Neither the Colorado Buffaloes nor the Cleveland Browns are known for their success at the quarterback position, at least at the NFL level.
But that didn’t matter much for Shedeur Sanders, the third-string
rookie QB thrust into action following Dillon Gabriel’s concussion. Sanders not only won his first NFL start, edging the Raiders 24-10 (thanks to 10 Cleveland sacks), but he actually showed some promise.
The highlight of the day was his 52-yard bomb to Isaiah Bond in which he scrambled right and threw a perfect deep ball while on the move. He later topped that with a 66-yard passing touchdown to Dylan Sampson, although Sampson did about 71 yards of that on his own after catching a bubble screen.
It wasn’t all pretty for Sanders, the 42nd quarterback to start for Cleveland since 1999. His first pass after that dime to Bond was an easy interception for Las Vegas. Then later a screen to Sampson went for -7 yards but it could have +7 for the Raiders if Jamal Adams had closed in on the ball for a should-be pick-six.
Sanders is a work in progress. He was electric but inconsistent at Colorado, as his footwork, pocket presence and decision making all fails him time to time. He does have potential, though, and the Browns named him their starter for at least another week.
It’s been a while for any CU quarterback to make it to the league. Kordell Stewart threw the last Buffs TD in 2003 and that’s that. Koy Detmer threw interceptions but not touchdowns in 2004 and 2005. Tyler Hansen, Sefo Liufau and Steven Montez made practice squads but never the 53-man roster. Joel Klatt never made it past mini camp.
