The Cleveland Browns admitted making a mistake with Dillon Gabriel during a 27-20 loss to the New York Jets that put their rookie quarterback in a bad position.
Down just one score, the Browns faced a critical fourth-and-one in the second half. But instead of running the ball with Quinshon Judkins, new offensive coordinator Tommy Rees called a pass. Gabriel had some options but was ultimately sacked for a seven-yard loss that ended the important possession.
2 guys are open in the flat and Dillon Gabriel takes a sack on 4th down.
The Dillon Gabriel era is over. #Browns
“Look as a play caller, there’s always things you want back,” Rees said on Thursday. “Felt like we put our guys in position to have success throughout the game and then, when you do that and you don’t have success, you always look to why and what you can do during the week to help your players have that success. There’s going to be a handful of calls that you make that the defense won the rep, and that happens in football throughout a game.”
A reporter pointed out that Gabriel had an open option on the play, and Rees conceded again that they shouldn’t have put their rookie quarterback in that situation.
“Yeah, I should have run the ball,” Rees said. “I don’t want to get into the specifics of the play itself. You can freeze almost any play and say, ‘Hey, this guy’s open, this guy’s open.’ I want to make sure I’m putting our players in the right spot. I made a call, an aggressive one, it didn’t work and we got to move on to the next.”
The Browns’ offense showed some brief flashes of competency against the Jets. But overall, it was still a sloppy, inconsistent showing from the unit that is averaging just 16.2 points per game this season.
The results haven’t been there with Gabriel, who had a few costly misses against the Jets. Still, Rees said the issues haven’t stemmed from his decision-making or where his eyes are supposed to be.
“We always grade that part of them and he grades out pretty high,” Rees said. “Look, nobody’s going to bat a thousand. I don’t bat a thousand calling it. Nobody’s going to bat a thousand in really anything they do. But I would say he grades out where we want him. Dillon’s prep and where he is mentally for a rookie is really well beyond. He’s mature in that way and we want to make sure that those things that are happening during the week, we go ahead and execute them on Sundays.”
One of the Browns’ objectives has been to get the ball to Jerry Jeudy more often. Jeudy was a Pro Bowler last season but entered Sunday’s matchup with just 22 catches in eight games.
While the Browns lost, they were able to get Jeudy more involved. He snagged a season-high six catches for 78 yards and his first touchdowns of the year.
“Jerry does a lot of things well, and I’ll just say we’re trying to put him in a position to do those things in the right spots, in the right moments,” Rees said. “And, you know, we talked last week, when you get your good players going early, usually helps them throughout the game. So, Jerry’s a very talented guy who’s worked extremely hard, and, you know, he put himself in that position to have success.”
Jeudy and the Browns face the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday. Cleveland is a 9.5-point underdog for the matchup.
Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown had himself a strong outing in the team’s 44-22 Week 10 win over the Washington Commanders.
The fifth-year wide receiver out of USC racked up five catches for 58 yards and a touchdown in the first quarter that really broke the game open. St. Brown was one of three pass catchers on the team that totaled five or more catches on the night, as the Lions moved to 6-3 on the season, which has them tied for first in the NFC North. However, the 26-year-old star receiver found himself in some hot water following his score.
With the game taking place at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland, President Donald Trump was in attendance. His appearance at the game made him the first sitting president since 1978 (Jimmy Carter) to attend a regular-season game.
So, knowing that Trump was in attendance, St. Brown opted to do Trump’s shimmy dance after he scored, a decision he apologized for on a recent episode of the “St. Brown Podcast.”
“First of all, if I offended anyone, I do apologize,” St. Brown said. “I did not mean to offend anyone. It was just, we’re having fun. If any president was at that game and had a dance, I would have done it. It had nothing to do with who the president was.”
With his apology out of the way, he and the Lions are now likely focused on the team’s Week 11 clash with the Philadelphia Eagles (7-2) on Sunday.
The game will kick off at 8:20 p.m. ET and air on NBC/Peacock.