Another fresh face debuts under center this week, doing so on another continent.

Dillon Gabriel replaces Joe Flacco as the Cleveland Browns take on Brian Flores’ defense and the Minnesota Vikings in London. Our NFL writers Mike Sando, Zak Keefer and Jeff Howe also discuss the struggling (and injured) Ravens, the Jaguars’ opportunity for a statement win and the Tush Push’s inability to stay out of the headlines.

Welcome to Week 5 in the NFL. Read more below.

The Browns made news earlier this week by announcing that rookie Dillon Gabriel is taking over for Joe Flacco at quarterback. What can Gabriel expect to see in London on Sunday against Brian Flores and the Vikings’ defense? And how soon could it be before Shedeur Sanders gets a chance in Cleveland?

Howe: As one of the premier defensive coordinators in the league, Flores is going to give Gabriel all sorts of issues with his disguises and post-snap wrinkles. It figures to be a difficult day for the rookie. With Flacco as the backup, the Browns know Sanders isn’t ready, and they also want a steadying veteran presence to give themselves a competitive chance if Gabriel goes down. We can presume the Browns aren’t a playoff team all we want, but that’s not how coaches operate, so Flacco should be the backup until the Browns are a mathematical long shot. If Gabriel shows progress, he should start as long as possible. I’d consider resting him over the final week or two to ensure a healthy offseason, and that would double as a cameo for Sanders’ evaluation. The Browns owe it to themselves to get a look at Sanders in game action, but I don’t think it will happen until December, unless Gabriel gets injured or plays poorly.

Keefer: A lot of blitzes. A lot of disguise. And ultimately, many problems. I’m hopeful the Browns thought this through, and weighed the risk of throwing Gabriel — whom they aim to become their long-term starter — to the wolves like this, against a seasoned coordinator and a vicious defense in an overseas game after a tumultuous week. But knowing this franchise’s track record, they didn’t. We know how this ends. As for Shedeur, it seems pretty apparent this coaching staff isn’t ready to throw him out there. By December, that will likely be a different story.

Sando: Minnesota’s defense overwhelms inexperienced quarterbacks, betting they won’t be able to exploit its vulnerabilities the way, say, veteran Matthew Stafford did in the playoffs last season. It’ll be surprising if Gabriel has a strong game against it. I don’t anticipate Sanders playing unless Gabriel is injured or suffers a rash of turnovers over multiple weeks. I don’t think there’s a plan to play Sanders at this time.

The 1-3 Ravens and 1-3 Texans meet Sunday. The Ravens are not playing well defensively and have been hit hard by injuries, the latest being QB Lamar Jackson’s hamstring, which could reportedly keep him out for a few weeks. The Texans are coming off a win over the Titans, but have been among the league’s worst offenses.Is this the week the Ravens get back on track? Or could they continue to struggle without Jackson?

Howe: The Ravens are far too injured for me to believe Rush is the solution. Even if they win this game, I’m not sure it’d warrant a proclamation about their impending turnaround. I’m more interested in seeing how the Texans respond. They had a rough start, but their three losses were by one score. A confidence boost could be enough to get them back into the AFC South race.

Keefer: Jackson is the heart and soul of that offense, the engine behind everything they do. So, yes, this team will take a step back without the two-time MVP. The real issue with the Ravens has been the defense, which has somehow been among the worst in the league a month into the season. That’s good news for the struggling Texans, who’ve been wildly inconsistent on offense. I’ll take the Texans in an ugly one.

Sando: The Texans’ defense is the only unit I trust in the Ravens-Texans matchup. All the others are struggling. That’s why I give Houston a slight edge in the game. I say “slight edge” because teams can rally when facing dire circumstances, as was the case with the 49ers against the Rams on Thursday night.

The 3-1 Jaguars host the Chiefs on “Monday Night Football.” They lead the league in takeaways with wins over the Texans and 49ers. How do we view the Jags among the AFC’s top contenders if they can come away with a win here?

