BROWNS MEDIA BEGS FOR SHEDEUR SANDERS TO START AFTER EMBARRASSING STEELERS LOSS

The Grade is In: Dylan Gabriel Earns a C-Minus, But Kevin Stefanski Deserves the Firing Line

The Cleveland Browns are a walking disaster, and after watching the 1:00 PM slate of games, the finger-pointing has begun. The loss was a collective failure, but the spotlight—or perhaps the crosshairs—is firmly fixed on quarterback Dylan Gabriel.

My grade for Gabriel’s performance? A C-minus. And honestly, I’m being generous. Tony Rizzo, the voice of Cleveland sports, is already reportedly “calling for Fishador” (a likely misspelling of Shadur Sanders). The message is clear: Someone is getting fired, and the Browns’ embarrassing offensive showing is the catalyst.

The Nitty-Gritty: Gabriel Can’t Push the Ball

You can look at the box score—52 pass attempts, 29 completions for 221 yards, a 66.3 passer rating—and call it average. But that hides the nitty-gritty that should terrify Browns fans.

Death by Dumps: Gabriel averaged a mere 6 air yards per attempt and 4 yards per completion. He completed just 4 of 15 passes that traveled 10 or more yards downfield.
A Lack of Trust: Whether it’s Kevin Stefanski calling the plays or Gabriel pulling the string, “somebody does not trust this offense to push the ball down the field.” The entire game was a surrender, accepting minimal gains, and trying to win by kicking field goals.
Turnover-Worthy Plays: Forget the official zero interceptions. The tape is far more brutal. Gabriel threw “multiple dropped picks,” and by the end of the day, his tally of “turnover worthy plays” was conservatively estimated at nine. The defense’s inability to capitalize saved his final stat line from total embarrassment.
The Mobility Problem: Six sacks aren’t all on the offensive line, especially against a defense like the Steelers. Gabriel is “short,” and when forced to stay in the pocket, he can “only see the middle of the field.” This severely limits the offense and makes his “short” stature a massive liability when the play-action isn’t working.

The Compounding Chaos: When the Supporting Cast Fails

I’ll give the “Flying Hawaiian” the benefit of the doubt on some plays. The entire offense was a mess of undisciplined chaos:

Sloppy Penalties: The team was plagued by penalties, including false starts and holding calls. Jerry Jeudy picked up an unnecessary roughness penalty and dropped a perfect pass.
Drop Epidemic: Gabriel made his “best pass of the day,” only to have it dropped. Then another. And another. The offensive line was crumbling, and the receivers weren’t doing him any favors.
Hospital Balls: Gabriel consistently put his teammates in danger with passes that led to players taking massive hits—literally throwing a “helmet to the d*”** on David Njoku and setting up Gage Larvadain to get “absolutely clobbernedered.”

The lack of creativity in the offense is unforgivable. Stefanski, an offensive-minded coach, completely abandoned the run game, calling only 17 total carries. You have a rookie quarterback, one of the best running backs in the league (Jerome Ford), and another SEC rushing leader on the bench (Dylan Samson), and you “put the game on Dylan Gabriel’s arm because they knew he wasn’t going to throw anything far.” That is absurd.

The Real Conversation: Stefanski and The Insider Signal

While I believe Gabriel will be a backup in this league, the real issue is the coaching. “I think Kevin Stefanski is a terrible head coach,” and the whole organizational structure is setting this team up for failure.

The buzz around the game—signaled by insiders—suggests the organization knows the consequences of this loss:

The Insiders Speak: Beat reporter Mary Kay Cabot randomly tweeted out praise for Shadur Sanders’ “elite accuracy” just before kickoff, an almost impossible coincidence. Meanwhile, another reporter, Brad Stainbrook, tweeted that “Andrew Barry’s rookies are producing. Kevin Stefanski’s team isn’t winning.”
The Catalyst: This loss—which puts the Browns at a brutal 1-5—is the catalyst the insiders were waiting for. The signal is that “heads are going to roll” if this looks embarrassing.

I don’t want Shadur Sanders out there right now because Stefanski is a bad coach, and the line can’t block. But if the coach gets fired, “we can have a conversation.”

The Browns have no running game, an undisciplined line, and an offense that can’t push the ball past 10 yards. They’re making a mockery of the season, and it’s looking like Stefanski is next on the chopping block.