Shedeur Sanders had already built a massive fandom even before his first start in the NFL. Despite being drafted in the fifth round, many wanted the Cleveland Browns’ rookie quarterback to start over third-round pick Dillon Gabriel. The former Colorado Buffaloes QB has been getting some kind of special treatment.
NFL insider Greg Cosell shared his take on the Sanders situation ahead of the Browns’ Week 16 game against the Bills on Sunday.
“I’ve been doing this a while. Because of who he is, he is talked about differently than a QB who has had 3 NFL starts,” Cosell said on the ‘One Bills Live’ show. “You see some really good plays, like when he had Bond on a 42-yarder on third and 10 late in the second quarter. That was a big-time read and throw by Sanders. It was late coverage rotation, which, by the way, the Bills do a lot of.”
“None of this is surprising to me…. He has only played three games, and prior to playing, he wasn’t getting a lot of first-team reps. It’s almost impossible to have a sense of what he is going to be, but you do see some flashes.”
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Shedeur Sanders has played five games, starting four. He made his NFL debut against the Baltimore Ravens after Dillo Gabriel suffered a concussion. He was handed the quarterback mantle against the Las Vegas Raiders, and the QB helped Cleveland snap its three-game losing streak.
The San Francisco 49ers managed to keep Shedeur Sanders quiet in his second start, restricting him to just 149 passing yards and one touchdown. The rookie flipped the script against the Titans, throwing for a career high of 364 yards.
He recorded four total touchdowns in that game, including two in the final drive to allow the Browns to make a comeback. However, coach Kevin Stefanski pulled him out to try a trick play on the two-point attempt, which failed.
Shedeur Sanders on disappointing performance against Bills
Sheduer Sanders had an underwhelming outing in the Week 15 game against the Bears. He threw just 18 completions of 35 passes for 177 yards and three interceptions in a 31-3 loss. The Browns quarterback had recorded the same number of INTs in the rest of the four games combined. He held himself accountable for the loss.
“We got a loss. So I didn’t do good. That’s what sums it up,” Sanders said. “They showed everything they showed on film. We just failed to execute. That’s it. That’s on me.”
Shedeur Sanders is aware that he could lose his QB1 role anytime, but he’s still not playing with fear. He sees this as a learning opportunity and aims to improve with each passing game.