The Cleveland Browns edged out a 13-10 stunning upset win over the Green Bay Packers in Week 3.
Despite the win, veteran quarterback Joe Flacco struggled, and there were calls for Kevin Stefanski to bench him in favor of rookie Dillon Gabriel. Yet, Browns insider Ken Carman believes Gabriel won’t be starting anytime soon.
“Don’t put in Dillon Gabriel yet,” Carman said. “I know exactly what I was thinking during that game, and I agreed with all of you that it is time for a change. Not during the game, but let’s get to the end of this, I know it’s on the road, you don’t want to start rookies on the road, but there is no good time to do it anyway…
“After a win, would I pull a move that a team that’s losing do and do that? No, I have to take care of my veterans,” Carman added.
Carman believes Cleveland needs to give Flacco another start simply because they won. But, he does think Gabriel is getting close to being named the starter going forward, as Flacco and the offense have continued to struggle.
Flacco went 21-for-36 for 142 yards and an interception.
Browns Coach Wasn’t Focused on Pulling Flacco
Although Flacco was benched in Week 2, Stefanski wasn’t thinking of doing the same again.
As the Browns’ offense was struggling, Stefanski says he felt confident Flacco would help get it done and never thought of pulling him.
“Yeah, I’m just focused on doing what I think is best for the team,” Stefanski said.
Stefanski also confirmed Flacco will remain the starting quarterback going forward. The coach also believes losing Dawand Jones and Jack Conklin hurt Flacco’s ability to succeed.
“Yeah, that’s a great defense. I’m confident in saying that’s a great defense. And those two edge rushers are outstanding. And then we had injuries early to our tackles. We were without Jack (Conklin) going into this game. So, they made life really hard. Our guys battled like crazy. We had to make some adjustments. But to be able to play how we did as a football team I thought was really impressive.”
Despite the offensive struggles, Cleveland rallied to win 13-10 for their first win of the season.
Flacco Grateful He’s Able to Remain the Starter
Through three games this season, Flacco has struggled as the Browns’ starting quarterback.
Flacco admits he’s grateful that Stefanski and the coaching staff are allowing him to work through his struggles.
“Yeah, that’s what it’s all about. You know, I talked about it. It’s hard. It’s hard to go out there and play games like today and, you know, keep it together, but that’s what football is sometimes. And I mean, we have talked about it,” Flacco said. “The type of events that we have, just going out there and capitalizing on turnovers and not making mistakes yourself, you know, it wasn’t pretty today and there were – you know, it was tough. There were times where there probably were guys down the field that were open, and it’s just, I didn’t make it happen.
“And you feel for the group as a whole. I mean, everybody wants to go out there and perform and put up numbers, points, yards, all that stuff,” Flacco said. “And part of your job as a quarterback is to get that done. But also, your job is to win a football game and just play your role in whatever that may be. I think today, as tough as it can be, we won a football game, and it was hard. It’s hard when you’re in your own stadium and you can’t put points on the board and everybody feels it and you feel it, but you got to keep going out there and doing your job and having faith that, you know something’s going to happen and we’re going to get it done.”
Flacco has thrown for 631 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions through three weeks.
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