CLEVELAND — Shedeur Sanders finally got the opportunity to show what he could do as an NFL quarterback.
In one half of action, the Cleveland Browns rookie showed he still faces a steep learning curve.
The highly publicized son of Deion Sanders entered with 12:43 remaining in the third quarter against the Baltimore Ravens after Cleveland announced that Dillon Gabriel was being evaluated for a concussion. Gabriel was ruled out later in the quarter.
Sanders completed his first two passes, but not much went right after that. He went 4 for 16 for 47 yards with an interception and was sacked twice, finishing with a 13.5 passer rating as the Ravens rallied for a 23-16 victory.
“I don’t think I played good at all. They gave me an opportunity. I didn’t do up to my expectations to get us a win. I have to take it on the chin,” said Sanders, who also scrambled three times for 16 yards.
With Sanders behind center, Cleveland gained 44 yards on 28 plays with four first downs in six second-half possessions, going three-and-out twice.
“We trust our guys to perform. He’s no different, you know, and playing a backup quarterback role, as we’ve talked about over the years, that’s tough to come in there, but we trust him,” coach Kevin Stefanski said. “I know there’s things that he’s going to want to do better, but that’s why we work.”
Deion Sanders, a Pro Football Hall of Famer who coached Shedeur in college at Jackson State and Colorado, was quiet on social media Sunday night after his son’s debut.
Sanders became Cleveland’s backup behind fellow rookie Gabriel after Joe Flacco was traded to the Cincinnati Bengals on Oct. 7. However, Sunday was the first time he led the huddle with the first-team offense or threw passes to Jerry Jeudy, Harold Fannin Jr. and Cedric Tillman.
“I think I have heard his cadence like two or three times. I think going out of halftime, we all got on the line, and he said his cadence and we kind of got through it,” guard Wyatt Teller said. “Again, a lot of learning, but he played his heart off, put his heart out.”
On his first snap, Sanders threw a 5-yard pass to Tillman. He completed both of his passes for 12 yards on his first drive but struggled with his footwork. He was sacked for an 11-yard loss by Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton and fumbled, with Teller recovering.
Sanders threw his first interception on his second series. On third-and-10 at the Browns 17, Ravens linebacker Kyle Van Noy got pressure up the middle and hammered Sanders as he released the ball. The throw was off target and picked off at the 30 by Nate Wiggins, who returned it 14 yards.
There was a four-series stretch where Sanders was 0 of 7 with an interception and took a sack.
After Mark Andrews’ 35-yard touchdown run with 2:31 remaining put the Ravens on top, Sanders tried to lead a tying drive. He completed a 25-yard pass to Fannin on the first play. Three plays later, he connected with Jeudy for 10 yards to the Ravens 30.
Sanders and the Browns drove to the Ravens 25 before the drive stalled. Sanders’ final pass intended for tight end David Njoku on fourth-and-5 was short as the Browns (2-8) dropped their third straight.
Sanders did take one shot at the end zone on second-and-5, but missed a throw to Isaiah Bond.
“He just kind of got thrown out there but I think he handled it well. We know what type of player he is and it was good to see him out there,” Tillman said.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh said his team didn’t deviate much from its plan when Sanders came in, although they blitzed more often in an attempt to rattle him.
“The game plan was going to be good for their offensive system and what they’re doing. We were not going to change that,” he said. “You don’t know how the quarterback’s going to look exactly, but you just have to take care of your own business.”
A fifth-round pick by the Browns after some projected him to go in the first round, Sanders was inactive for Cleveland’s first five games as the emergency third quarterback after going 17 of 29 for 152 yards and two touchdowns in two preseason games.
Sanders should get his first extensive practice with the first-team offense this week, depending on how long Gabriel remains in the concussion protocol. Stefanski said Sanders would get his first NFL start next Sunday at Las Vegas if Gabriel can’t play. Gabriel completed 7 of 10 passes for 68 yards in the first half in his sixth NFL start.
The Browns have lost three straight.
“I think it’s a lot of things, you know, we need to look at, during the week and go and just get comfortable, even throwing routes, you know, with Jerry (Jeudy) and throwing routes with all those guys,” Sanders said. “So I think that was my first ball to him all year. But other than that, I just think overall we just got to go next week and understand so then we have a week to prepare stuff I like to do.”
