The Browns held their second set of joint practices with the Eagles, participating in two days of practices ahead of the second week of the preseason.

Cleveland and Philadelphia have a recent history of facing off during the preseason, holding joint practices in 2022, 2023 and 2025. The Browns traveled to Philadelphia in 2023 and hosted the Eagles in 2022.

For both teams, pairing up their projected starters and veteran players presents the opportunity to face a different scheme. After weeks of lining up against the Browns' defense, the quarterbacks experienced a new defensive front and secondary.

"Vic Fangio's scheme is very different than Jim Schwartz's scheme. So, for our quarterbacks, having gone against Coach Schwartz and our defense over and over going back to the spring for so many reps, they are just different rules in the coverages. There are different deployments of the front," Stefanski said. "The quarterbacks had some unique challenges out there, not to mention they have great players – the personnel is excellent, as we all know with them being the defending Super Bowl champs – but Coach Fangio has a very unique defense, and it was good for our guys to go up against that a couple times."

While QB Kenny Pickett only participated in 7-on-7 drills as he recovers from a hamstring injury, and QB Shedeur Sanders endured an oblique strain in early throwing drills on the first day of joint practices, offensive coordinator Tommy Rees saw how QB Joe Flacco and Gabriel adapted over the two practices – especially in their pocket movement. One of the strengths of the Eagles' defense is in their front, and the way they utilize stunts and twists is different than the Browns' pass rush. Those changes forced the quarterbacks to maneuver in the pocket differently and provided a teaching moment for all of their quarterbacks.

Both Stefanski and Rees added Flacco and Gabriel made competitive throws in critical down situations – such as in 2-minute drills, third downs, red zone or two-point conversion drills. From their perspective, the quarterbacks improved from the first joint practice to the second.

On the first day, the Browns struggled to connect with their receivers, with multiple dropped passes throughout drills in practice. So, the coaching staff challenged the group to start faster on Day Two.

"Day One got off to a slow start and then had a pretty good finish to practice," Rees said. "So, we really challenged those guys to come out and start fast and felt like we did that. And then we had two good 2-minute drives there at the end to close it out. So, really liked the intensity and how intentional we were throughout those practices."

They took that challenge to heart. Flacco took a majority of the first-team reps against the Eagles' first-team defense, while Gabriel rounded out the 11-on-11 drills with his set of reps. Over the course of three team periods on the second day, Flacco connected with receivers and moved the ball downfield. He found WR Jamari Thrash in the end zone for touchdown and even pulled out a trick play to RB Jerome Ford.

In the final set of red zone situational drills, Flacco started the period off for the Browns' offense, connecting with WR Jerry Jeudy for a touchdown in the end zone. On a later rep, Flacco found TE David Njoku for the completion in the end zone, and Njoku slammed the ball on the ground and jumped in celebration of the play. Flacco closed out his reps with another trick play that ended in a touchdown by RB Dylan Sampson.

"I think joint practices, ultimately, you're trying to get the same thing out of them that you're getting out of practices against your own defense," Flacco said. "We're trying to figure out what our team is about. Ultimately, it's cool to go against another team and be able to compete with them and notch up practice that extra level because you're going against a team that's not you guys. You can feel like you can get after them more and the competitive nature comes out a little more, and I think that's how we all grew up playing football."

In Gabriel's reps, he also connected with Fannin on a deep pass. Fannin ran into the end zone for the touchdown, and S Grant Delpit ran over to the end zone to celebrate with Fannin. Gabriel's 11-on-11 reps were an important step in his recovery process from the hamstring injury, as he strung three consecutive practices of team drills together.

"Dillon did a really good job rehabbing to put himself in position to get back, to start that game and to play in those practices," Rees said. "But he's ultra-competitive. He wanted to be out there. At no point did he ever kind of sway on whether or not he wanted to play or wanted to be out there, and he approached his rehab with that. Every opportunity he's had to compete and to practice, he's been out there, and he pushed through early on with the injury and took reps when he could. He did a nice job of getting out there in practice and then preparing himself to play in the game. He wasn't 100 percent, but I think it's a testament to him to wanting to be out there when he's not feeling perfect."

Following each of those two practices, Gabriel's mindset began to shift toward being ready to play in the second preseason game. He saw how his body handled the work in practice and how the hamstring responded the next day. After a day to recover with the off day, Gabriel believed that he would take the field on Saturday for his NFL debut in the second week of the preseason.

As Gabriel sat in the quarterback meeting room, he flipped through different clips of film. He watched and rewound the clip, first examining the play in its entirety. He then observed a specific coverage recognition, a route detail and how to play through a progression versus a different coverage.

That frame of mind of pinpointing the details embodies his overall approach to the use of film. His time in the film room is split into two areas. The first focuses on studying the opposing defense, watching the film for coverage recognition and understanding an opposing team's defensive structure. The other focuses on the job call both within the run game – the kills, cans, alerts and checks – and the pass game with the progressions.

For his first preseason matchup, Gabriel said they operated in an evaluation mode with a call sheet where the install was their base, but it focused more on seeing how Gabriel and the quarterbacks study and what they put on the tape. He said he received the call sheet just a few days prior to the game, and Gabriel used his time in walkthroughs and the film room to be prepared for the Eagles' defense.

