Deion Sanders thanks Raiders' Mark Davis after watching Shedeur Sanders make first Browns start

Rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders made the first regular-season start of his young career and then guided the Cleveland Browns to a 24-10 win at the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 12. 

Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, Shedeur Sanders' father, was welcomed by Raiders owner Mark Davis to watch the Week 12 game from Davis' stadium suite. While speaking with reporters on Tuesday, the Colorado head coach thanked Davis for that gesture. 

Deion Sanders "thankful and appreciative" to watch Shedeur Sanders start for Browns

"The owner of the opposing team allowed the dad of the quarterback on the opposing team to sit in his box," Deion Sanders said, per Brent Schrotenboer of USA Today. "Like, how many times did that happen? Like, that is unbelievable, man. So I'm so thankful and appreciative for that opportunity in that moment."

Shedeur Sanders completed 11-of-20 passes for 209 yards with one touchdown and one interception in the victory that improved the Browns to 3-8 on the season. He will make his second start when Cleveland hosts the San Francisco 49ers (8-4) this coming Sunday. 

How Raiders game was a first for Deion Sanders

As noted by Teddy Ricketson of The Sporting News, Deion Sanders was Shedeur Sanders' offensive coordinator when the signal-caller was in high school. Deion later served as Shedeur's head coach at Jackson State and Colorado. 

"...That's the first time I’ve ever watched him play without me on the sideline," Deion added about Shedeur, according to Tim Capurso of Sports Illustrated. "I’ve never seen him play without me coaching him. So that was strange, but it was good and it was healthy because I was just in straight dad mode. I went into coach mode [before], and I loved that I was able to see him gain the first victory." 

Back in April, a report suggested that Deion wanted Shedeur to end up with the Raiders, the New Orleans Saints or the Pittsburgh Steelers. All three teams passed on Shedeur, but those running the Raiders may be regretting at least some of the decisions they made during the 2025 draft. As for Week 13 of the ongoing season, ESPN BET had the Shedeur-led Browns as 4.5-point home underdogs against the 49ers on Wednesday.