Even though it wasn't always pretty, Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders is officially 1-0 as a starting quarterback in the NFL after he led his two-win club to a dominant victory against a reeling Las Vegas Raiders team on the road.
Sanders, who started this game due to a concussion sustained by fellow rookie and third-round pick Dillon Gabriel, may not be guaranteed much in the NFL, as Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski previously said that he would go back to Gabriel as the starter when the left-hander is healthy.
However, after Sanders became the first Browns quarterback to win their first start since returning to Cleveland, Stefanski was much less committal than he was in past press conferences when asked about who would be under center.
Stefanski declined to explicitly name a starting quarterback for Week 13 after Sanders' victory. Browns fans in Cleveland may get to see Sanders make his first home start against Kyle Shanahan and a San Francisco 49ers team that is currently in the NFC playoff picture.
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski does not name starting QB after Shedeur Sanders win
Sanders finished the game 11-20 for 209 yards with one touchdown (a 66-yard play that came on a screen pass to running back Dylan Sampson) and one interception. Sanders, often criticized for holding the ball and taking too many sacks, was only sacked once despite facing Maxx Crosby and a solid Raiders defensive line.
One thing that is indisputable when watching Sanders is the fact that he is much better at ripping off big plays down the field than Gabriel has appeared to be when he is out there. Cleveland had more completions of 35 yards today than they had all year long, one of which was a beautiful 53-yard throw to Isaiah Bond.
However, Sanders did face a Raiders team that let Geno Smith get sacked 10 times and never seriously thought about making life hard for Shedeur or the Browns. Playing a vicious (albeit banged-up) San Francisco defense will be a much more worthwhile challenge for Sanders and the Cleveland offense.
While Shedeur wasn't perfect, he did go on the road against a Super Bowl-winning head coach and make enough plays with his arm to lead a moribund Browns team to a victory. That may have given the team (and franchise as a whole) some juice they clearly were lacking with Gabriel starting.