When Gabriel took the field for his NFL debut against the Eagles, all his time in practice, walkthroughs, the meeting room and film room prepared him be at the helm of the offense. A wave of excitement rushed over him as he ran out of the tunnel for the first time, but as he took the field to start the game, he stripped the emotions to center himself around being process oriented and to operate at a high level.

"It was exciting to get Dillon out there for his first game action, his first start," Rees said. "I thought he played really efficient. That first drive he had three big third-down conversions, a couple of good movements in the pocket to climb into him, so critical throws on big downs. But really just kept us ahead of the sticks and moved the offense efficiently. Felt very calm out there with him operating, so that was all positive. And look, all that film for him is so valuable to learn from, to evaluate from and continue to make strides as he moves forward."

On the opening offensive drive, Gabriel moved the Browns meticulously down the field, completing 4-of-4 passes and converting three third-downs attempts. He then handed the ball off to RB Ahmani Marshall, who found the end zone for a 4-yard touchdown run to put the Browns on the board first.

Following his first touchdown, Gabriel made his way to the Browns' bench and sat next to Pickett. With an iPad in hand, the two talked through what they each saw on the drive.

"I was just trying to help out Dillon on the sidelines – really all the quarterbacks – just tell them what I see and obviously I know their defense from playing against them for a year," Pickett said. "So, I was giving them some tells that I knew beforehand and some things to help him. But I thought Dillon did a great job of commanding the offense, bouncing back from plays and putting together good drives."

Gabriel converted six consecutive third-down situations, extending drives to move the Browns down the field and into scoring position. And then he threw an interception, which was returned 75 yards for the pick six. Gabriel played the entire first half against the Eagles, completing 13 of 18 passes for 143 yards and one interception.

"It was huge to learn the environment," Gabriel said. "Getting adjusted to the game, and going in and out of the huddle, calling plays, feeling the flow of moving the ball and creating rhythm and flow that way. So, there's a lot of things that were new for me in that way but just wanted to continue to build on that. It is a first time, so, you look at it and want to continue to get better from that and want to just do it by just serving each day and serving each moment."

After the Browns returned to CrossCountry Mortgage Campus ahead of the final week of the preseason, Stefanski and the coaching staff knew they wanted to use those practice days as a dress rehearsal for the regular season.

They had planned to play a majority of their starting players to get them on the field, go through a pre-game warmup and experience coming out for the first play – all to be mentally and physically ready for the first game of the regular season. Stefanski and the coaching staff ultimately decided their starters will play about 20-25 plays against the Rams.

To foster the dress rehearsal, the Browns mocked a regular-season game week, giving the players a game plan to face the Rams on the Monday before the game. For Rees, providing the players – and specifically the quarterback room – with the game plan allows them to feel what it means to game plan for an opponent and experience what specific meetings feel like.

"For the quarterback position, you go into a game with an extensive game plan – much more extensive than the first two preseason games," Rees said. "I mean, it's probably double or triple the plan of what we had. And so, if you're the starter, you really need that time. You really need those reps. You need to get back into your routine and rhythm of what it feels like to prepare for a game plan with that much volume and what it looks like to prepare against an opponent where you're really starting to study them. You just want to start to build those habits back into our players as you approach the season and make sure that they get a good test run beforehand."

Because of that mindset, Stefanski announced Flacco as the starting quarterback for the 2025 season – giving the 2025 training camp quarterback competition a resolution.

Over the course of training camp and through the preseason, Flacco took reps with the first group that consisted of starters and veteran players. As the Browns continued into joint practices with the Panthers and Eagles, Flacco took the first set of reps and faced starters and veterans of two opposing defenses. Flacco did not play in the first two preseason games but used his daily allotment of reps to his advantage.

Rees noticed Flacco's steadiness and consistency throughout training camp but particularly noted a handful of practices – including the joint practice with the Panthers – as ones in which Flacco made plays during the 11-on-11 team drills. He continued to stay on a steady trajectory where he took care of the ball and put his teammates in position to succeed.

"He gives a lot of guys around him confidence," Rees said. "We have some young players out there that he really calms down and solidifies. He's operated our offense at an extremely high level. He's taking care of the football. He's throwing accurately, and he just makes quick decisions, and more likely than not they're the right decisions. So, he's really taken ownership of what we've asked him to do this camp and I'm excited for him – however many years to him in the NFL – but I know he's excited to be named starter again."

As Stefanski and the coaching staff evaluated all aspects of each quarterback for the role, he was pleased with the way they pushed one another to succeed and supported each other. Yet, Stefanski highlighted Flacco's success of his reps during training camp, coupled with his 17 years of experience in the league – experience that he shares with teammates on a daily basis – as factors that helped him earn the starting job.

When the Browns take the field at Huntington Bank Field on Aug. 23 for the preseason finale against the Rams, Flacco will run out as the helm of the Browns' offense – painting the picture of Week 1 of the regular season.

"I think Joe, really from the beginning through the practices, through the joint practices, has continued to perform well," Stefanski said. "He has a very good command of our system, has a good feel for his teammates, and ultimately, he has the skill set that will enable us to do what we're seeking to do – which is play efficient offense, play sound offense and play explosive offense."