Who Should I Start? Marcus Mariota or Dillon Gabriel

Friday, September 26, 8:59 PM

Washington Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota will start again in place of Jayden Daniels in Week 4 against the Falcons after making his first start of the season last week against the Raiders. Mariota led his team to a 41-24 win against one of his former teams and now will look to do the same on the road against another one of his former teams. He was super crisp in his first action since Week 18 of last season, completing 15 of 21 passes for 207 yards and a touchdown while running for 40 yards on six carries. It will be a tougher challenge this time as he will be missing star wide receiver Terry McLaurin (quad) and faces an Atlanta defense that has allowed the fourth-fewest fantasy points per game to quarterbacks this season at 12.3. Washington will likely follow a similar game plan to last week against Las Vegas, where they went very run-heavy, especially with multiple receivers out. He's not a recommended start in matchups this week.

Saturday, August 30, 7:40 PM

Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel has "gained a lot of trust from the coaching staff just in terms of how he worked, and we feel good about it," assistant general manager Glenn Cook said. After setting a college football record with 63 starts over six seasons divided among Central Florida, Oklahoma, and Oregon, the third-round pick impressed the Browns' coaches enough to beat out fifth-round rookie Shedeur Sanders and now-Las Vegas Raider Kenny Pickett for the backup QB job. The new role doesn't faze Gabriel, who told Zac Jackson of The Athletic: "It's not daunting. I have ultimate confidence in myself and who I am." Gabriel looked decent in two preseason games, going 25-for-37 for 272 yards, a touchdown, and an interception, and it wouldn't be a surprise to see him starting at some point in 2025. The only real roadblock is 40-year-old starter Joe Flacco, a stopgap who has played in nine or fewer games in seven straight seasons.