CLEVELAND (AP) — Rookie Dillon Gabriel will get his first NFL start on Sunday when the Cleveland Browns face the Minnesota Vikings in London.
The Browns announced on Wednesday that they were benching Joe Flacco after he struggled to lead the offense in the first four games.
Cleveland is 1-3 and ranked next-to-last in scoring, averaging 14 points per game. The team has scored 17 points or fewer in nine straight games dating back to last season. Gabriel will be the fifth different starting QB in 10 games, joining Jameis Winston, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Bailey Zappe and Flacco.
Gabriel was selected in the third round of April’s draft. He has seen action in two games — Week 2 at Baltimore and Week 4 at Detroit — and has completed all three of his passes for 19 yards and a touchdown. He was named the backup quarterback at the end of training camp after the Browns traded Kenny Pickett to the Las Vegas Raiders.
During the preseason, Gabriel led the Browns to either a touchdown or field goal on five of his seven drives. He also directed a pair of two-minute, first-half drives against the Philadelphia Eagles and Los Angeles Rams.
In his two preseason outings, Gabriel completed 25 of 37 passes for 272 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Cleveland will practice at its facility today before taking a flight to Britain.
Among the 33 quarterbacks who have made at least 56 pass attempts, Flacco is last in the league with a 60.3 passer rating, has the second-worst completion rate (58.1%) and his six interceptions are second most.
The 18-year veteran completed only 16 of 34 passes for 184 yards, two interceptions and a fumble in last Sunday’s 34-10 loss to Detroit.
The Browns offense is ranked 27th in total yards (279.8 yards per game), 20th in passing (195 ypg) and 30th in rushing (84.8 ypg).
The switch to Gabriel is also sure to reignite questions about where Sheduer Sanders might eventually factor down the line or if Sanders will be Gabriel’s backup? He has been the third-string quarterback the first four weeks.
Sanders dropped to the 144th pick and fifth round after many thought he would go in the first two rounds. He completed 17 of 29 passes for 152 yards and two touchdowns in two preseason games.
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