Dawgs By Nature
The Cleveland Browns won their second preseason game in a row, defeating the Philadelphia Eagles by a score of 22-13. QB Dillon Gabriel got the start, so how did Cleveland’s other rookie do in his start compared to QB Shedeur Sanders? Let’s get to the full game recap to see how he did.
QB Dillon Gabriel got the start and had completions on three consecutive third down situations to get the ball into Philadelphia territory. An end around to WR Greg Larvadain was wide open, getting 16 yards down to the 5 yard line, on a drive that had taken up half of the first quarter already. A handoff to RB Ahmani Marshall picked up 1 yard to get down to the 4 yard line. One play later, Marshall got the handoff again and found the cutback lane for a touchdown to give the Browns a 6-0 lead.
The snap on the extra point came in low from the backup long snapper, and Cleveland aborted the play by just throwing it away.
Cleveland’s defense was up next, facing former Browns QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who is competing the No. 3 job in Philadelphia. After DTR got one completion, he was about to be sacked and tried to throw the ball away sideways. The pass was batted up in the air backwards, and then a few Philly linemen batted it, with the Eagles’ running back then catching it for a big loss. More pressure on third down forced an incompletion and a punt. Larvadain gained 7 yards on the punt return, but had a couple of nice moves to get those yards.
Gabriel continued to be surgical against the Eagles, making quick decisions with great ball placement and a nice mix of passes to both sides of the field. That included this 18-yard completion to WR Cedric Tillman:
The Browns began with a 1st-and-10 at the Eagles’ 31 yard line to start the second quarter. All of that good momentum from the first quarter faded in a flash, when Gabriel tried to rip a short pass to either TE Blake Whiteheart or WR Diontae Johnson. The pass was between both of them, but both receivers also kind of pulled up or didn’t know who the ball was for, and DB Andrew Mukuba obliged and took it all the way for a touchdown.
With the Eagles up 7-6 now, Gabriel’s first pass of the next drive was an incomplete screen pass. On a third down pass, Gabriel stayed calm and hit WR Jamari Thrash for a catch-and-run underneath that went for 19 yards to midfield. A few plays later, the Eagles finally got a third down stop after the left tackle whiffed, allowing Gabriel to be sacked. K Dustin Hopkins came on and kicked a 47-yard field goal to put the Browns back on top 9-7.
On defense, DE Isaiah McGuire came in on third down to...
