Dillon Gabriel to Start for Browns vs. Vikings, Joe Flacco Benched as QB1

After being benched late in Sunday's 34-10 loss to the Detroit Lions, Joe Flacco has lost his starting job with the Cleveland Browns.

The Browns confirmed Wednesday that they will start rookie Dillon Gabriel at quarterback on Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.

ESPN's Adam Schefter first reported the switch. Schefter also reported Shedeur Sanders will remain third on the depth chart, with Flacco serving as Gabriel's backup.

The Browns' upset win over the Green Bay Packers in Week 3 may have bought Flacco a little more time. He didn't play great in that game and the offense only scored 13 points, but a victory against one of the top teams in the NFC at least allowed the coaching staff to avoid making any drastic decisions.

It became apparent in the Lions game that the situation with Flacco was untenable. He finished 16-of-34 for 184 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions. The 40-year-old leads the NFL with eight turnovers (six interceptions) through four games.

Cleveland hasn't scored more than 17 points in a game. The offense ranks 31st in points per game and has been held to under 250 yards in each of the past two weeks.

Gabriel has played 10 snaps in two games this season. Both appearances were during garbage time in blowout losses to the Lions and Baltimore Ravens. He has completed three of four attempts for 19 yards and one touchdown.

The preseason at least provided some indication that Gabriel can be a productive player as a rookie.

This isn't a great situation for any quarterback to be dropped into. Trevor Sikkema of Pro Football Focus noted the Browns offensive line has allowed the most pressures (77) and highest pressure rate (40.3 percent) in the NFL this season.

When you combine that with a bad matchup against Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores, who is renowned for designing elaborate schemes that have confused even the best quarterbacks in the league, it could be rough sledding for the Browns in Week 5.

Gabriel earned high marks coming out of college for his accuracy and ball placement, as well as good athleticism. He will need all of those attributes to have success against the Vikings.

Even with some of the usual struggles that can be expected from a rookie quarterback, the Browns are better off handing the keys to Gabriel now and seeing if he can provide a spark because the Flacco experiment wasn't working.