Waking up at 2:30 in the morning on Sunday for one Mililani family felt “weird, like waking up early for Christmas.” But no matter what the time, it was full of excitement for the Gabriel ohana.

Garrett Gabriel, a former University of Hawaii quarterback who authored two of the school’s biggest victories over Brigham Young in 1989 and 1990, was up early to watch his son, Dillon Gabriel, get his first NFL start as the Cleveland Browns quarterback.

The game was played in London and kicked off about 3:40 a.m. Hawaii time.

“Man, way too early,” Garrett said in a phone interview. “But it was fun. Everybody was up ready to go. Obviously can’t miss it. … We had about seven of us.”

Garrett said the “pregame stuff was pretty cool.”

Before the kickoff, the NFL Network reported that Garrett and his wife, Dori, had to get up early to watch the game because he didn’t have a passport (Garrett said his visa expired.).

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The report also mentioned Dillon’s fiancee, Zoe Caswell, was watching back in Cleveland.

“The only thing is we didn’t get the W,” Garrett said.

Dillon Gabriel, a former Mililani star and a third-round draft pick out of Oregon, helped put the Browns in position to win, leading 17-14 late before veteran Carson Wentz rallied the Minnesota Vikings to a 21-17 win.

Dillon completed 19 of 33 passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns. He didn’t throw an interception but was sacked twice.

“I thought he was OK,” Garrett said. “I didn’t think he was asked to do much. We were very conservative and rightfully so because Minnesota’s defense is pretty good. However, there were times we had a chance to push the lead had we been a little more aggressive.

“I knew he was going to keep the ball out of harm’s way. That’s the reason why he was replacing (40-year-old veteran Joe) Flacco, not to turn over the ball. It’s always a fine line. You have to be (aggressive). When I talk to him, we talk about calculated risk. I think he’ll figure it out, the speed (of the game) and what he needs to do. So do I think next week will be better? I believe so. I think he’ll be a better version of himself.”

Nursing a 17-14 lead, the Browns’ offense hit a wall in the fourth quarter, punting four times and going three-and-out twice.

“We’ve been playing well,” Garrett Gabriel said. “But toward the end, you gotta come up with some big plays, offensively or defensively. We didn’t.”

My initial takeaways from the game were twofold:

>> Dillon Gabriel looked like he belonged. He played smart, calm. The NFL stage didn’t look like it was over his head.

>> The Vikings have superstar receiver Justin Jefferson and a quality sidekick in Jordan Addison and the Browns have neither.

“He (Dillon Gabriel) looked like he usually does — composed, making the plays that we know he can make,” defensive end Myles Garrett said on ClevelandBrowns.com. “He put us in position to win. We’ve got to help ourselves out.”

Browns coach Kevin Stefanski delivered his typical coachspeak when asked to assess his rookie quarterback.

“Probably premature to grade in those type of things,” he said. “There were some good things, some rookie things to certainly clean up.”

Dillon Gabriel, himself, looked like a pro in his press conference — none of the juvenile shenanigans like what fellow Browns rookie QB Shedeur Sanders displayed when he mimed or mouthed his answers to reporters.

‘“I think you just gotta convert (on possessions). Obviously at times you gotta go make it happen. It starts with me,” Dillon Gabriel said on ClevelandBrowns.com. “But us coming together collectively to make that happen. You look at a lot of third downs to extend drives, that’s where we can help ourselves.”

When asked what he gained in his first start, he said, “I think I learned a little details. In any game you want four to five plays back … but that’s the game we live and play in. Gotta be better in those four to five plays. … Four to five plays can be the difference and the difference is truly what we’ll be attacking.

“There’s always something to build on. No moral victories whatsoever,” Gabriel said. “Regardless of the result, week to week, there’s a process. More time you spend around anyone, you gonna get more continuity. Quarterback to receiver, quarterback to running back. That’s us as a whole unit coming together and getting comfortable with our unit.”

Even when baited by a question to second-guess the conservative play when he was asked if he felt “handcuffed, by not going down the field more,” Dillon Gabriel didn’t bite.

“Not necessarily,” he said. “You want to be aggressive, but you want to be smart as well. And understanding what we’re doing offensively, there are things that some people take the bait, and then there are times you can be really effective by taking what’s there.

“It is a balance as a quarterback. You gotta be smart-aggressive — when it’s your time to take shots, when it’s time to go get 5 (yards) and live another down. That’s the balance I’ll continue to teeter. You always try to push the issue and be aggressive, but at the same time, you don’t go broke by taking a profit.”

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Reach Curtis Murayama at cmurayama@staradvertiser.com.