
Dillon Gabriel served as the backup quarterback to Joe Flacco for the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. He did not look happy in that role.
In fact, I would go as far as to say he looked miserable while waiting for his number to finally be called.
However, the Browns refuse to make a permanent switch at the most important position on the field. They would rather stick with the (overly) seasoned NFL veteran than the rookie.
Joe Flacco struggled.
Cleveland’s defense played surprisingly well against Green Bay on Sunday. The Browns only trailed 10-0 with less than 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter. They even tied it up not too long thereafter.
And yet, their offense could not find any success through the air. Flacco was the biggest problem.
The 40-year-old completed less than 60% of his pass attempts for less than 200 yards with an interception and no touchdowns. His reads were even worse than his stats.
He missed a wide-open receiver over the middle on an easy first down.
the Browns ran what should have been a 30+ yard flea flicker except, whoops, Joe Flacco checked it down from a clean pocket??? pic.twitter.com/y4a4WYb7q7
— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) September 21, 2025
His interception was an arm punt.
McKINNEY INTERCEPTION!
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) September 21, 2025
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/IRJ6hp22sZ
Boos rained down on this failed check down:
Joe Flacco has played a horrible game, Browns fans boo’ed him after this throw 😂
— SM Highlights (@SMHighlights1) September 21, 2025
Browns have sucked this whole game, Dillon Gabriel or Shedeur Sanders next?
Lets go. pic.twitter.com/h4opn6hDYN
It was hard to watch. An elite quarterback in his prime showed his age.
Dillon Gabriel was ready to go.
Cleveland decided to bench Flacco in favor of Gabriel during a blowout loss to Baltimore last weekend. He completed three passes for 19 yards and a touchdown.
It was not some kind of superstar debut by any stretch of the imagination. It’s not like he went for 300 yards during a come-from-behind victory.
However, the writing seems to be on the wall here. The Browns aren’t going to win the Super Bowl.
Why not give the young guy an opportunity?
Dillon Gabriel was ready to go. He was chomping at the bit.

We’ll see what Kevin Stefanski decides to do moving forward. The Packers left the door open on Sunday. It had nothing to do with Flacco…