Many Cleveland Browns fans finally got their wish on Sunday when rookie fifth-round pick Shedeur Sanders took over early in the second half for Dillon Gabriel, who exited with a concussion. Sanders largely disappointed, completing just four of his 16 passes for 47 yards and an interception as the Baltimore Ravens came back and won 23-16.
Cleveland didn’t score in the second half after going into the half with a promising 16-10 lead, as Sanders squandered an opportunity to drive down the field and tie the game in the final minutes by missing a few open targets. It wasn’t the debut he or the fans wanted, but he sounds like he won’t let the loss affect him going forward.
Sanders spoke with the media on Wednesday and spoke about the Ravens game and his mindset going into this week. He’ll make his first start of his career on Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders, and he’ll be bringing all the confidence in the world with him.
“I know our fans have a lot of expectations and hope. I would be doing a disservice to myself and the organization if I didn’t feel like I am the guy. I did everything I need to prepare be the best version of myself as possible. I like pressure in life. I feel like I’m the guy. I know I’m the guy, but you’ll just have to be able to see it. The game gotta speak,” Sanders said.
#Browns Shedeur Sanders on his message to fans who have been starved for a franchise QB.. (Little bit of an interruption) pic.twitter.com/pQ45uLPk1t
— Coop (Justin Cooper) (@JJCoop25) November 19, 2025
A Big Opportunity Awaits Sanders On Sunday
With time to prepare and a bad defense on the schedule, fans will be hoping to see much more from Sanders on Sunday. Gabriel did a decent job during his time as the starter, and Kevin Stefanski has been adamant that he’ll be the starter once again once he recovers from his concussion, but perhaps Sanders can change his mind.
It would be hard to go back to Gabriel if Sanders can show some explosiveness on Sunday and protect the ball. His issues dating back to college have been his inability to avoid sacks and his lack of processing speed. Those issues showed up against Baltimore, but if he can avoid the mistakes against the Raiders, he has a chance to earn himself some more starts.
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