Cleveland Browns rookie Shedeur Sanders officially has his first win as a starting quarterback, and he takes the opportunity to applaud his enemies.
After Cleveland beat the Las Vegas Raiders, 24-10, on the road on Sunday, Nov. 23, Sanders, 23, told reporters he knew fans weren’t looking for excuses as he took over the regular starting spot. Dillon Gabrielthe shoes.
“No one cares if it was a week of preparation,” he said. “Who cares? So a lot of people want to see me fail – it’s not going to happen. It’s not going to happen.”
Sanders’ numbers weren’t overwhelming, as he completed just 11 of 20 passes for 209 yards with one touchdown and one interception. But it was enough for him to become the first Browns rookie quarterback to win his first start since 1995.
“Everyone starts in a different place,” Sanders said. “Like I said, just because I didn’t have the summer rehearsals, just because I wasn’t in the best situation to prepare to go out there and execute from a summer standpoint — that’s just the way life is. Not everyone is in the best situation. But that’s not an excuse. I have to go out there and perform. There’s no choice. There’s no doubt.”
Meanwhile, Gabriel, 24, is still in concussion protocol and returned to practice two days before the match.
It is possible that Gabriel will be cleared to play when the Browns take the field again on Sunday, November 30 against the San Francisco 49ers, but head coach Kevin Stefanski wouldn’t commit to a starting quarterback.
“I’m not going to address that,” he told reporters after the match. “Obviously proud of [Sanders]. I’m proud of this offense and there are a ton of things to learn. But I’m going to worry about today.
Stefanski, 43, continued: “I think you saw a lot of what Shedeur does well on the court today. I thought about doing that [completion to Isaiah Bond] off schedule when we were short-staffed [in] protection, bring the ball down the field. So, there’s a lot of things he’s doing well at, and there’s a lot of things he’s working on, and that’s what I like about kids who want to get better.
Sanders said CBS Sports before the match that he saw the start as an opportunity to prove that he is “who [the Browns have] I was looking. »
“I’m just grateful to be here, to have an opportunity, to be able to go out there and play, go out there and start,” he said. “You have no idea how surreal that feeling is, knowing that you carry the responsibility of the Browns organization on your shoulders, with all the fans, everyone here arguing online and everything.”
“Everyone has their differences about me,” he added. “It is what it is, but I’m just grateful to be here in front of all of you today, and I hope we’ve cleared things up a little bit. But there’s a very long way to go. It allows me to grow, and I know that it’s only one way and the only way is up.”
