Dillon Gabriel's passer rating in his NFL debut came out to a decidedly mediocre 72.2 but sometimes stats and grades don't tell the entire story.
Saturday in Philadelphia the Cleveland Browns rookie completed 13-18 passes for 143 yards with no touchdowns. The official stat sheet credited him with one interception, returned for a touchdown, and a fumble on a botched handoff at his own 31 that led to Philadelphia's second touchdown. He was sacked twice and threw two passes away, both smart decisions.
The stat sheet credits (blames) Gabriel for both errors, but there were extenuating circumstances in each. On the interception two Browns receivers ran to the same area on a scramble drill.
Though Gabriel threw into a crowd, his intended receiver Blake Whiteheart slows down and pulls his hands back, allowing Eagles defensive back Andrew Mukuba to step in front of the ball and return it for a 75-yard touchdown.
That interception was not on Dillon Gabriel, it was on the receiver. Watch Blake Whiteheart pull his arms back at the last second. He's trying to allow the ball to go through to the other Browns receiver.
— Roberto Shenanigans (@Rob_Shenanigans) August 16, 2025
Somebody ran the wrong route. Shouldn't be 2 WRs in the exact ame spot. pic.twitter.com/yDNJUkTRvD
Gabriel threw into a crowd, and this can be judged a poor decision on his part. Still it's odd two receivers wound up in the same spot, a preseason type of error, and it's doubly weird that Whiteheart pulls up and thereby sets up Mukaba to make the pick.
After the game Cleveland coach Kevin Stefanski said,
"Obviously that can never happen on that play. Not all interceptions are created equal, but we can't do that as a football team."
On Gabriel's fumble, the play called for the running back to take the ball off left tackle. The rookie QB from Mililani, Hawaii is hampered by a bad hamstring and the exchange wasn't clean.
dillon gabriel bad handoff results in a fumble 👀
— Shannonnn sharpes Burner (PARODY Account) (@shannonsharpeee) August 16, 2025
pic.twitter.com/GWqO6M7AL7
Gabriel took responsibility. "Like I said, that can't happen, and we've got to throw it away in that situation. But I think as a unit and us coming together, I want to help my teammates out by being better and we all know that it's us coming together to go do that."
The odd thing about the inevitable comparisons between Shedeur Sanders and Gabriel in their pro debuts with the Browns is that journeyman Tyler Huntley has outperformed them both. In Week 1 Huntley was 6-8 passing with a touchdown; against the Eagles he played the second half, 10-13 passing for 71 yards while leading the offense to 10 points and a 22-13 comeback win.
Stefanski declined to compare the two rookies, predictably saying the team is focused on getting better and preparing for the season opener on September 7 at home versus Cincinnati. The Browns have one more exhibition game, Saturday August 23 when they host the Rams.
Gabriel looks like expected. The ball will be out quick. On time. Probably nothing terribly special but just efficient. He’s going to be play forever in the NFL as a fringe starter/high quality backup.
— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) August 16, 2025
NFL teams must cut their rosters to 53 by 4:00 p.m. Tuesday August 27. By then they'll have to finalize some tough decisions about their five quarterbacks, Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Gabriel, Sanders and Huntley. They're paying $230 million to Deshaun Watson, out for the year after Achilles surgery last January.