Shedeur Sanders was not making much of a case to continue as the Cleveland Browns’ starting quarterback, managing just 38 yards passing in the first half against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. He pushed that total to 110 yards by the end of the third quarter, but the Browns had just six points on two field goals.
Then, everything started to change in the fourth quarter. Sanders threw a long touchdown pass to KC Concepcion, and he made a courageous completion to Jerry Jeudy that set up the game-tying field goal.
With the Browns trailing in overtime, Sanders efficiently marched into Saints territory before Harold Fannin Jr. turned a checkdown pass into a highlight-reel 39-yard TD. Unfortunately, a failed two-point conversion left the Browns with a 23-22 loss.
Yet, Sanders joined some elite QB company with his Week 9 performance, ranking alongside three of the NFL’s best.
“QBs with an 80%+ adj comp pct, 2+ Pass TD, and 0 INT this week: Shedeur Sanders, Jordan Love, Joe Burrow, Patrick Mahomes,” PFF posted.
QBs with an 80%+ adj comp pct, 2+ Pass TD, and 0 INT this week
Shedeur Sanders
Jordan Love
Joe Burrow
Patrick Mahomes pic.twitter.com/jzbueu3Uoo— PFF (@PFF) November 9, 2026
It should be pointed out that Love, Burrow, and Mahomes each won their respective games by at least 17 points. But it’s one step at a time for Sanders, who was making his first start of the season in place of Deshaun Watson after he was inactive following a week in concussion protocol.
It is notable that Sanders did not throw an interception, as he had at least one in five of his seven starts last season, and 10 overall. His actual completion percentage on Sunday was 61.3 percent, boosted by six completions on eight attempts on the game’s final drive.
Despite that performance, which resulted in a pedestrian QBR of 40.3 but a career-high passer rating of 114.3, Sanders will not get another start in Week 10 against the Houston Texans. The Browns reportedly will announce that Watson will return to his spot for that matchup against his former team.
But Cleveland now has justifiable confidence that it can turn to Sanders when needed, if he remains on the team after the upcoming NFL trade deadline.
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