Shedeur Sanders made his NFL debut for the Cleveland Browns after starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel left with a concussion.
Sanders had a difficult performance, finishing 4-for-16 for 47 yards with one interception in a 23-16 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
Coach Kevin Stefanski stated Gabriel will start next week if he clears concussion protocol, as Sanders has had limited practice with the first-team offense.
Despite the loss, Sanders led a late drive into Baltimore territory that ultimately fell short.
The sports television gods are smiling. For on this fine Sunday, the Monday A-block, whether it’s being produced in the northeastern corner of Ohio or elsewhere, received the ultimate gift with the insertion of Shedeur Sanders as the Cleveland Browns quarterback.
No matter that it was because the starter, fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel, exited with a concussion. No matter that it was a shaky showing (who could blame the guy, coming in cold against a Baltimore Ravens defense that finally found some fangs) in a 23-16 defeat.
Because his last name is Sanders, it will matter – far more than it should.
Don’t fall for it.
In reality, it was an overmatched rookie making his NFL debut without a week of preparation to play any meaningful snaps. Seen it before. We’ll see it again.
Strap in, Browns fans, for a week of the Shedeur Sanders experience
The reaction throughout the next week, especially if Sanders is pressed into starting duties in case of an extended Gabriel absence, will not be proportional. Nothing about his entire NFL experience, from the draft process to training camp QB “battle” (air quotes because he clearly never had a shot for the starting job) to the second half against the Ravens.
When defensive coordinator Zach Orr sent blitzers, there were times he looked like a deer in the headlights. Sometimes he displayed some seasoned pocket presence and busted out an escape move that would look good on any quarterback’s tape.
Sanders finished 4-for-16 passing for 47 yards with one interception. It wasn’t up to his expectations, Sander said. It was the first time he’d truly been hit since his last game at Colorado, he added.
“I don’t think I played good. I don’t think I played good at all,” Sanders told reporters. “I think there’s a lot of things we need to look at during the week and just be comfortable throwing routes with Jerry (Jeudy) and all those guys. I think it was my first ball to him all year.”
Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski has already said that Gabriel will start next Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders if he clears the leagues’ concussion protocol. Reading into that as an indictment of Sanders would be misguided. That this front office and coaching staff hold Gabriel in higher esteem than Sanders has been clear since April, with the decision to draft him in the third round, to the depth chart shakeout. Sanders was fourth-string heading into the summer.
On Sunday, the entire playbook was available to Sanders, Stefanski said.
“We trust all of our guys. We trust our guys to perform,” he said. “Playing the backup quarterback role, it’s tough to come in there.
“(Sanders is) gonna battle like he does.”
‘Oh this is what it’s like?’ Sanders is about to find out
After the game, Sanders flashed his signature smile from behind the podium, typically reserved for the starting quarterback.
“It’s all you can ask for, honestly,” the fifth-round pick said. “A chance to get out there, get your feet wet, to experience how it feels to even be out here with the team, with the first group, with everybody. Surely, (I) was excited.
“It’s exciting to see, like, ‘Oh this is what it’s like? Oh, all right.’”
Going into the final drive, Sanders had the mentality that the Browns would tie it, he said. With the game in the balance, Sanders fired a strike over the middle to Harold Fannin Jr. for 25 yards to move into Baltimore territory. He found Jerry Jeudy for 10 more and scrambled for an additional five.
On second down from the 25-yard line, he had Isaiah Bond streaking open into the corner of the end zone. It was a tough throw, but Sanders had already done the hard part by extending the play and flipping his hips toward his intended target. The pass sailed on him nonetheless. On the next play, he looked to the end zone again and nearly had a potentially game-tying touchdown, but Ravens cornerback Chidobe Awuzie jarred the ball out of Gage Larvadain’s hands at the last moment.
“I don’t like the feeling,” Sanders said of losing. “I know offensively, if I’m able to go out there and have an opportunity, I (have to) take it to a whole new level.
“The feeling of losing, that ain’t nothing we’re going to get comfortable with on my watch.”
By all accounts, this was the first time Sanders had extended work with the Browns’ starting offense. The way Stefanski explained it, he barely worked with the “ones” in practice. He is a quarterback who wants to harp on the details of how receivers like to run their routes – and how he likes to throw certain routes open. Sanders and the Browns’ best receivers lack that level of familiarity.
“You’re always trying to get your starter ready to play, and certainly when your starter is a rookie, those are very valuable reps,” Stefanski said.
And too valuable for Shedeur Sanders to have a couple, apparently. Which is why – for the moment – we’ll pass on too harsh a judgement regarding the Browns’ far-too-polarizing backup.
