday.
Both Hall and Huntley, who are buried on their team’s respective depth charts, entered the game needing a solid effort as the competition heats up to make an NFL 53-man roster with the league’s cutdown day just a week and a half away.
The pair both played in the second half, and early on, it looked like Huntley might have the better day.
He led Cleveland into the red zone on its opening drive of the second half, completing a 30-yard pass on his first attempt and then converted a fourth-and-2 in Minnesota territory on a 22-yard connection with tight end Treyton Welch.
The drive ended, though, when on second-and-goal from the Vikings’ 11 — one play after Huntley was sacked for a 6-yard loss — he fired a bit high to his tight end and Viking Dwight McGlothern intercepted the ball.
McGlothern dove for the pick, then got up and raced the other side before Huntley tackled him at the Browns 8.
That’s where Hall’s first drive started, and he threw a fade to Malik Knowles for a 1-yard touchdown on the second play of the drive, giving the Vikings a 20-7 lead.
Huntley responded with another solid drive — he converted two third downs on the ground and threw a 16-yard pass to convert another — before the drive stalled in the red zone again and Cleveland settled for a field goal.
After both teams punted on their next possession, Hall had the biggest play of the day for either player.
On the fifth play of the drive that started at the Minnesota 6-yard line, Hall rolled right and threw just over a defender’s outstretched hand, hitting Jeshaun Jones in stride. Jones caught the ball at the Minnesota 48 and raced the final 52 yards for a 71-yard touchdown reception.
In the final minute of the game, Huntley threw another interception while attempting to throw to former BYU running back Aidan Robbins.
Hall, who is likely to be the Vikings’ emergency third QB on the 53-man roster after Vikings rookie J.J. McCarthy was lost for the season to a torn meniscus injury, completed 4 of 5 passes for 87 yards and the two touchdowns, a noticeable improvement over his effort in Minnesota’s first preseason game.
Huntley, who is competing with second-year pro Dorian Thompson-Robinson for the QB3 job in Cleveland, showed off more of his dual-threat abilities, completing 14 of 20 passes for 135 yards while running for 19 yards on four carries.
Those were similar passing numbers to Thompson-Robinson, who completed 13 of 17 passes for 126 yards and an interception.
The Vikings will play at Philadelphia next Saturday to wrap up preseason play, while the Browns will play at Seattle.