BEREA, Ohio — Coming off their third win of the season, the Cleveland Browns have some decisions to make surrounding their starting quarterback. Two rookies, one job. Should Dillon Gabriel clear concussion protocol, will he reclaim the role of QB1, or did Shedeur Sanders show enough to earn the title moving forward?
On Monday, Head Coach Kevin Stefanski named Sanders the starting quarterback for their Week 13 game against the San Francisco 49ers.
"Shedeur will start this week. Obviously the number one job of quarterback is to win, so excited to get that first win under his belt. And then next thing is improvement, and that's what young players do, certainly young quarterbacks do, you get one game better and that's just from working at it. So that'll be our focus," Stefanski said.
Sanders made his first NFL start on Sunday, getting the win thanks to some strong throws, some support from fellow rookies having strong performances and racking up yards after catch, and another stunning performance by the defense. The Browns' win with Sanders under center snapped a streak of 17-straight quarterbacks to lose in their first career start with the Browns, stemming back to 1995.
The fifth-round pick completed 11 of his 20 passes for 209 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. For his first full week of first-team work and a game plan tailored to him, Sanders showed his ability to work off-script while also showing growth against the pass rush, only taking one sack even with Maxx Crosby opposite the line.
"I think that's a strength of his, his ability to move and play off schedule. That's something, again, that we saw evaluating Shedeur throughout the process," Stefanski said.
It was a solid first start, highlighted by Sanders's deep pass to Isaiah Bond, which set the Browns up for their second touchdown. Sanders, under pressure, rolled out and let the ball sail 52 yards to Bond, who was stopped just shy of the end zone, but the play still left Sanders' teammates impressed.
"He put it up, and I'm just like, 'Oh god, who is that even going to?' I wasn't even looking down there to see IB. And then I'm just looking, I'm like, 'Oh, God, please.' And [Sanders] drops it in the bucket, and [Bond] reaches it out, I'm like, 'Please just don't fumble into the end zone.' So, then he reaches out and keeps possession, and I'm just like, 'Wow, there's not many guys in the league that can make that throw.' That was a hell of a throw. I hope he can continue to grow and develop for making plays like that and take it from there," said Browns star defensive end Myles Garrett after Sunday's game.
Before entering concussion protocol against the Ravens, Gabriel had started the previous five games, taking over as QB1 following the Browns' trading veteran quarterback Joe Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals. Gabriel, then serving as QB2, had entered the end of two other games before his first start.
Through eight games, Gabriel has posted a 59.2% completion rate, winning one of the six games he started, with 937 total passing yards, seven touchdowns, and two interceptions, while being sacked 18 times.
Gabriel's longest passing completion was just 26 yards, opting often to take the check down.
While Gabriel has cleared concussion protocol, the Browns opted to go with Sanders in the next start.
Stefanski said that they were impressed with Sanders' ability to make big plays down the field, but noted that there was
"The big plays down the field, obviously that first one to IB was a very, very high degree of difficulty with that play. Are there things that he can do better? Absolutely. We've already talked about that with him. He has the mentality that he will make the adjustments to the speed of the game, make the adjustments to what people are giving us, to make those improvements," Stefanski said.
Sanders will look to build upon his debut start as he takes on a high-powered team, getting his first start in Cleveland on Sunday.
