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By Rowan Fisher-Shotton
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The Cleveland Browns left Gillette Stadium on Sunday with another loss, falling 32-13 to the New England Patriots and dropping their record to 2-6 midway through the NFL season.
Yet again, the Browns' offense struggled to put points on the board, with rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel completing 21 of 35 passes for just 156 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions.
What's more shocking is that wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, a 1,200-yard receiver a year ago, was held catchless and was only targeted twice the entire game, much to the displeasure of coach Kevin Stefanski.
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"I'm frustrated with that loss. I'm frustrated that we don't get the ball to Jerry (Jeudy), our best wide receiver, earlier in that game and throughout that game," Stefanski told 92.3 The Fan on Monday. "Now, are there always reasons for those types of things? Sure, but it's not lost on me that Jerry's our best player at that position, and we have to get him the ball.
"And that goes back to the earlier comment we talked about, just making sure we have our guys in the right positions, whether it's where they're playing on the formation, the routes we're asking them to run, etc."
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Through eight games, Jeudy has caught just 22 passes (54 targets) for 257 yards and zero touchdowns, putting him on pace to finish the year with roughly 47 receptions on 115 targets for 546 yards (and zero TDs).
Not only would that be Jeudy's lowest output since 2021, when he appeared in just 10 games, but it would also be a far cry from last year's Pro Bowl season, when he finished with 90 receptions (145 targets), 1,229 receiving yards, and four receiving TDs.
Gabriel's inability to get the team's star WR the ball has created a stagnant offense that ranks third-last in the NFL in passing yards (174.1 per game) and scoring (15.8 per game).
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Cleveland now heads into its Week 9 bye with a lot to consider, specifically when it comes to the quarterback position.
Across six appearances, Gabriel has completed just 59.9% of his passes for 702 yards, five touchdowns, and two interceptions, all while rookie fifth-round pick Shedeur Sanders waits in the wings.
With the NFL trade deadline on Nov 4, before the Browns' next game, time will tell whether Stefanski and Cleveland's front office still trust Gabriel or Sanders to get the job done, or feel inclined to go get another QB.
Regardless, a dominant defense can only mask so much; unless the offense starts sustaining drives, protecting the ball, and getting its best playmakers involved early, Cleveland’s window to salvage the year narrows quickly.
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