It is the first NFL weekend of October, and we are now into Week 5 of the NFL season! Let’s open the weekend with the latest news and notes about the Cleveland Browns and the NFL in today’s edition of the Saturday Dawg Chow.

Dawgs By Nature:

• Browns, Vikings final injury report: Big Jack Conklin update, 3 more from MIN questionable (Jared Mueller) – In what seems like a rarity, the Cleveland Browns are clearly the healthier team going into their matchup this week with the Minnesota Vikings.
• Browns drop issue could increase with Dillon Gabriel in Week 5 (Jared Mueller) – Left-handed quarterbacks have an opposite spin on the ball, which could lead to more Browns drops with Dillon Gabriel.
• Browns QB Dillon Gabriel: Pressure, expectations for 1st start (Abby Mueller) – A change at QB for the Cleveland Browns to Dillon Gabriel can have a wide range of outcomes, leading to more fan discussions.
• Browns vs. Vikings: Week 5 Need to Know (Thomas Moore) – It is the Cleveland Browns vs. the Minnesota Vikings from Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, and here is everything to know about the game.

Cleveland Browns:

• Isaiah Bond already playing key role for Browns (Draft Network) – The Cleveland Browns’ rookie class has arguably been the best-performing one in the league. In addition to receiving immediate contributions from several draft picks, rookie undrafted free agent wide receiver Isaiah Bond has also started turning heads. Bond appears primed to take on a bigger role moving forward.
• Dillon Gabriel cites his ‘journey’ as reason why new Browns QB can quiet the negativity (Beacon Journal) – Dillon Gabriel has heard all of the negativity before.
• Teammates excited to see competitive, mobile Dillon Gabriel make 1st start (Browns Zone) – Quinshon Judkins played against Dillon Gabriel twice last season. Judkins is happy to be on Gabriel’s side with the Browns and can’t wait to be in the huddle with him for his first NFL start.
• The method behind the Browns’ quarterback development (ESPN) – As the news trickled out Wednesday morning that Cleveland Browns rookie Dillon Gabriel would take over as the team’s starting quarterback, a good friend of Gabriel sent him a picture of a fire station.
• How Browns QB Dillon Gabriel navigated harsh criticism during camp: ‘Everyone has a right to their opinion’ (cleveland.com) – Rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel prepared Friday for his first NFL start against the Vikings at Gabriel’s Football Pitch, the actual longstanding name of the field at The Grove, where the Browns stayed and practiced. To Browns players who have worked with Gabriel since he was drafted in the third round out of Oregon in April, it was the perfect name for the field.

NFL:

• Mac Jones cooked the Rams—Because Kyle Shanahan gave him the recipe (The Ringer) – The San Francisco 49ers backup had the game of his pro career on Thursday, thanks to a coach who seems to have a cheat code to unlock any quarterback.
• Early NFL trends: Record-worst starts for Cowboys, Bengals, Eagles (ESPN) – Early in the season, it’s typical to hear a lot about the pace of certain stats. “Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua is on pace for 178 catches and 2,100 yards,” that sort of the thing. But most of the time when you see “on pace for” stats, you have no idea of which teams and players were on pace for similar things in the past.
• Bucs’ Bucky Irving among starters out for Sunday’s game at Seattle (Tampa Bay Times) – The second-year running back has foot/shoulder injuries, and he’ll have company on the sideline.
• Why the NFL is buzzing about the new ‘K-ball’ rules (The Athletic) – It seemed Vic Fangio was eager for someone to catch on. “You know what you guys have missed?” said the Philadelphia Eagles’ veteran defensive coordinator — somewhat conspiratorially — in his press conference this week. “These kicking balls that they changed this year have drastically changed the kicking game, field goals in particular.”