Shedeur Sanders started his first NFL game on Sunday, and he was fine. Not terrible, not brilliant, but fine. Perhaps not the kind of scorching hot take that lands you a seat across from Stephen A. Smith, but a truthful, honest reality.
The thing is: “Fine” is good enough for the Browns. One touchdown, one interception, and a couple of explosive plays is the kind of afternoon that can win games with this team. It’s a unit constructed to operate well, just so long as the QB can give you a modicum of production
— and more importantly, not screw anything up.
However, the day after Sanders made his start we’re getting a glimpse into why his ascent to the starting job is somewhat problematic. The over-effusive praise for a “fine” performance has people in a tizzy for the dumbest reasons.
Kevin Stefanski is getting slammed on X (formerly Twitter) for not heaping praise on Sanders. Summaries of the rookie’s performance have been glazed to the point where he’s being presented as the legend of the week. Everyone is so nervous about acknowledging that Sanders played good, not great football that all nuance has flown out the window — lest you get attacked by a rove of passionate, angry Shedeur Sanders fans.
Heck, the ink wasn’t even dry on the box score without Shannon Sharpe and Chad Ochocinco slamming Stefanski for not giving Sanders the game ball.
The simple reality is this: Sanders showed he’s the best quarterback on the Browns roster right now. He proved that he should absolutely start the remainder of the season, so Cleveland can monitor his development as much as anything else. We can say all this while also acknowledging that 55% completion isn’t good enough in the modern NFL, and note that over half Sanders’ passing yards came on two explosive plays — while the rest of the afternoon was fairly ho-hum.
Of course, it’s also important to note that this performance came against the Raiders. One of the worst, most dysfunctional teams in the NFL — boasting a below-average pass defense that ranks 23rd in explosive plays allowed.
That’s all the bad news, which makes the performance a very good thing. The real impact of what Sanders did on Sunday is defined by what he didn’t do under center. No backbreaking interceptions, taking enough care of the football to allow Cleveland to win the field position battle, and accepting that the Browns are a team defined by its defense — making a quarterback’s job simply about capitalizing on what the defense gives him.
It was a solid debut. The touchdown pass to Isaiah Bond was particularly beautiful, and unquestionably worthy of praise. On the other side of the coin we can acknowledge that six three-and-out drives just isn’t good enough, and offensive expectation should be higher.
That’s what the upcoming weeks will be about. Seeing if Sanders can take the next step from managing a game with a few big moments, to taking over a game and managing the low spots. That’s the basic requirement to cement him as a player worthy of keeping his job through the draft next year.
Can Shedeur Sanders do it? Absolutely. After all, he was my No. 1 quarterback in the 2025 class, and the criticism of him was beyond stupid. That said, we can transcend past transgressions and acknowledge it was dumb that he fell so far in the draft, but also that he wasn’t brilliant on Sunday and there’s work to be done.
There’s middle ground and nuance here, and that’s needed to truly be fair to Shedeur Sanders’ development.
