Browns' play calling makes one thing crystal clear about Shedeur Sanders

When the Cleveland Browns fell behind the San Francisco 49ers by multiple scores in the second half on Sunday, there was never much hope for a comeback.

Maybe it was the miserably cold temperatures and swirling winds inside Huntington Bank Stadium. Perhaps it was something that carried over from the week of preparation.

Whatever the reason, offensive coordinator Tommy Rees — and, by extension, head coach Kevin Stefanski — never gave rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders a real chance to lead the Browns back into the game.

Stefanski and the Browns stubbornly stuck with their bread-and-butter — Quinshon Judkins and the running game — against the 49ers, even while trailing 23-8 early in the fourth quarter. Judkins ended up carrying the football 23 times. Sanders finished with 25 pass attempts, but seven of them came on the game’s final drive with time winding down and the 49ers leading by 18 points.

It was one of those odd games where the Browns felt well out of the ballgame despite the scoreboard stating otherwise. It just leads to the question: With the season unraveling at 3-9, why wouldn’t Stefanski want to give his young quarterback more opportunities in the passing game?

The Cleveland Browns just missed a golden opportunity to truly evaluate Shedeur Sanders

The most important thing for the Browns over these final five games — aside from getting Myles Garrett his NFL single-season sack record — is to fully evaluate whether they need to add more competition at quarterback in 2026.

Sanders has a real shot at earning himself a full offseason as Cleveland’s QB1, and that comes with future benefits for the team, given Sanders’ fifth-round, rookie-scale contract. 

But Stefanski doesn’t sound like a man who’s ready to fully unleash Sanders over the final month of the regular season. The coach admitted on Monday morning that he’s still taking things week-to-week with the entire team, and that includes the quarterback position.

“For the young quarterback, you only get better with more turns at these things, at these games, as you see more coverages, as you see more defenses, and as you prepare versus different defenses,” Stefanski said. “So just looking forward to that constant improvement, with Shedeur and for all of our young players.”

Stefanski seemed to pull the leash back a bit on Sanders following one rough rookie mistake in the second quarter. With the team on the edge of field goal range, Sanders took a 13-yard sack on third-and-long, and the Browns were forced to punt. 

Cleveland’s next possession was its longest (and best) of the day. Rees called nine consecutive running plays before Sanders caught the 49ers napping with a 34-yard touchdown pass to tight end Harold Fannin Jr.

Sanders wound up dropping back to pass on just 12 of the Browns' 32 plays in the first half, or 37.5 percent of the time. That number increased slightly in the second half as the 49ers padded their lead and dominated both the time of possession and field position battles, but save for garbage time, Sanders dropped back to pass on just 21 of 51 meaningful snaps, or 41.2 percent.

It all added up to an efficient showing for the offense overall, based on advanced metrics, but one that yielded few legitimate scoring opportunities; the Browns never logged an official red zone trip, as their deepest drive into 49ers territory was stooped on downs at the 20 yard line.

Again, this was Sanders’ second career start and the conditions weren’t conducive to the passing game. But down two scores in the third quarter, Browns fans would have loved to see their coaching staff open things up a little bit more, and see what their young quarterback can do.