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Why Browns rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel embarrassed Super Bowl winner in promising NFL debut
Making your first NFL start is both an exciting, but also nerve-racking moment for any rookie’s career, but doing it at a sold out stadium in a different country, that’s a whole different level.
For the Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Dillion Gabriel, he experienced exactly that as he stepped on to the field for the first time for Sunday’s NFL London game against the Minnesota Vikings at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, live on DAZN.
After the struggles of veteran Joe Flacco, who threw just two touchdown passes in the first four games of the season, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski made the call to bring this year’s third round draft pick Dillon Gabriel into the fold.
After six years in college, Gabriel was not a raw talent, with plenty of experience under his belt. But so often rookie QBs have struggled under the bright lights of the NFL. However, with this stuttering Browns offense, surely the only way was up.
To keep Gabriel calm against the Vikings, his first snap saw him hand the ball off to running back Quinshon Judkins who was a key threat for the Browns.
While his first drive ended in a four and out, Gabriel’s next would get an early career milestone off the board.
An eight-play drive saw Gabriel throw his first NFL touchdown pass, a one-yard throw to fellow rookie Harold Fannin Jr. Albeit it was just one of two passes which the Hawaii man threw with the running game again proving to be vital as Gabriel eased into life in the NFL.
With the Browns and Vikings level 7-7 going into the second quarter, Gabriel had the chance to showcase his calm demeanour when under pressure from the Vikings defense.
Backed up on their own 11, as the pocket collapsed around him, Gabriel seized the initiative, tucked the ball and ran. With the modern-day quarterback now expected to be jack of all trades through the air and on the ground, there were no signs of Gabriel being a nervous presence if the calling came to run with the ball despite finishing one yard short of the first down.
As the clock ticked towards the two-minute warning, Gabriel was under pressure to get the Browns back into the lead.
In a drive which spanned 20 plays, and lasted two minutes and 21 seconds, the rookie quarterback kept calm, firing short, sharp passes to get his team up the field and his confidence grew. So much so that a 17-yard throw to tight end David Njoku set up the Browns to score a field goal to nudge into a 10-7 lead at halftime.
The Browns may have gone on to lose the game, but Gabriel continued to show how he can function in different game scenarios. The standout of these in the second half came in the third quarter in what was an epic offensive drive by the Browns.
In the second of three drives in this period, the Browns amassed a 13 play, 69-yard drive which ate up eight minutes and six seconds. Gabriel threw for only 33 yards as the Browns opted to run the ball, but his nine-yard touchdown pass to Njoku capped off another promising spell that saw Gabriel not waste possession.
If the Browns offense can manage to execute these long, time consuming drives with Gabriel under centre, then this unit can become a serious force, tiring out opposition defenses and leaving very little time for any meaningful reply.
As the teams shook hands at the end of the fourth quarter, there are reasons for Browns fans to be optimistic.
It felt like a breath of fresh air seeing the Browns offense in action with Gabriel. There was no sense of panic, and the 24-year-old looked at home in his first NFL start.
Registering 190 yards, it was a solid day’s work for Gabriel, who added three touchdowns against the Vikings to his resume. To put that in perspective, Gabriel has scored more touchdowns in one game than Super Bowl winner Flacco has scored all season with a grand total of two.
If that statistic alone does not give Browns fans hope about their next quarterback, I don’t know what will.
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