Howe: And don’t forget, the Jaguars would be 4-0 if Brian Thomas Jr. caught a fourth-down pass by the goal line against the Bengals or the officials didn’t call a bogus defensive pass interference penalty to save Cincinnati on a fourth-down incompletion a minute later. The Jaguars are still too inconsistent with their self-inflicted mistakes, so I’m not ready to say they deserve top-tier billing. But a win against the Chiefs with a little of this Liam Coen magic would absolutely be a sign that the Jaguars can knock off anyone.

Keefer: This has been one of the more overlooked stories in the league. While Daniel Jones and the 3-1 Colts are the talk of the division, the Jags are right there with the same record. And it’s not just Coen’s offense — the Jaguars’ revived defense has sparked this unexpected turnaround. If they beat the Chiefs on Monday night, it’s time to start considering them a playoff threat.

Sando: The Jaguars are winning on a wave of turnovers (13 so far), without getting much production from quarterback Trevor Lawrence. I’ll be surprised if they beat the Chiefs in this matchup, but if they do, we need to view them as a potential playoff team.

The tush push can’t stay out of the headlines. Last week against the Buccaneers, we saw the Eagles run a fake tush push for a Saquon Barkley TD run. Sean Payton, whose Broncos face the Eagles on Sunday, said he is supportive of the play staying in the game. How realistic is it that the play is eventually banned?

Howe: If the owners want it out, it’ll be out next offseason, and it’ll be that simple. If it goes to a vote and it were strictly up to the coaches (and not politics), I don’t see it going anywhere because coaches like competing. I think it needs to stay in the game. Eradicating a play because you can’t stop it or replicate it is a loser’s mentality.

Keefer: The Eagles’ fake tush push was a thing of beauty. Heck, the 49ers even ran a version of it Thursday with an injured Mac Jones. The reality is Jeff is right: If the owners want it out, it’ll be gone, no matter how many impassioned speeches Jason Kelce gives. I think more and more decision-makers around the league are tiring of the play and the fact that it’s difficult to officiate properly.

Bet ya didn’t see that one coming 😂 pic.twitter.com/yPPVIRYNCH

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) September 28, 2025

Sando: My understanding is that commissioner Roger Goodell thought he had the votes to ban the tush push last offseason, but a few teams he thought might support the ban wound up voting otherwise. I’m not sure what would be different in the future. Teams tire of the play over time. The administration of false-start penalties on the play is one aspect to watch.

Coming off a big win over the Chargers, the Giants are on the road versus the winless Saints. What stood out about Jaxson Dart’s debut last week? And what are reasonable expectations for him without the injured Malik Nabers?

Howe: Dart did the simple things reasonably well, and the Giants were smart to emphasize his running ability. It’s reasonable to expect Dart to efficiently run the offense eventually, and it’d be a win if he looks comfortable and on schedule. I’d like to eventually see more of that in the passing game because it’s a dangerous game to put a rookie in that much danger as a consistent runner.

Keefer: Credit where credit is due: Daboll called a sharp game. He didn’t put too much on Dart’s plate, and like Jeff mentioned, he leaned into his scrambling ability to find chunk yards when the Giants’ offense needed it. But things will get imminently more difficult without Malik Nabers for the rest of the season. The good news is that the Saints are among the worst teams in football, and there’s no reason that if Dart plays well again, the Giants can’t go 2-0 with him under center.

Sando: What stood out to me was Dart absorbing blows like a good sparring partner. With six designed runs, three scrambles, five sacks and two hits on incomplete passes, Dart risked contact far too many times (16 of 47 non-handoff plays, the second-highest rate for any Giants QB in 4019 total games since 2000, per TruMedia). I’ll be watching to see how much that changes this week.

(Top photos of Lamar Jackson and Dillon Gabriel: David Eulitt and Michael Owens / Getty Images)