On Wednesday morning, the Cleveland Browns officially announced their decision that rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel would start his first NFL game for the Week 5 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings. And when Gabriel does take the field, he will make NFL history in a rather unique way that should perhaps worry Browns fans.
Flacco’s struggles thus far in 2025 have essentially given the Browns no choice but to hand the reins over to Gabriel. Flacco has thrown just two touchdown passes and six interceptions in four starts.
Gabriel will now get his first chance to truly prove himself as the Browns’ starter. But he will do so in a position that no NFL quarterback has ever found themselves in, entering the unfamiliar territory of playing in an International Series game in London, England.
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According to NFL insider Andrew Siciliano, when Gabriel takes the field as the Browns starter in Week 5, he will do so as the first quarterback in NFL history to make their debut in an International Series game.
Typically, teams around the NFL try to give rookie quarterbacks the best chance to succeed, whether that be against a team with a bad record or going into a long week to put together a game plan that will cater to an inexperienced quarterback.
The Browns haven’t exactly done either of those things, thrusting Gabriel into a starting position in an overseas game when Gabriel has no experience playing internationally in any capacity.
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The bright side for Browns fans is that even if Gabriel does struggle in his first-ever start in unfamiliar territory, it likely won’t look any worse than their offense already has under Flacco over the first four weeks of the season.
But if Gabriel does impress in Week 5, we could perhaps see more teams around the NFL be more willing to make starting quarterback changes going into International Series games, which are becoming more and more common as the NFL continues to expand into other markets internationally.
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