Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel made his preseason debut in the team’s 22-13 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday after missing a handful of practices and the first preseason game with a hamstring injury.
Gabriel played the entire first half and went 13-for-18 for 143 yards, though he did throw a pick-six and lost a fumble, which led to him making some honest comments about his performance after the game.
During his postgame press conference, Gabriel said that on the play where he threw the pick-six, he should have thrown the ball away.
“I look back and definitely want to throw it away, don’t force anything. Felt like there was miscommunication on my part and it’s something we gotta clean up,” Gabriel said.
Browns rookie QB Dillon Gabriel on his preseason debut.
On his pick-six: “I definitely just want to throw it away.” pic.twitter.com/mWkl2PjbrE
— Daniel Oyefusi (@DanielOyefusi) August 16, 2025
Gabriel was cooking before his pick-six, which came on a play when he rolled out slightly to his left and threw to the flat before being undercut by rookie second-round safety Andrew Mukuba, who then made a house call.
It was the sort of mistake you’d expect from a third-round rookie making his preseason debut without having any of his team’s top weapons on the field, so this should be a solid learning opportunity for Gabriel as he continues to take aim at the starting job.
The two turnovers won’t help his case to win the starting job, but it’s starting to look like Joe Flacco has the gig just about wrapped up.
The hope is that Gabriel just continues to learn and improve, because the main goal for the Browns in 2025 is to figure out if the franchise quarterback is already in the building ahead of the 2026 draft.
Gabriel could be that guy, and if he keeps improving, he could have a chance to prove it in the regular season at some point.
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