Things got really ugly for the Cleveland Browns in a 34-10 road loss to the Detroit Lions in Week 4.
Joe Flacco put up one of his biggest duds of the season. He threw for 184 yards, zero touchdowns and two interceptions. One of his interceptions was a floater that ended up in the hands of a Lions defender who was not even close to the nearest Browns receiver.
It got so bad that the Browns replaced Flacco with rookie Dillon Gabriel in the fourth quarter. He only ended up attempting one pass that fell incomplete before the Browns fell to 1-3 on the season.
This marks the second NFL appearance in the career of the former Oregon standout. He came into the game for the final Cleveland possession in the team's Week 3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens and completed 3-of-3 passes for 19 yards and a touchdown.
In his latest one-possession appearance, Browns coach Kevin Stefanski opted to run the ball twice on first and second down for a combined three yards. Gabriel then attempted to find rookie wide receiver Isaiah Bond to pick up the first down. Unfortunately, his pass fell incomplete and Cleveland opted to punt down 34-10.
Stefanski was noncommittal on whether or not he would make the quarterback change permanent, saying, “Again, it’s never just one person,” when reporters pressed him about the issue, via Akron Beacon Journal reporter Chirs Easterling.
The 40-year-old Flacco has thrown for 631 yards with a 63.1 percent completion percentage, two touchdowns and four interceptions to start the season.
Gabriel, who was selected in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft back in April, showed a lot of potential last season with Oregon. He led the Ducks to an unbeaten regular season and threw for 3,857 yards, 30 touchdowns and six interceptions before falling in the College Football Playoff semifinal against the eventual National Champion Ohio State Buckeyes.
