Browns Bench Joe Flacco for Dillon Gabriel After Just 4 Games, Fans React – “Three Weeks Away from Sanders”

The Cleveland Browns are reeling at the bottom of AFC North table with just one win in 4 games.

Browns Bench Joe Flacco for Dillon Gabriel After Just 4 Games, Fans React – “Three Weeks Away from Sanders”

Joe Flacco, Dillon Gabriel; Shedeur Sanders (Images via The US Sun/X/The Spun)

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The Cleveland Browns, on Thursday, announced that the Oregon Ducks product and third-round pick Dillon Gabriel will start against the Minnesota Vikings this week. The rookie quarterback will replace the veteran Joe Flacco after a poor showcase of 1-3 that included six interceptions and eight turnovers in four games.

The Browns had only one touchdown drive in the entire game against the Detroit Lions last week. Flacco also had a moment of ineptitude where he threw the ball directly into the hands of a Lions player. The former Comeback Player of the Year and Super Bowl champion was ranked last in terms of quarterback rating (21.0) as well as posted league-low numbers in passer rating (60.3), completion percentage (58.1), and yards per attempt (5.1).

In the first four games, Dillon Gabriel served as the backup quarterback while fifth-round pick Shedeur Sanders was the third-string quarterback. As the Browns pack for England, Gabriel will start, and Flacco will be the backup. Sanders will continue to be the third-string quarterback.

Gabriel, who has braved taunts about his height, has tasted action in two games: the Week 2 game against the Baltimore Ravens, as well as last week. In the game against the Ravens, Gabriel completed his first touchdown when he threw to running back Dylan Sampson. It didn’t take him long enough to throw an interception, completing that in Week 4 Lions fixture.

As he gears up for his first start, the media is zoomed in on Cleveland. The Ohio city has a history of being the graveyard of several quarterbacks including Johnny Manziel, who dug his own grave with his off-the-field vices. Gabriel, despite holding several FBS records, has a few inconsistencies which have prompted the fans to believe that the Browns may be starting Sanders pretty soon enough.

It doesn’t help that quarterbacks on their first start for the Browns often perform poorly. Since 1999, 16 quarterbacks have gone 0-16 in their career start with a touchdown-interception ratio of 14-22 and an average passer rating of 65.9.

Fans expect Shedeur Sanders to start earlier than Week 10 following Dillon Gabriel’s debut

Shedeur Sanders, son of a former legend and a Colorado Buffaloes product, was initially thought to be a confirmed first-rounder. However, the media attention around him, among other factors, led him to sustain a draft slide to the fifth round. In the same round, the Baltimore Ravens were interested in picking him, but he rejected their offer, not wanting to be stuck behind Lamar Jackson.

Shedeur Sanders 2
Shedeur Sanders (Image via NBC Sports)

Jackson sustained a hamstring injury and will miss quite a few actions. The injury had people commenting and criticizing Sanders for missing an opportunity by rejecting the Ravens. However, the news that Gabriel has started in the lakeshore city has imparted hope to the fans and the media. Here are some of the reactions:

A few users on social media, however, believe that Sanders should have started by now. As in, Flacco should have been replaced with Shedeur Sanders instead of Dillon Gabriel.

That is not an opinion shared by the entirety of the Browns’ fans. A user by the handle @biscaynejenk, tweeted that not starting against a Brian Flores-led Minnesota Vikings in foreign territory is the best-case scenario for Sanders.

As Dillon Gabriel preps to become the first quarterback in NFL history to have their first career start in a foreign country, the Cleveland Browns’ fandom will be either celebrating having found a new hope or adding one more to the graveyard of names.

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