Josh Alper ,
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Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski made the call to bench Joe Flacco and go with rookie Dillon Gabriel as the team’s starting quarterback last week and there’s no sign of regret despite the team’s loss to the Vikings in London on Sunday.
Gabriel put the Browns up 17-14 when he hit tight end David Njoku for a touchdown in the third quarter, but the Browns would not score again and the Vikings drove for a game-winning touchdown with 25 seconds left on the clock. Gabriel also threw a touchdown in the first half and finished the day 19-of-33 for 190 yards.
On Monday, Stefanski noted that Gabriel didn’t turn the ball over while discussing his overall impression of the third-round pick’s performance.
“For a young player in that environment versus that defense, to take care of the ball, make the plays he made I thought was a lot of positives with plenty to clean up,” Stefanski said.
“And that’s what he will do. That’s the mentality that he has is certainly to be a player that continues to get better week in and week out.”
The Browns had eight turnovers in the first four weeks, so the lack of them on Sunday was a step in the right direction for the offense. Gabriel will try to repeat that against the Steelers in Week 6 while also finding a way to pick up a victory.
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