CLEVELAND, Ohio — Dillon Gabriel’s most impressive preseason moment happened in the last 26 seconds he played.
On third-and-6 from the Rams’ 19-yard line, Gabriel threw a ball to wide receiver Jamari Thrash along the left sideline. Thrash made the catch for 16 yards and a first down before he was pushed out of bounds.
“Thrash did a great job winning on that route, throwing an indicator for me so I can anticipate the throw,” Gabriel said, “and then just him coming down with it on the sideline, him being able to get two feet in. I’m proud of him.”
The next play, Gabriel hit a wide open Gage Larvadain for a 3-yard touchdown pass.
“It was the play call,” Larvadain said. “(Head) Coach (Kevin) Stefanski and (offensive coordinator) Tommy Rees, they do a good job throughout the week scheming us open. That’s what they do, scheme us open. We do the easy part.”
Gabriel led a two-minute drive to end the first half for the second consecutive week.
Against the Eagles last Saturday, he completed 3-of-4 passes for 46 yards on a field goal drive, overcoming an offensive pass interference penalty to set up kicker Andre Szmyt’s 49-yard kick.
This week, he completed 9-of-11 passes for 86 yards to lead an 11-play drive that ended in the Larvadain score.
“The two-minute drive actually started in our meeting maybe two days ago with our assistant receivers coach, Coach (Stephen Bravo-Brown), he set the standard for two minute and it was great execution,” Larvadain said. “He gave a great presentation, got us fired up and that presentation said great players want the ball when the game’s on the line.”
In that moment, Gabriel delivered.
“(No.) 5 did a great job of taking charge and we got it done,” Larvadain said.
In typical Gabriel fashion, describing the two-minute drive wasn’t simple.
“The situation gets different every single time,” he said, “use a timeout, use another timeout, so you can’t take the sack. You want seven (points), but you know you have three. So the situation continues to evolve and I think just the awareness from all of us starting up front, great protection, but then also guys, once they caught the ball, knowing when to get yards, when to get out of bounds. So I think they all did a great job of coming together to do that.”
Gabriel came into the game with 10:43 left in the second quarter after starter Joe Flacco completed 9-of-10 passes for 129 yards and threw a touchdown to rookie tight end Harold Fannin Jr.
He led a 15-play, 70-yard field goal drive and then the touchdown drive to end the half before giving way to fellow rookie Shedeur Sanders to start the second half. He finished 12-for-19 for 129 yards and a touchdown and, most importantly, avoided the costly turnovers that plagued him in Philadelphia where he threw a pick-six and fumbled on a miscommunication during a handoff.
“It’s just continue to take care of the football,” Gabriel said. “That’s something you talk about and I don’t want to be a coach speaker or be redundant, but taking care of the football, winning the turnover battle, being really good on third down, scoring touchdowns in the red area and then dominating the middle eight (minutes), I think that’s all things that you want to be aware of, you want to do.”
Gabriel seemed more willing to throw the ball away on Saturday, something that could have saved him from the interception a week earlier.
“You don’t want to turn the ball over, but you want to continue to be aggressive and learn and, in certain plays, when it’s time to give it a shot or time to give it up and throw the ball away,” he said. “So things that I’m learning and continue to grow, but want to do that for us to get better.”
Stefanski preferred to focus on the entire unit when he was asked about Gabriel, but he had to be pleased with what the third-round pick showed in this game.
“You talk about the quarterback position, it’s really about all 10 around that player and how he’s playing,” Stefanski said. “So I thought he made some good decisions, made some good throws. I know there’s plays that he wants back, but as a group, you know, we have plenty to clean up.”
Flacco was named the starter on Monday, but there’s still interest in the quarterback position as the Browns move closer to Cincinnati week. Kenny Pickett has been dealing with a hamstring injury that kept him out of this game and, with Gabriel clearly ahead of Sanders and with two strong preseason showings in his back pocket, it’s worth wondering if Gabriel could end up as the backup.
“Honestly, I don’t see it like that,” Gabriel said when asked if he believes he’s still competing for the No. 2 job. “And for me, I think it’s you want to continue to build depth as a QB room, but also as a team. And for me, I want to be as best as I possibly can be and then bring others with me. And the best way we can support Joe is creating a healthy environment in the QB room. How can we best support him? Whether it’s asking certain questions within week-to-week, talking through things, supporting his conversations, and then when we get out there you just want to have an environment where everyone can be at their best. And that’s what we want to continue to try and create.”
Whenever that gets settled, Gabriel will face a different challenge — not playing for the first time in a long time. Once game prep starts, practice reps will dry up for almost everyone in the quarterback room except Flacco. Even if the Browns want to get a look at Gabriel starting at some point this season, they certainly don’t want it to happen because of an early-season injury to their 40-year-old signal caller.
“I’d be a hypocrite to say game reps aren’t huge,” Gabriel said. “I’ve played a bunch throughout my high school and college career and I think the best way to learn is through doing it, but kind of transitioning to this point, I’ve learned a lot too. There’s something to being able to see behind center and learn from Joe’s reps throughout practice and take that different perspective, I think it can only help me. I haven’t been in that position, but I attack it the same way like I am, and then when I’m back there, how can you maximize every moment? How can I serve the moment by just being in that moment? I say it a bunch, but how many people can really serve the moment? It’s a challenge. I challenge myself every single day.”
Gabriel delivered in the moment on Saturday. He’ll have to wait for his next moment. He looked ready for it against the Rams.
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