The Steelers brought down Browns rookie QB Dillon Gabriel for a sack on over 10 percent of his dropbacks. It didn’t much faze him, however, and he gave an…interesting reason why. After taking six sacks and 17 total hits, he felt fine after the game.
Explained Gabriel, “My mom used to beat my ass when I was a kid, so I don’t think anything will live up to it”. Not Nick Herbig, not Alex Highsmith, not T.J. Watt, not Derrick Harmon. Not Jalen Ramsey, who pinged him twice on blitzes. None of these Steelers are a match for Dori Gabriel, who played softball for the Loyola Marymount Lions.
While Gabriel’s comments might generate welfare concerns, he deadpanned that he was “just playing around”. On the abuse he took from the Steelers defense, he insisted, “I’m good. It’s part of football, you know what I mean? That’s why you play it. We’re good”.
The Browns selected Dillon Gabriel in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Entering the season as the backup to Joe Flacco, he took over in Week 5 after Cleveland benched Flacco. The Steelers, of course, are preparing to face Flacco tonight, now starting for the Bengals.
And to connect this back to Dillon Gabriel even further, Dori Garrett Gabriel named him after former Bengals RB Corey Dillon. If Dillon could take a beating from the Steelers, then, so could his namesake. And he did, to be sure. Indeed, since the Browns returned to Cleveland, Gabriel is the 10th different Browns quarterback the Steelers have sacked at least five times in a single game. They managed that against Deshaun Watson most recently, twice, in 2023 (on at the end of the 2022 season). Other names on the list include Baker Mayfield, Tyrod Taylor, DeShone Kizer, Johnny Manziel, Colt McCoy, and Tim Couch.
Of those 10 Browns quarterbacks, across 16 games, only one managed to win. Tim Couch beat the Steelers, 16-15, taking six sacks back in 1999. Since then, the worst Pittsburgh has done is a tie with Taylor in 2018. Both teams missed potential game-winning field goals in overtime.
Dillon Gabriel never had a chance of facing that situation against the Steelers. The Browns didn’t even cross midfield before it was already a 9-0 game. While they briefly cut the lead to one score, Pittsburgh followed up with two consecutive touchdown drives. They ultimately won, 23-9, handing Gabriel his second loss in two starts.
While Gabriel will find himself on the ground a lot playing for the Browns, he is fortunate he doesn’t have to play the Steelers more than twice per season. Despite having a bye week already, Pittsburgh still ranks second in the NFL in sacks with 20.
The Broncos remain on an absurd pace, however, with 30 sacks through six games. The NFL record sits at 72 for a season, and they are on pace for 85. Gabriel will have to face the Steelers again this year, assuming he’s still starting. But at least he doesn’t have to play the Broncos.
