The Cleveland Browns couldn’t get anything going on offense on Sunday. The Chicago Bears put plenty of pressure on Shedeur Sanders, and he had his worst game as a rookie.
The first-year quarterback out of Colorado completed just 18 of 35 passes for 177 yards and three interceptions. He was sacked five times for a loss of 35 yards, and he led the team in rushing yards with 24. That’s not going to get the job done very often.
Nevertheless, as tough as the loss was, there was still a silver lining.
As shown by team analyst Nick Wilson on X, rookie kicker Andre Szmyt has proven to be a reliable weapon.
He knocked down a huge 50-yarder in Soldier Field’s blistering cold, and his rookie season has turned out to be a positive:
“I was dead wrong about Andre Szmyt. He’s turned himself into a heckuva kicker. Great 50 yard make there,” Wilson posted on X.
Szmyt’s career started with an epic blunder. His late-game miss in Week 1 against the Cincinnati Bengals was reminiscent of Dustin Hopkins’ debacle, and it seemed like he wasn’t going to be around for long.
Special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone stood by him, and that has proven to be the right decision so far. Through the first 14 games of his pro career, the 27-year-old has knocked down 18 of 21 field goal attempts, all while making 20 of 21 extra points. Granted, the Browns’ offensive shortcomings have made them too reliant on their kickers at times, and he would’ve gotten even more opportunities to score somewhere else.
Still, for now, he should continue to be in charge of those duties, at least to start next season as well.
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