Cleveland weather conditions have Browns offense preparing differently for Dolphins game

Tommy Rees detailed a few aspects of what goes on when preparing for climate conditions such as those expected next Sunday in Cleveland

Oct 12, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel (8) warms up before the game at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

As the Cleveland Browns wait to host the Miami Dolphins for a Week 7 game at Huntington Bank Field next Sunday, weather conditions will be something to keep an eye on for the matchup. 

The National Weather service is reporting the potential of steady rainfall Sunday morning into the afternoon, while some projections see winds of up to 50-60 mph as a possibility.

Browns offensive coordinator, Tommy Rees, acknowledged that these conditions would certainly have to be accounted for when drawing up Cleveland’s game plan against the Dolphins.

“You definitely plan for it,” said Rees during his media session on Thursday. “To go into all the specifics probably wouldn’t be an advantage for us, but you definitely plan for it and account for it.”

For Rees, taking care of the ball certainly takes a front row seat when dealing with conditions like the ones expected for the game. 

“You put the ball security part at a premium,” continued Rees. “You look at certain things that you might need more of, or less of based on the plan. And you know, weather is part of the game and, shoot, you saw Monday night at the end of that game right? Weather playing a factor there. So there’s certainly drills and things you do to work that with your players, and there’s planning that goes into it to make sure you have enough of certain things.”

As for how the climatic conditions could affect the performance of third-round rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel, making his third pro start for the team, but first in front of his home crowd, Rees seemed confident that Gabriel’s tools could overcome any challenges presented by weather conditions. 

“You gotta spin it in the wind,” commented Rees. “Dillon does that pretty well, he throws a pretty tight ball. Obviously, you gotta play on time, you know, some balls you get away with late, but if playing on time, playing on rhythm, you know, hopefully you’re pretty efficient, still.” 

However, Rees did concede that playcalling, a task handled by head coach Kevin Stefanski, could be affected depending on how things shake out with the wind on gameday.

“And then there’s probably some things where, if the wind is really blowing and you’re going into it, then maybe you wait until the field flips. But, you try not to focus too much on the exterior factors there”.

Even if the current forecast of 94% chance of rain, 36 mph gusts, and 65 degrees holds up, and things don’t worsen dramatically come Sunday, we should expect a heavier dose of rushing attack and a more modest measure of passing than what we saw from the Browns a week ago against the Steelers, where Cleveland ran the ball just 17 times in contrast to Gabriel’s 52 pass attempts.