The most anticipated rookie debut of the year came this weekend as Shedeur Sanders started for the Cleveland Browns in their 24-10 triumph over the Las Vegas Raiders.
The former Colorado star helped his team get the win over Las Vegas to become the first rookie quarterback of the last 18 to win his Browns debut.
Sanders became the 43rd Browns QB to start since 2000, and the third this season, after Joe Flacco was traded to the Bengals following a slow start to the season.
Fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel came next, but his campaign was cut short by injury, leading to Sanders entering last week’s game vs Baltimore.
Projected as a first-round pick in the 2025 NFL draft, Sanders surprised many when he fell to the fifth round before being selected by Cleveland. He was the second passer taken by the Browns, after Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel.
Sanders spent the start of the season as the third-string quarterback, until veteran starter Joe Flacco was dealt to the division rival Cincinnati Bengals. Head Coach Kevin Stefanski named Gabriel the starter, with Sanders backing up.
Following Gabriel’s injury last week, Sanders got the nod to start against struggling side, Las Vegas Raiders. Buoyed by a strong defence and running game, Sanders led Cleveland to the win over the embattled Las Vegas squad.
Stefanski schemed up some different redzone packages to help take the pressure off the young quarterback and running back Quinshon Judkins lined up in the wildcat formation to punch in two redzone touchdowns.
Meanwhile, the defence led by Myles Garrett, hit Raiders QB Geno Smith for a total of ten sacks, holding Vegas to only ten points.
With only one week of first-team reps under his belt, Sanders completed 11/20 pass attempts for 209 yards, adding one touchdown and one interception. The touchdown came on a swing pass out of the backfield to Dylan Sampson who took it 66 yards to the house.
Speaking at the post-game press conference, Sanders said: “Not everybody is in the best situation, but it’s no excuse. You’ve got to go out there and perform. A lot of people want to see me fail and it aint going to happen.”
Cleveland returns to action at home next week against the 49ers. The head coach has indicated that Gabriel will retake the starting position once healthy, but the QB is yet to clear concussion protocol.
Depending on Gabriel’s progress over the next week, we may need to wait longer for the start of the Shedeur era in Cleveland.
Watch the highlights here.
