In his NFL debut against the Eagles, Dillion Gabriel completed 72% of his passes and showed the ability to keep things moving. Think about his three-for-three on third downs on his opening drive, which gave his team momentum in the preseason game. But there is a flip side… Sure, the pick-six to Andrew Mukuba was a rookie mistake, but it was also enough to disrupt momentum—a play that can lose regular-season games.

Later on, HC Kevin Stefanski disclosed that their TEs and WRs were out of their sandbox at that time, and that is what led to a miscommunication and ultimately, the interception. But maybe that’s not the entire truth. At least, that’s what NFL analyst Mike from Mikerophone on YouTube has suggested.

“Gabriel is staring down Diontae Johnson on that crosser route as he makes his way out of the pocket, which I mean, yeah, that’s the right read; especially with Eagles rookie safety Andrew Mukuba, giving his back to Diontae, preventing the deep route from hurting them. This should be an easy throw that’ll get you a first down and potentially even more. But look at what Dillion Gabriel does instead.

“Gabriel continues to let the play develop instead of taking the easy throw. And this creates a giant mess. This play works because the three receivers who are running to the strong side of the field are all at different levels, creating a space in between defenders to throw the ball… But when the ball gets held as long as it does, it creates a complete cluster near the sideline that takes all the space away from all the receivers involved.

” So, Gabriel holds the ball way too long, giving Mukuba time to pick up Diontae Johnson and a Philly defensive end time to apply pressure on the play by trailing the fading tight end before rushing Gabriel once the play breaks down.” Mike even compared it to how Shedeur Sanders had run the same play a week prior against the Panthers. He looked composed, methodically working through progressions before throwing a touchdown.

It was the same formation, but what differed was the fact that it took place on Carolina’s 8-yard line. That means Sanders’ offense had even less space to work with as compared to Gabriel’s. That disparity has only served to expand the Cleveland quarterback competition gap. Kevin Stefanski needs to make a difficult decision: whether to invest further in Gabriel’s shaky development or take a ride on Sanders’s growing confidence and output.

The Browns have declared that Joe Flacco will start Week 1 against the Bengals. At age 40, he is the lone quarterback to have survived camp without a soft-tissue ailment. His consistent presence in practice has made him the obvious choice, but stability doesn’t fix all of Flacco’s issues. Behind him, the backup depth chart is cloudy. Kenny Pickett has been nursing a hamstring issue, while Gabriel is yet to instill confidence.

And then, there is Sanders, who got limited reps but gave his fans a pleasant surprise with his preseason performance. His rise seems to have caught the attention of his rival.

Fellow QB feels the heat from Shedeur Sanders’ rise

Kevin Stefanski’s cautious approach may be meant to keep things steady, but inside the facility, the quarterback battle has already started shaping up. The chatter intensified after Dillon Gabriel’s rough outing against Philadelphia. When asked about how he blocks out the noise surrounding Cleveland’s QB competition, his answer, while brief, sparked a wave of debate.

“Yeah, it’s just part of it. There’s entertainers and there’s competitors, and I completely get that. But competing is my job. And that’s what I’m here to do.” For others, the ‘entertainers’ looked like a dig at none other than fellow rookie Shedeur Sanders. After all, he is known for his larger-than-life persona throughout his college career.

However, in the post-game press conference, Gabriel clarified that his words had nothing to do with his teammates. He reiterated his faith in the system and said the “outside noise” regarding Sanders would not disrupt the work he and his unit were putting in. It was a reset that was needed, the sort quarterbacks must periodically create when some errant quote gets magnified in the around-the-clock football gossip machine.

Despite all the hubbub, Sanders has been impressive. It will be interesting to see if he earns the job of a backup QB for the Browns. What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.