While the San Francisco 49ers have business to take care of tonight against the Carolina Panthers, there is news for next week’s matchup with the Cleveland Browns. Cleveland head coach Kevin Stefanski
announced that although Dillon Gabriel has cleared concussion protocol, the Browns will move forward with Shedeur Sanders as the starting quarterback. The announcement comes on the heels of a victory over the Raiders, which led to Chip Kelly’s dismissal as offensive coordinator, in Sanders’s first NFL start.
Sanders took over last week against the Baltimore Ravens after Gabriel left with a concussion and, after a full week of first-team reps, led the Browns to a 24-10 win over the Raiders in Las Vegas. There were splash plays, and there were head-scratching plays, but that is to be expected from a rookie starting his first game in the NFL.
We can start with the obvious. Former 49er Deion Sanders will push his son this week to perform against his old team, and a good performance against a name-brand team (no, the Raiders aren’t a name-brand team) will only fuel the optimism around the young quarterback.
The stat line isn’t glitzy. On 21 dropbacks, Sanders finished 11/20, 209 yards (52 on a long throw to Isaiah Bond and 66 on a screen to Dylan Sampson), a touchdown, and an interception. Everything on Sunday was in the short/behind the LOS area for Sanders, aside from the long throw to Bond. Sanders was 0/2 in the intermediate windows and 4/5 in the short area (0/10) with 32 yards.
The 49ers will have to force Sanders into the same type of throws and rally to the football to limit YAC. Even in college, this has been Sanders’ play style as a quarterback who takes the underneath throws. Another week of preparation should only help the rookie, but even with the 49ers’ deficiencies on defense, they are certainly better and more well-coached than the Raiders.
On 16 dropbacks where Sanders wasn’t blitzed, the former Colorado quarterback went 9/15, with 140 yards, a touchdown, and an interception, but Pro Football Focus graded Sanders poorly at 35.2 offensive and 36.9 passing. The plays where Sanders escapes the pocket and can ad-lib are where he made his money on Sunday.
The 49ers have historically struggled with the Browns. Jim Schwartz and his defense have given the 49ers and Kyle Shanahan fits in the past. Toss in the element of weather, and Sunday can be a nasty game, but the 49ers’ defense is equipped to slow down Sanders’ momentum.
