Shedeur Sanders finally made his first NFL start last Sunday when he stepped in for a concussed Dillon Gabriel and led the Cleveland Browns to a much-needed 24-10 win against the Las Vegas Raiders. The rookie made some impressive throws and ended a streak of 17 consecutive Browns rookie quarterbacks losing their first starts.
Sanders completed 11 of 20 passes for 209 yards with a touchdown and an interception, and did enough to earn himself another start when the Browns head back home to take on the San Francisco 49ers this Sunday. It will be a much tougher opponent, and Shedeur recently revealed what his expectations are heading into his first home start.
Sanders spoke with the media on Wednesday and talked about what he expects on Sunday against SF.
The fifth-round rookie sent a confident message ahead of the game.
“I feel like it’ll be fun. You’ve got to understand, right now, I’m in grind mode. Understanding how to attack this defense that we’re going against,” Sanders said.
"I feel like it'll be fun. You've got to understand, right now, I'm in grind mode." #Browns QB Shedeur Sanders on what he expects on Sunday in his first start in front of the home crowd in Cleveland pic.twitter.com/nwkYSYxKxv
— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) November 26, 2025
Sanders’ Big-Play Ability Brings New Life To Browns Offense
Many fans and analysts had been pounding the table for Sanders to take over since Week 1, and they finally got their wish against Las Vegas. He made a few rookie mistakes, as to be expected, but his willingness to push the ball down the field a few times provided a much-needed boost to this offense.
Under Gabriel, the team never completed a pass longer than 30 yards in any of his six starts. Sanders completed a 66-yard touchdown on a screen pass to Dylan Sampson, hit Isaiah Bond on a beautiful deep ball for 52 yards to set up another TD, and found Jerry Jeudy for a 39-yard gain as well.
The Niners are much more daunting, but they are not impenetrable.
It will be fun to see what this coaching staff can cook up for Sanders with another week to game plan with him.
NEXT: Cam Newton Makes Surprising Prediction About Browns-49ers Game
