Kevin Stefanski sees 'lots of positives' from Dillon Gabriel in first start, needs more from offense

Dillon Gabriel received a passing grade for his first NFL start.The Browns offense continued to fail.After reviewing the game film of the 21-17 loss to the Vikings on Sunday in London, coach Kevin Stefanski was pleased with Gabriel's performance. He was elevated to starter last week, replacing struggling veteran Joe Flacco.Gabriel, a rookie third-round pick, went 19-for-33 for 190 yards, two touchdowns, two sacks and a 94.3 passer rating.Analysis: Bumbling Browns turn another winnable game into a loss"A lot of positives," Stefanski said Monday. "Obviously can always better, and certainly we as an offense have to be better and score more to help this football team. But for a young player in that environment versus that defense to take care of the ball, make the plays he made, I thought was a lot of positives with plenty to clean up. And that's what he will do. And that's the mentality he has, certainly to be a player that continues to get better week in and week out."The two touchdowns, to tight ends Harold Fannin Jr. and David Njoku, were the high points for Gabriel. Fannin was wide open off a play fake for a 1-yard score, and Gabriel zipped a 9-yarder to Njoku into coverage over the middle.He joined Baker Mayfield, Charlie Frye and Luke McCown as the only Browns rookies to throw for two touchdowns in their first start.The lack of turnovers was also praiseworthy after Flacco had eight in four starts.Commentary: Defense, Kevin Stefanski don't have answers in loss that should've been a winBut the offense remained conservative and pedestrian despite the quarterback change. The Browns are tied for last in the NFL with 14.6 points a game and haven't scored 20 in a game since Dec. 2. The 10 games with 17 points or fewer is tied for the longest streak in franchise history (1975) and is the longest in the NFL since 13 by the 2000-01 Cardinals, per ESPN Research.The streak continues despite the emergence of rookie running back Quinshon Judkins, who rushed for 110 yards against Minnesota for his first 100-yard game. Poor pass protection and a lack of impact from the wide receivers have been the most consistent and significant problems.Wideouts Jerry Jeudy (two catches, 15 yards), Isaiah Bond (two catches, 29 yards) and Jamari Thrash (one, 22) combined for five catches and 66 yards Sunday. Two of the catches, both for 22 yards, came on the final drive as the Browns tried to get in position to throw the ball to the end zone.The Vikings' trio of Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and Jalen Nailor totaled 15 catches for 191 yards and the winning touchdown with 25 seconds left."It's so game-specific, but we obviously believe in our guys and we have to find a way to be more explosive and obviously stay on the football field so you can score those points," Stefanski said of the production of the wideouts. "And our wide receiver room will factor into that. Every game is different, but we have total trust in those guys."Dillon Gabriel throws 2 TDs but 'no moral victories whatsoever' in 21-17 loss to VikingsJeudy is the clear No. 1 but has yet to find his stride after making his first Pro Bowl a year ago, when he had 90 catches for 1,229 yards and four touchdowns. In five games this year, he's caught 15 of 34 targets for 197 yards and no touchdowns. Pro Football Focus has charged him with four drops."Nothing technical," Stefanski said of the drops. "Jerry continues to be our best wide receiver. We have to find ways to get him involved in the game."Having said that, he's a leader on this team, he will do anything in his power to help this football team, and I'm excited about the future for Jerry and this offense. But obviously I know he wants to do more, and we want him to do more."No. 2 wideout Cedric Tillman (hamstring) missed the first of at least four games on injured reserve. Bond played 40 of 70 offensive snaps Sunday and has nine catches for 114 yards on the year. Thrash played 28 snaps and has five catches for 40 yards.Next in line are Malachi Corley and undrafted rookie Gage Larvadain, who were signed off the practice squad last week. Corley played 12 offensive snaps and took a jet sweep 11 yards, and Larvadain played one snap on offense and returned punts.Whether it's the result of the playbook or the deficiencies at receiver and on the line, the passing game has leaned heavily toward the tight ends and running backs. The downfield attempts and explosive pass plays have been absent.Stefanski pointed to the matchup against a Brian Flores-coordinated Vikings defense and said he has faith in Gabriel and the pass catchers to execute downfield, but there's been a five-game pattern. That includes a lack of consistent separation from the wideouts.Gabriel threw the ball out of bounds on several occasions rather than risk interceptions by throwing into tight windows."It wasn't not on the same page. That's me on my end trying to be smart in certain situations," he said after the game. "What's more important, trying to fit something in there or getting to play another play."The Browns committed 10 penalties vs. the Vikings, which contributed to some third-and-long situations. They went just 3-for-15 overall, which can be traced to all of the aforementioned issues."Each one you can probably talk through, and it's a combination of things," Stefanski said of the third downs. "But I thought by and large (Gabriel) was getting through progressions. There's things that I know he can do better, that he knew when he was walking off the field. He's got very good self-awareness and those types of things."But that was a very good pass defense that we were facing, both from a coverage and a pass rush standpoint. I thought he did a good job of taking care of the football, moving in the pocket when he needed to. But bottom line is you have to try to find a way to stay on the field, and a lot of times it's your ability to be efficient on first and second down and put you in some manageable third downs that will allow that."When the Browns wanted to get off the field, they couldn't. Thrash's lone target was a 22-yard catch to end the game. Stefanski wanted to get closer to the end zone rather than throw a Hail Mary from the Minnesota 49-yard line, but Thrash got tackled before he could get out of bounds and the final two seconds ran off the clock."Figuring you like your chances throwing the ball in the end zone from the 25 better than you do from the 50," Stefanski said. "Felt like we had a decent chance of executing there, but you got to say good play by them."It's a risk-reward in all these types of discussions and decisions that you're making. Whether you take that Hail Mary from the 50 or from the 25, you're taking a risk in what you do."The post Kevin Stefanski sees 'lots of positives' from Dillon Gabriel in first start, needs more from offense first appeared on BrownsZone with Scott Petrak.