"But it was against the Raiders!"
"That wasn't a real defense!"
Shedeur Sanders walked out of Las Vegas with a win in his first start, and the biggest smile Myles Garrett has made all season. For Cleveland Browns fans desperate to find some sort of silver lining to yet another lost season, that was enough. Sanders' debut wasn't perfect by a very long shot (55% completion, 1:1 TD/INT), but his not just willingness but eagerness to take the top off the Vegas defense was notable. In fact, a horrid fumble by Jerry Jeudy likely prevented Sanders' numbers from looking even better.
And yet, despite becoming the first Browns QB in three decades to win his first start, Sanders isn't able to sit comfortably.
A bigger test is coming for Shedeur Sanders
Despite incumbent starter and fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel clearing concussion protocol ahead of Week 13, it was decided that Sanders would remain Cleveland's starter against the 49ers after his victory over the Raiders — at least for now. It is curious to note that ESPN's Adam Schefter cited sources from Cleveland's camp saying that the Browns are merely "open" to giving Sanders the proverbial keys to the car for the rest of the season, seemingly hedging their bets based on how he plays going forward. All while Sanders has continued to impress in practice in just his second set of reps with the starters all season. Bizarre.
On the surface, the fear makes sense. Sanders' start was encouraging, but to reiterate, it wasn't perfect. The Raiders aren't necessarily known for their defense, his footwork wasn't the best in places, he wasn't playing on schedule as much as he could have and plenty of little things need to be tweaked.
And yet: That "imperfect" start came after Sanders' first week practicing with the starters. He displayed what can only be described as a lack of fear relative to Gabriel's performance against the Jets in Week 10. And most importantly, Cleveland won. Sanders was rallied around. His superpower to bring people together was noticed even by the coaching staff.
Sanders should play well over the next few weeks; if nothing else, the Bears and Titans are relatively soft matchups that he can cut his teeth with, and by then, Cleveland should have made the smart decision to fully turn the reins over to him. At this point, we can confidently say that Gabriel isn't the guy, and the only thing that should matter to the Browns down the stretch is finding something to build around for the future.