Dillon Gabriel Looked Miserable Watching Joe Flacco Stink It Up

Dillon Gabriel Browns Bench Joe Flacco Miserable
© Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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.

His interception was an arm punt.

Boos rained down on this failed check down:

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.

Dillon Gabriel
NFL on FOX

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…