Bill Cowher pounds table for Shedeur Sanders after Browns' loss: 'He's the future'

A day later, Shedeur Sanders’ eye-opening performance in his first start of the 2026 season remained the talk of the NFL’s Week 9 slate. An important disclaimer is required here: The Cleveland Browns blew a four-point lead in the fourth quarter and ultimately lost to the two-win New Orleans Saints in overtime.

For a week-to-week league like the NFL, the fact that the final result of the game has been treated more like a footnote is telling. Sanders’ age and contract situation always made the most sense for Cleveland entering 2026, and the visual during Sunday’s second half was impossible for national analysts to shake.

Several prominent voices urged Cleveland head coach Todd Monken to stick with Sanders immediately after the game. Among the firmest was Bill Cowher, the former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach of 15 seasons.

“I would just say this moving forward: Shedeur Sanders should be the starter for this football team,” Cowher said during the NFL on CBS postgame show. “He’s going to be the future. And I think what he showed today — his resiliency, continuing to come back. He made great decisions. He extended plays. I loved the way he played and I would move forward with Shedeur Sanders. … He’s the future of your football team.”

These 3 Shedeur Sanders plays show why Browns' QB debate isn't going away

It’s the second half of this game that has the NFL world buzzing. The Browns only managed 25 passing yards over the first two quarters. Sanders’ slow start wasn’t all that surprising considering he’s been on the bench for eight weeks.

Three plays in the fourth quarter and overtime proved he was more than ready for the moment on Sunday — against a Saints defense that continually brought the heat.

The first came after the Saints converted a field goal to take a 9-6 lead with 5:38 remaining in the fourth quarter. Sanders wasted no time. On first-and-10 from Cleveland’s own 36, Sanders didn’t flinch as the pocket collapsed in his face from interior pressure and delivered a good ball that gave wide receiver KC Concepcion a chance to make a play.

Concepcion turned into a punt returner, working back to the ball and burning past the overpursuing safety for a 64-yard touchdown and a 13-9 Browns lead with 5:21 to play.

The second play came following the Saints’ go-ahead score in the final minute. Now trailing 16-13, Sanders and the Browns faced a third-and-6 situation from their own 30 with one timeout and 41 seconds remaining, needing a chunk play to give kicker Andre Szmyt a chance at a game-tying field goal.

Sanders made an unbelievable play, buying time to his left with his eyes downfield before delivering what amounted to a perfect pass to Jerry Jeudy to the back hip along the sideline. Sanders was drilled on the play by Saints defensive end Chase Young, and Jeudy made the catch for a gain of 30. 

Szmyt drilled a 51-yard field goal to force overtime three plays later.

The final one came in overtime, after the Saints got the ball first and scored a touchdown to make it 23-16. Cleveland got one chance to possess the ball and try to match it — which they did on a herculean effort from tight end Harold Fannin Jr.

Credit Fannin, obviously, for being special after the catch and stiff-arming a pair of Saints into the turf on his way to a 39-yard touchdown that tied the game. But film watchers, like Dan Orlovsky of ESPN, will appreciate Sanders making the right read while facing a free rusher to find Fannin on a check-down.

The Browns lost, but Sanders was awesome down the stretch (and during his postgame presser). Fans and analysts alike should be urging Monken to play the quarterback who, to Cowher’s point, is only 24 years old, under contract for two more years, and appears to be developing into a legitimate option for the team in 2027 and beyond.

Cleveland is also paying Watson $46 million to play quarterback this season, and he’s had great moments himself late in games in leading the Browns to what was a 5-3 start.

It’s complicated, just like it was at the start of Monken’s spring program. But no matter who starts this Sunday’s home game against Houston, Cowher’s take is valid and likely being echoed in Cleveland’s front office.

Sanders looked like a young player who deserves to be on the field, and that’s ultimately a good thing for the Browns as the team continues to fight to stay in the AFC playoff hunt this season.

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