The Browns‘ preseason clash with the Rams is wrapped up (won 19-17), and Shedeur Sanders, once again, found himself at the center of attention. The Colorado Buffaloes product didn’t exactly silence critics, putting up a shaky 3-of-6 for just 14 yards while taking five sacks. The frustration was loud, the criticism louder, and by crunch time, Kevin Stefanski handed the keys to Tyler Huntley, who marched Cleveland to the preseason win.

But if you peel back the noise, a different picture starts to form. Plenty are pointing out that Sanders wasn’t the lone culprit, and some even suggest Stefanski played a role in those struggles. Leading the charge is the NFL analyst, Emory Hunt, who recently took a shot at the Browns’ HC. “A lot of times with these coaches and coaches like Kevin Stefanski, it’s ego over execution. It’s plays over players,” Hunt told CBS when asked about Stefanski’s decision to bench Shedeur for the final drive.

He went on: “At the end of the day, you got to give this kid a shot to redeem himself. That’s the beauty of being a rookie. You’re going to go out there, you’re going to struggle, you’re going to have some success, you’re going to struggle again, but you want to see them come out on the other side.” But that definitely wasn’t the case with Shedeur. He just struggled a great deal. Here is how it unfolded:

Joe Flacco ran the show as QB1 for three drives, hitting 9-of-10 passes for 71 yards and a touchdown. Smooth and efficient—exactly what you’d expect from your starter heading into the regular season. Dillon Gabriel followed the 40-year-old vet and immediately grabbed attention. On a couple of drives, the third rounder went 12-of-19 for 129 yards and a touchdown, showing some real spark. Then Shedeur stepped in, and, well… the struggles were hard to ignore… Not exactly the same picture as Flacco or Gabriel. But there was a wrinkle.

While Stefanski rolled with the first-team unit when Flacco and Gabriel were under center, he brought the reserve offensive linemen and the receivers when Shedeur took command. The result? Well, Stefanski gave Gabriel quick, short passes with the starters. That made life easier—snap, throw, done. And for Shedeur? The HC gave him the plays where he had to drop back, read the field, and hold the ball longer.

While there’s no denying that Shedeur held the ball for too long and got sacked 5 times, Emory Hunt believes that Stefanski changed the offense for Shedeur. Hence, the struggles. “Kevin Stefanski handled that situation, and this whole quarterback competition horribly because you didn’t, you removed an opportunity for him to redeem himself in that situation to go out as a winner,” Hunt added.

“…And we’ve seen him do this because the offense was completely different when Dillon Gabriel was out there. It was a lot of, you know, short, quick passes to get the ball out of his hand, spread the formation, which is great. That’s what you’re supposed to do for a guy that thrives in that situation. So, I don’t know why for Shedeur, the offense changed.” Long story short: Shedeur made a splash in the preseason opener, no doubt.

But by the time his first preseason run was over, the doubts about his future were screaming louder than any optimism. Meanwhile, Gabriel probably managed to ink his place as the QB2.

Dillon Gabriel has an edge over Shedeur Sanders

The training camp and the preseason were supposed to answer the Browns’ quarterback room questions. While multiple injury complications stretched the announcement of QB1, Stefanski made it clear that Flacco is the QB1 for the season opener. Which makes you wonder: Who will back him up? It’s unlikely for Kenny Pickett as he’s nursing his hamstring. That left us with Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. And now that the preseason finale is done and dusted, that picture kind of seems clear.

Gabriel clearly has an edge over Shedeur to serve as Flacco’s backup. “What’s interesting here is Dillon Gabriel is maybe making a push, especially with Kenny Pickett hurt for that QB2 job,” Dan Labbe of Orange and Brown Talk noted. The reasons seem palpable. Take the preseason week 2, for instance. Gabriel completed 13-of-18 passes for 143 yards after Shedeur was sidelined due to an oblique injury. Preseason finale? Efficient. We’re talking about 12-of-19 passes for 129 yards, and 1 TD.

That said, Gabriel’s transformation from training camp struggles to potential backup hasn’t gone unnoticed. “I thought he was efficient. I thought he moves really well on those keepers where he has to roll out and throw on the run. He’s doing a really nice job with that. He’s efficient, he’s managing the game well. He stayed away from turnovers this time. And as you mentioned, he put points on the board on both of his drives,” Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com observed.

The 53-man roster deadline is looming, and the Browns are about to cut down to the official squad. Odds are, they’ll carry four QBs, but the real question is who grabs the QB2 spot — Gabriel? Shedeur? That’s the one everyone’s waiting to see.