“There Was a Lot of Positives”: Cleveland Browns HC Kevin Stefanski Thrilled With Dillon Gabriel’s First Start In the NFL

Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski decided to bench veteran quarterback Joe Flacco in favor of rookie Dillon Gabriel for the week five matchup against the Minnesota Vikings. The Browns lost the game against the Vikings by a final score of 21-17.

Minnesota has a 3-2 record this season and Cleveland has a 1-4 record this season. This was a winnable game for the Browns in Gabriel’s first start. He completed 19-of-33 passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns in the game. Those numbers were alright for him, but head coach Kevin Stefanski was pleased with what he saw from the rookie quarterback.

Cleveland Browns Head Coach Kevin Stefanski Was Pleased With Dillon Gabriel In his First NFL Start

The Browns head coach spoke to the media on Monday about what he liked from Gabriel in his first NFL start. Stefanski said,

“A lot of positives. Obviously can always be better and certainly we as an offense have to be better and score more to help this football team. But for a young player in that environment, versus that defense, to take care of the ball, make the plays he did, I thought there was a lot of positives with plenty to clean up, and that’s what he will do. And that’s the mentality.”

Gabriel will be facing another tough test next week against the Pittsburgh Steelers (3-1). Pittsburgh will be coming off a bye week, and they will be favored in this game against Cleveland. It will be interesting to see how Gabriel will do in his next game.

Stefanski is probably going to stick with him for the remainder of the 2025 NFL season. If he were to get hurt, would he turn back to Flacco or go to rookie Shedeur Sanders? Let’s hope that scenario does not happen. Gabriel did miss some throws, but he did not have a bad first start against a very good Vikings defense. He has a chance to improve on his first start in the NFL.

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