Mike Tomlin recently gave the Cleveland Browns every reason to start Joe Flacco at quarterback in Week 6, but head coach Kevin Stefanski recently made the switch to rookie Dillon Gabriel. The third-round pick is coming off an unspectacular debut in a 21-17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. But that doesn't mean he's incapable of upsetting the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Thankfully, Gabriel and the Browns already gave the Steelers' defense the formula for success on Sunday.
In his first NFL start in Week 5, Gabriel completed 19 of 33 passes for 190 yards (5.8 yards per attempt) with a pair of touchdowns. The rookie's low completion percentage and yards per attempt resulted in an underwhelming 38.9 QBR.
Gabriel was even worse when targeting wide receivers. When throwing to his wideouts, Gabriel went just five of 13 for a mere 66 yards (5.0 yards per attempt) and a 55.2 passer rating. However, it was the opposite story when Gabriel looked for his tight ends.
The Pittsburgh Steelers must game plan to stop the Cleveland Browns' tight ends in Week 6
Nearly all of Gabriel's passing success in his Week 5 debut came when targeting tight ends David Njoku and Harold Fannin Jr. When looking for tight ends this past Sunday, Gabriel was 10 of 13 for 80 yards with a pair of touchdowns and zero interceptions. This resulted in an impressive 131.4 passer rating—a stark difference from when he targeted receivers or running backs.
Though Gabriel stands at just 5'11 1/8'', he prefers to get the ball to his tight ends over the middle of the field or in the flats and allow them to do some damage after the catch. Njoku, a Pro Bowl tight end in 2023, caught six of seven targets from Gabriel on Sunday for 67 yards and a touchdown.
Gabriel has already found something that's been working on offense, and you can bet that he plans to stick to it in his second NFL start against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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This means linebackers like Payton Wilson and Patrick Queen will have important assignments. In the first quarter of the season, Wilson and Queen have experienced frequent communication issues that have led to big plays and even touchdowns. This must be cleaned up if they want to contain Njoku and Fannin on Sunday.
Pittsburgh's safeties could be asked to pitch in as well to help over the middle of the field. It's hard to say what the safety rotation is going to look like now that their top four safeties are all healthy, but the Steelers would be able to afford the critical coverage lapses they witnessed early in the season.
The last thing Mike Tomlin wants is for a rookie quarterback to get comfortable early in the game by finding his go-to targets. The Pittsburgh Steelers already have an obvious recipe for success, and it starts by shutting down the Cleveland Browns' tight ends in Week 6.