Gabriel had a whopping 52 passing attempts in the matchup, many of those coming in the second half with the Browns chasing from behind. Cleveland coach Kevin Stefanski said the team needs to do a better job at protecting their rookie quarterback.
“He’s a tough kid. We got to keep him clean. Obviously when the game turned into a two-score game you’ve got to drop back, and that’s a tough team to drop back versus. He kept battling. It wasn’t for lack of effort by him or anybody,”
. “He made some plays. But we’ve just got to be better.”
The Browns dropped to 1-5 with the loss and Gabriel is 0-2 as the starter. He’s eager for a win but is also trying not to look too far ahead.
“I try not to look big picture, just be present. I think other people in our building have the ability to look at that. But, for me, it’s, like, how can we be good right now and be the best version of ourselves,” Gabriel said. “We obviously know that there are younger guys that are hungry and are gaining experience at the moment. But like I said, there’s got to be growth day to day, week-to-week. And it’s got to translate to a better outcome.”
Browns Offense Weighing Changes After Loss to Steelers
The Browns’ offense continues to sputter near the bottom of the league, averaging an NFL-worst 13.7 points per game. Stefanski said the issues aren’t limited to one area — the unit needs improvement across the board to find its rhythm.
“I don’t think it’s as simple as that. Obviously today we weren’t able to run the ball effectively and then got behind there in the second half,” Stefanski said. “We were 0-for-3 in the red zone. I know those were two-minute drives, a lot of them. We’ve got to find a way to score points, got to run ball the efficiently. Gotta find a way to be better in the pass game, all of the above.”
The Browns have now gone 11 consecutive games without scoring more than 17 points, dating back to last season. They’ll look to change that trend next week against the Miami Dolphins.
