Upon further review, Dillon Gabriel’s performance has gone from disappointing to downright surreal. His fourth start wasn’t just bad — it was the kind of disaster that makes you question whether anyone on the Cleveland Browns’ offensive staff even owns a playbook.
Offensive Offense: The Browns’ Offense Is an Insult to Trainwrecks
Late in the fourth quarter against New England, with the Browns deep in garbage time and facing little to no Patriots pass rush, Browns Quarterback Dillon Gabriel inexplicably threw the ball out of bounds from inside his own end zone — resulting in a safety. Yes, you read that right: the rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel literally threw for a safety. It may be one of the rarest plays in NFL history — a quarterback who throws a safety. It was the perfect punctuation mark on a performance that summed up everything wrong with this offense and this coaching staff.
The Numbers Don’t Lie
Dillon Gabriel’s 2025 Regular Season (CLE):
(Source: ESPN Player Page)
- Yards: 702 (34th in NFL)
- Touchdowns: 5 (T-30th)
- Interceptions: 2 (T-36th)
- QBR: 25.8 (32nd — dead last among qualified starters)
- Completion %: 59.9
- Yards per Attempt: 4.9
According to John Kosko of Pro Football Focus, Gabriel’s weekly grades have been in free fall:
- Week 5: 63.5
- Week 6: 52.5
- Week 7: 48.6
- Week 8: 38.4
Over that stretch, Gabriel ranked dead last among all NFL quarterbacks with at least 100 passing attempts — the lowest-graded passer overall, worst in uncatchable-throw rate, big-time throws (BTTs), and positive-grade rate. In plain English: he’s been the least accurate, least dynamic, and least productive starter in the league. Since the Cleveland Browns returned to the league in 1999 Quarterback Dillon Gabriel represents the 41st Quarterback to start a game.
Against New England, Gabriel completed just two passes to wide receivers — both to Jamari Thrash. Jerry Jeudy (0-for-5) and Isaiah Bond (0-for-4) were shut out. Most of Gabriel’s deep throws this season are not even close, and too many are high over the middle — the kind of “widow-maker” balls that get receivers lit up.
If you grade Gabriel on short, check-down passes, he’s serviceable. But if you evaluate him as an NFL quarterback — one expected to throw accurately beyond 20 yards — he’s an abject failure.
Meanwhile, the Browns’ defense remains top-five in nearly every major category except points allowed — and that’s only because the offense keeps putting them in impossible positions with turnovers, stalled drives, and endless three-and-outs.
The Titanic in Cleveland
After the game, when asked if he was considering a quarterback change, Kevin Stefanski doubled down, saying he was “sticking with Dillon Gabriel.”
So maybe I was wrong — this isn’t just a trainwreck. The Browns’ offense and their head coach are the Titanic. And Stefanski appears ready to go down with the ship.
There’s a possible lifeboat sitting right there on the sideline — Shedeur Sanders. What exactly do Stefanski and Andrew Berry have to lose? Gabriel is not it. Maybe Sanders isn’t either, but we won’t know until he plays. What we do know is that Cleveland doesn’t need to see another snap of Dillon Gabriel.
Stefanski is now 5–20 in his last 25 games, and this regime has officially run out of excuses. They traded away Joe Flacco, the only quarterback who could run this offense, to a division rival for a fifth-round pick. They hyped Kenny Pickett as an answer, then traded him before the season. Now they’re protecting a third-round project while the real hope — Shedeur Sanders — rides the bench.
If Sanders fails, Stefanski and Berry can say “we told you so.”
If he succeeds, maybe they save their jobs — and the season.
Until then, Browns fans are left with an offense so bad it’s offensive — and a coach captaining a sinking ship straight into the iceberg.
Main Image: Bob DeChiara – Imagn Images
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