The Cleveland Browns are off to a rough 0-2 start, and Joe Flacco’s struggles haven’t helped. Head coach Kevin Stefanski isn’t making a switch yet, but he is clearly eyeing adjustments around his veteran QB.

Heading into Week 3, Stefanski clarified the QB room, but it’s rookie RB Quinshon Judkins grabbing attention. Now the unofficial starter, the young running back impressed against Baltimore with tough runs and broken tackles, just the spark Cleveland needs. “Quinshon did great,” Stefanski said, after the Browns’ Week 2 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

“We want to continue to bring him along from a conditioning standpoint, (and with) understanding all the nuances of the scheme. So, that will only grow each week. He missed the opportunity to be tackled in preseason and training camp and those types of things. (There’s) continuously a part of ramping him up and getting tackled, having great ball security, catching the football, all those types of things that he missed. But we’re obviously ramping him up,” he added.

Stefanski said that Judkins is still being gradually prepared for full game action after missing preseason reps.

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Still, the head coach pumped the brakes a little when asked about the chart. He reminded reporters that “the unofficial depth chart is handled by the team’s media relations staff and is aptly named as ‘unofficial.’”

Yet, Judkins looks set for more than the 10 carries he saw last week. He touched the ball 13 times in just 20 snaps in his debut, and his usage is only trending up.

In the 41-17 loss to the Ravens, Joe Flacco threw for one touchdown, one interception, and lost a fumble. By the fourth quarter, rookie Dillon Gabriel took over and played in garbage time.

The Browns need more than flashes.

Judkins’ 31-yard run is their only carry over 10 yards this season. With sloppy offense, missed blocks, turnovers, and no big plays, drives keep stalling. Facing the Packers next, Stefanski and Flacco must find quick answers to avoid a 0-3 start.

Kevin Stefanski’s QB decision

After two straight losses, people are wondering if Kevin Stefanski is rethinking Joe Flacco as starting QB. But the coach stayed firm.

“No,” Stefanski said, via The Athletic’s Zac Jackson. “I don’t think it’s fair to talk about that right now. We win as a team. We lose as a team. … I don’t think we did good enough.” The head coach isn’t ready to toss his veteran under the bus, even with the offense sputtering.

Flacco, meanwhile, kept his answer simple when asked about the possibility of losing the job. The 40-year-old sounded unfazed. “I can’t worry about that stuff, anyway. It’s honestly not on my mind. I gotta go out there and just play my game, play the way I know how to lead this team the best I can.”

Still, Stefanski admitted the early struggles sting, but he framed them as part of the process. “It’s early in the football season. Win, lose, or draw, you’ve got to learn from these things and move on. It is what it is,” Stefanski said, via 92.3 The Fan.

“It’s frustrating when you lose, when you get beat like we got beat. Nobody’s hiding from it. I know what these guys are about… we’ll just get back to work.”

The coach is leaning on experience to steady the locker room. Yet the pressure is real.

Stefanski is 40-46 since taking over in 2020, with two playoff trips mixed in. But last year’s 4-13 record hangs heavy, and patience isn’t endless. If Flacco doesn’t spark wins soon, Gabriel feels like the next man up. Eventually, Cleveland might need to see if its future is already sitting on the bench.