Who Should I Start? Joe Flacco or Dillon Gabriel

Friday, October 17, 12:34 AM

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Flacco completed 31 of his 47 pass attempts for 342 yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions during Thursday's Week 7 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. He also took two sacks. Just nine days removed from his trade to Cincinnati and three weeks removed from his benching in Cleveland, the veteran quarterback showed flashbacks to the peak of his career back in the 2010s. This was Flacco's first performance with three passing touchdowns and zero turnovers since Week 1 of the 2018 season. Perhaps most impressive -- beyond the fact that Flacco dug Cincinnati out of a multiple-possession deficit -- was the veteran quarterback posting such a good performance despite a matchup against a talented Pittsburgh Steelers defense. He didn't let T.J. Watt fluster him, nor did he have much trouble keeping the ball away from a solid secondary. Flacco has shown upside in years past, but he seems to have unlocked a whole new ceiling with Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins at his disposal. He'll vault into the high-end QB2 range for Week 8 against the New York Jets.

Tuesday, October 14, 7:02 PM

Cleveland Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel completed 29 of his 52 pass attempts for 221 yards and no touchdowns in a 23-9 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 6. Gabriel struggled to get much going against a struggling Pittsburgh defense, leading his team to just three field goals while averaging just 4.3 passing yards per attempt in his second career start. The rookie signal caller has now thrown for 430 yards and three touchdowns while completing 57.3% of his passes thus far. Gabriel will now look to bounce back against a Miami Dolphins defense that is allowing 29 points per game, fourth-most in the NFL. That being said, Gabriel will be tough to trust as anything more than a high-end QB3 in Week 7.