{"id":32671,"date":"2025-09-14T23:09:43","date_gmt":"2025-09-14T23:09:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=32671"},"modified":"2025-09-14T23:09:43","modified_gmt":"2025-09-14T23:09:43","slug":"cleveland-browns-to-keep-starting-joe-flacco-at-quarterback-for-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=32671","title":{"rendered":"Cleveland Browns to keep starting Joe Flacco at quarterback for now"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure>\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,w_6265,h_3524,x_0,y_0\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images\/ImagnImages\/mmsport\/browns_digest\/01k552fbckjashhkt6qc.jpg\" alt=\"Sep 14, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco (15) looks to make a pass during the third quarter at M&amp;T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-Imagn Images\" \/><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p data-mm-id=\"_hw67v6rhk\">It wasn\u2019t the storybook return to Baltimore for Joe Flacco. But it\u2019s also not the end of the book.<\/p>\n<p data-mm-id=\"_4yg8b7bg9\">Following a 41\u201317 drubbing at the hands of the Ravens, Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski shut down any notion that Flacco would hand the keys to Dillon Gabriel next week.<\/p>\n<p data-mm-id=\"_uyyjo257q\">\u201cNo,\u201d Stefanski said postgame about changing quarterbacks. \u201cI don\u2019t think we did good enough.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-mm-id=\"_6gdmu7sv6\">Flacco completed 25-of-45 passes for one touchdown and one interception, but the statline looked better than the performance. His lone score came on a miracle bounce from a deflected a pass that landed in the hands of Browns receiver Cedric Tillman for a touchdown.<\/p>\n<p data-mm-id=\"_j5xrsp24s\">His interception was a needless throw picked off by Nate Wiggins and returned deep into Browns&#8217; territory. Flacco also fumbled on fourth down, resulting in a scoop-and-score touchdown for Roquan Smith.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The Baltimore Ravens lead 34-10.<\/p>\n<p>Things are getting ugly in Week 2 for the Browns. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/DawgPound?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#DawgPound<\/a> <\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/zjysy34ACb\">pic.twitter.com\/zjysy34ACb<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; BIGPLAY (@BIGPLAY) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BIGPLAY\/status\/1967314347522404441?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 14, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p data-mm-id=\"_hl4bmzst1\">While Flacco struggled, his supporting cast didn\u2019t help much. Most of Cleveland\u2019s 98 rushing yards came with the scoreboard already reading 41\u201310.<\/p>\n<p data-mm-id=\"_j3jst536f\">Dylan Sampson, Week 1\u2019s breakout star, managed just 13 yards from scrimmage. Quinshon Judkins finished with 10 rushes for 61 yards including a big run on the final drive. Wide receivers not named Jerry Jeudy combined for four catches and 33 yards. Jeudy\u2019s own four receptions for 57 yards weren\u2019t game-breaking either. The most encouraging position group was the tight ends. David Njoku and Harold Fannin Jr. combined for nine catches and 88 yards.<\/p>\n<p data-mm-id=\"_268rk98rz\">Flacco was replaced on the final drive by third-round pick Dillon Gabriel. The rookie went 3-for-3 for 19 yards and tossed a pretty touchdown to Sampson.<\/p>\n<p data-mm-id=\"_qtrapvnap\">Stefanski made it clear Gabriel won\u2019t start Week 3, but the hourglass has been flipped on Flacco. With an 0\u20132 start and a brutal schedule ahead, it feels like a matter of \u201cwhen,\u201d not \u201cif,\u201d Gabriel will get his first NFL start before the Cleveland weather gets chilly.<\/p>\n<p data-mm-id=\"_nwexpmkcw\">Looking further down the road, the Browns have another issue.<\/p>\n<p data-mm-id=\"_i0vz7skkm\">With none of the top college quarterbacks raising their draft stock early in the season, it\u2019s imperative Cleveland gets a real look at both Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders before March. With two first-round picks in hand, the Browns need to know how to allocate next year\u2019s prized selections. If a clearcut quarterback doesn\u2019t break through the mold, the Browns could look to trade the picks for a proven signal caller. If Gabriel or Sanders succeeds, one of the picks could be used on a tackle such as Alabama\u2019s Kadyn Proctor or a vertical threat like Carnell Tate.<\/p>\n<p data-mm-id=\"_zjdp2n8jg\">Two things are clear in Cleveland: Joe Flacco will start Week 3 against the Green Bay Packers, and another season is already slipping away.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It wasn\u2019t the storybook return to Baltimore for Joe Flacco. But it\u2019s also not the end of the book. Following a 41\u201317 drubbing at the hands of the Ravens, Clevel<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":32672,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32671","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cleveland-browns"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Cleveland Browns to keep starting Joe Flacco at quarterback for now - Breaking News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=32671\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cleveland Browns to keep starting Joe Flacco at quarterback for now - Breaking News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It wasn\u2019t the storybook return to Baltimore for Joe Flacco. 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