The Cleveland Browns lost to the New England Patriots 32-13, falling to 2-6 on the season. They head into their bye with a lot of questions to answer, especially at quarterback. Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski was asked those questions on Sunday, but avoided them multiple times before committing to Dillon Gabriel.
“Stefanski: ‘We’re going to look at everything,' Said it twice while talking around the question about whether Gabriel will remain the starter. Later said he will stick with Gabriel. ‘With a young QB, there are going to be ups and downs,” Zac Jackson of The Athletic reported.
#Browns Kevin Stefanski said he’ll stick with Dillon Gabriel as the come out of next week’s bye pic.twitter.com/C2hCog3R4P
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) October 26, 2025
“But I just want to make a point that we just have to be better in every area,” Stefanski said in a video captured by Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. “We'll look at everything we do, including how we're putting these guys in position to succeed. Are we doing enough with the quarterback position? Do we need to do a better job? And, I think the answer is yes.”
The Browns got an epic performance from Myles Garrett, who racked up a franchise-record five sacks. Outside of that, Cleveland was dreadful on both sides of the ball. The game was capped off by Gabriel taking an intentional grounding penalty in the end zone, giving the Patriots a safety.
The Browns started the season with Joe Flacco as their quarterback before turning to the rookie Gabriel. They traded Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals, making fellow rookie Shedeur Sanders the next option. With Sanders hurt this week, Bailey Zappe was the backup. While Gabriel has been poor, neither of those players has risen to steal the job.
The Browns face the 1-7 Jets coming out of the bye. While they finally got their first win on Sunday, Aaron Glenn's squad provides a winnable game to everyone they face. Gabriel could get some confidence back in that matchup.
