Dillon Gabriel made his preseason debut, and it was a bit of a rollercoaster, to say the least.
He turned the ball over twice, one of those resulting in a pick six, which wasn’t ideal, especially since Oregon player Chedure Sanders was out with injuries.
Earlier in the second quarter, Gabriel, who was drafted by the Browns in the third round, had a pass intercepted by Eagles rookie Andrumkuva, leading to a touchdown.
After a couple of drives, Gabriel managed to connect with Pierre Strong Jr. for his second touchdown of the day.
Overall, his stats showed 13 completions on 18 attempts for 143 yards. He linked up with both Cedric Tillman and Jamali Slash multiple times, including a notable 29-yard pass to Caden Davis.
He was a standout for the Browns in the first half but didn’t return for the opening drive of the second half.
Cleveland trailed Philadelphia, 13-12, at halftime, and as it stands, Gabriel is one of four quarterbacks—alongside Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, and Chedure Sanders—competing for a starting role with the Browns.
This debut followed a solid performance from Sanders in his own first preseason start just a week earlier.
In that game against the Panthers, Sanders completed 14 of 23 passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns, adding four rushing attempts for 19 yards.
Due to hamstring issues, Gabriel missed the preseason game against Carolina, and while Sanders was set to play a key role in the Browns’ next matchup, he ended up injuring an oblique earlier this week.
