Dawgs By Nature
The Cleveland Browns will take the field this afternoon for their preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagle with a new quarterback under center.
After a few days of uncertainty due to a lingering hamstring injury, the Browns announced that they plan to give rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel the starting nod for the 1 p.m. game at Lincoln Financial Field.
Gabriel was sidelined for the opening preseason game against the Carolina Panthers, which gave him a front-row seat as fellow rookie Shedeur Sanders went 14-of-23 for 138 yards and two touchdown passes against a weak Carolina defense.
Today presents a much stronger challenge for Cleveland’s offense as Philadelphia’s defense is several steps above the Panthers, even if the Eagles end up sitting most of their first-team players.
But that is life in the NFL, and Gabriel needs to leave everyone with a good impression in what will likely be the most extensive playing time he will see in the preseason. With only one more game after today, on August 23 against the Los Angeles Rams, before the start of the regular season, Cleveland’s focus will turn to getting quarterback Joe Flacco and the first-team offense as many reps as possible before the season opens on September 7 against the Cincinnati Bengals.
With Flacco (common sense) not playing, and Sanders (oblique) and Kenny Pickett (hamstring) sidelined with injuries, Gabriel has to hope his hamstring holds up so that he can play deep into the third quarter before turning the offense over to Tyler Huntley to close out the game. Ideally, Gabriel will get around 50 snaps today, as Sanders took 47 against the Panthers.
In addition to the quarterbacks, the Browns announced that the following players are not expected to play today:
What are you hoping to see from Dillon Gabriel and the offense this afternoon against the Eagles?
