Falcons wide receiver Taylor Gabriel helped to power the offense in the 43-28 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday at Raymond James Stadium.
In addition to catching five passes for 52 yards, he ran the ball twice on jet sweeps and scored on a 9-yard run to give the Falcons a 20-14 lead with 3:56 left in the second quarter.
After the Cleveland Browns drafted four wide receivers, the 5-foot-8 Gabriel became expendable. He was cut on Sept. 2 and the Falcons claimed him on waivers.
“I’m just happy to be here,” said Gabriel, who made the Browns as a undrafted player out of Abilene Christian in 2013. “It doesn’t start with me. It starts with my (offensive) line. It starts with the running backs and the practice squad. I just feel like I’m blessed to be here and have this opportunity to improve and show my talents.”
Gabriel, who caught a 47-yard touchdown pass on Sunday against the Packers, is developing into a potent third wide receiver for the Falcons. He took some of the pressure off of wide receivers Julio Jones and Mohamed Sanu early in the game.
“It was great to see Gabe get involved,” Falcons coach Dan Quinn said.
Gabriel recorded his second touchdown of the season and the first rushing touchdown of his career. He was ready for his running plays.
“We had it in last week, but didn’t get to run it, so I’m glad (offensive coordinator) Kyle (Shanahan), he depended on me to come through again,” Gabriel said. “He called it. I didn’t think he was going to call it and he called it and it eventually ended up working.”
Gabriel is just trying to blend into the offense.
“Just to see those guys out there,” Gabriel said. “When I’m not getting the ball – just to see those guys catch the ball – Sanu, Julio, (Justin) Hardy and (Aldrick Robinson), to (Eric) Weems out there doing things on special teams. It’s not just one person, it’s everybody doing something. I’m just blessed to be here and have this opportunity.”
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