CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Kevin Stefanski declined to provide any insight Monday into when Shedeur Sanders might play now that the Browns are 2-7 and have less than a 1% chance of making the playoffs, according to the New York Times simulator.
He stated after the 27-20 loss to the Jets that he’s sticking with Dillon Gabriel heading into Sunday’s visit from the 4-5 Ravens, but he’s not going beyond that. Browns owner Jimmy Haslam said during training camp that the organization would “absolutely” like to see both of its rookie QBs play this season, but Stefanski remains committed to Gabriel’s development for the time being.
“I don’t think it’s fair to speculate,” Stefanski said Monday about a possible timeframe for Sanders. “We’re committed to getting better as an offense. Dillon is certainly committed to improving every which way he can. And all the while, all of our players, our young players are developing and working so hard behind the scenes to make sure that they’re getting better on a daily basis.”
He acknowledged that rookie quarterbacks will have ups and downs, and that they’re prepared to ride those waves. It didn’t help that he was sacked six times to thwart half of his 12 drives, although they put field goals on the board despite negative plays on two of those drives.
“Can Dillon play better? Yes, he can,” Stefanski said. “Can we play better around him? Yes we can. Can we coach him better? Yes we can. So I understand the question, but I just trust that our young players at every position and certainly at the quarterback position are guys that are going to work their tails off to get better every single day.”
Gabriel (17 of 32, 167 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT, 88.9 rating) made some nice strides with offensive coordinator Tommy Rees calling plays for the first time on Sunday, moving the pocket and also pulling it in and running a few times to finish with five carries for 54 yards. He threw a nice TD pass to David Njoku off play-action to cap a 95-yard drive, and a 22-yard TD to Jerry Jeudy the play after Ronnie Hickman’s interception off Justin Fields, the QB’s first pick in eight starts this season.
On the Browns’ 10-play field goal drive that narrowed the gap to 27-20 with 2:57 remaining, Gabriel scrambled for 19 and 15 yards, and found tight end Harold Fannin Jr. for a 12-yard pass over the middle to convert a third down. It was a well-balanced 58-yard drive that kept New York on its heels, and unfortunately for him, he never got the ball back to try to win the game.
The Browns committed two defensive penalties on the Jets final drive, a hold by linebacker Devin Bush on third down, and a neutral zone infraction by Cam Thomas on fourth and 5 when the Jets were obviously trying to get someone to jump. It prevented Gabriel from trying to pull off the comeback.
But he made good progress despite some shaky protection, three pre-snap penalties, and some dropped passes on the part of his receivers and backs. He also made some mistakes, including a handful of errant throws and taking a 7-yard sack on fourth and 1 at the Jets’ 33 with 10:15 left in the game for a costly turnover on downs with the Browns trailing only 24-17.
The Jets cashed in, kicking a field on the ensuing drive to extend their lead to 27-17 with 6:13 left in the game.
Stefanski owned the failed fourth and 1, even though Rees likely called the play.
“I’m responsible for every decision, every play call on offense, defense, and special teams,” he said. “So I’ll own all of it and I trust our players. I trust our coaches. We obviously didn’t get the result we wanted there and the desire obviously on third down and fourth down is to get that first, and we came up short. But bottom line is, it’s my responsibility.”
He was asked if it’s fair to say Rees called the play and he agreed with it.
“I’m not going to go behind the curtain all the way,” he said. “But just to tell you, I trust Tommy just like I trust (defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz). I always have the ability to step in when necessary, but I’m going to always give my coaches who I trust, I’m going to give him the opportunity. Are there times that you change a call? Yes, there are, but bottom line is we did not come through there.”
Gabriel’s teammates are also behind him 100% and can see the growth.
“He’s progressing a lot,” center Ethan Pocic said. “And we’ve got to remember, he’s still a rookie and I think he’s playing great. He’s doing his job. He’s not trying to do too much. He’s in his role and he’s doing a great job and he’s taking coaching and he’s got a great attitude every day. And I think he’s just going to keep getting better. I really like the kid. I really do. I like his attitude, his demeanor and everything he brings.”
Gabriel will have another chance Sunday against the Ravens to come up the learning curve, and perhaps even quiet some of the Sanders talk.
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