Head coach Kevin O’Connell and the Minnesota Vikings have questions at quarterback, where Carson Wentz continues to fill in for J.J. McCarthy. However, that is not the biggest story of the Vikings’ Week 5 game against the Cleveland Browns.
The Vikings are coming off a tough loss to Aaron Rodgers (who knows them well from his time with the Green Bay Packers) and the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 4.
In Week 5, they will face a QB they, or any other team, have never before gone up against.
Vikings Set to Welcome Browns QB Dillon Gabriel to NFL
The Browns are changing starters. Veteran Joe Flacco is out, and rookie Dillon Gabriel is in, named QB1 against the Vikings in Week 5. It is a historic matchup. Gabriel will be the first rookie QB to make his debut in an international game, per NFL analyst Andrew Siciliano.
“The #Browns are making a QB change: Rookie Dillon Gabriel is in, Joe Flacco is out ahead of Sunday’s game against the #Vikings in London, sources tell The Insiders. The third-round pick is set to make his NFL regular-season debut after impressing in camp and the preseason,” NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported on X on October 1.
“Gabriel now becomes the third rookie QB to start a game this season.”
Gabriel was the No. 94 overall selection of the 2025 draft. He completed all three of his passes for 19 yards in mop-up duty during a blowout loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 2. However, he was 0-for-1 in relief of Flacco against the Detroit Lions in Week 4.
The Vikings could also be a rude welcome to the NFL moment for the Browns’ youngster in Week 5 in London.
Vikings DC Brian Flores a Cheat Code vs Rookie QBs
GettyMinnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores looks on against the Seattle Seahawks.
The Vikings boast one of the most creative and highly regarded defensive minds in the NFL in coordinator Brian Flores.
They also boast the fourth-highest blitz rate and rank second in pressure rate, per Pro Football Reference. The Vikings are tied for the fifth-most sacks with 11. The Browns, meanwhile, have allowed the league’s eighth-highest pressure rate and 9 sacks through four weeks.
Flores’ exotic blitzes can confound seasoned QBs. Young QBs often struggle against him.
Flores is 4-0 against rookie quarterbacks as the Vikings’ defensive coordinator, and they have another advantage, since they are already overseas from Week 4.
The Vikings will avoid facing Flacco, to whom, like Rodgers, they were linked this offseason before deciding to stick with McCarthy through training and bringing Wentz in only after the second-year passer suffered an ankle injury.
Vikings Face Former DPOY Myles Garrett at Worst Time
GettyMyles Garrett #95 of the Cleveland Browns looks on before a game against the Detroit Lions.
The other side of the coin for the Vikings heading into the Browns game is that they will face their defense, and particularly their defensive line, where 2023 Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett roams.
Garrett has 4.0 sacks. The Browns blitz at the NFL’s 14th-highest clip. They also rank eighth in pressure rate, with just as many sacks as the Vikings have through four weeks.
Moreover, the Vikings are set to be without multiple starting offensive linemen.
Center Ryan Kelly is dealing with a concussion, left guard Donovan Jackson – the Vikings’ first-round pick and the No. 24 overall selection of the 2025 draft – is on injured reserve with a wrist injury, and right tackle Brian O’Neill is week-to-week with a sprained MCL.
The Vikings have allowed the fourth-highest pressure rate. The team’s quarterbacks have been sacked 18 times, the most in the league.
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