It was on Oct. 6, 1985, that Bernie Kosar made his NFL regular-season debut when, in Week 5, he came on for an injured veteran Gary Danielson in the second quarter against the New England Patriots at Cleveland Stadium
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And now, almost 40 years ago to the day, and in Week 5 as well, Dillon Gabriel, another Browns rookie quarterback, will make his debut, for all intents and purposes, on Sunday morning against the Minnesota Vikings in London. Garbriel, who played briefly in mop-up time in last Sunday’s 34-10 loss to the Detroit Lions, was given the start over struggling veteran Joe Flacco.
Kosar that day helped lead the Browns to a 24-20 victory over a team that ended up going to the Super Bowl and went on to play a key role in Cleveland in 1985 winning the Central Division for the first time in five years and making the playoffs for the first time in three seasons.
It didn’t stop there, though, as Kosar, the last great quarterback the Browns have had, led them to three AFC Championship Game appearances in the next four years.
But there were some sideways moments as well for Kosar in that rookie season. Patience had to be exercised, and it paid off.
It will no doubt be the same thing for Gabriel. The Browns believe in him fully — in fact, they’ve been all in on the Oregon product since they selected him in the third round of the NFL Draft last spring — but he’s not going to be an overnight success. No NFL rookie quarterback is. The game is just too tough. As such, patience will definitely be needed.
Just keep that in mind.
But at the same, don’t forget that, just as was the case with Kosar, Gabriel’s greatest strength is his intelligence and knowledge of the game. That counts for a lot.
Steve King
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