What Browns' Shedeur Sanders believes he accomplished in first preseason game

Shedeur Sanders did a lot of good things in the Cleveland Browns' 30-10 win over the Carolina Panthers on Friday night.

The fifth-round pick completed 14 of his 23 pass attempts for 138 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 19 yards on four carries.

Following the game, Sanders told the media he felt he accomplished two key milestones in his first preseason start.

"I'm just thankful to even be able to have, you know, the joy of just being on the field overall and carrying the responsibility of doing the right thing," Sanders said. "You know, that's two badges under my belt already, that I got out there...I feel like we operated the huddle really, really good."

Sanders entered the contest as the QB4 on the depth chart. Browns head coach, Kevin Stefanski, praised Sanders for his play on Friday night, but chose not to explain how or if the performance would shake up the four-way quarterback competition in Cleveland this summer.

Sanders ended his night on a six-play, 43-yard drive that ended in a four-yard touchdown run by Gage Larvadain. The previous two drives ended in three-and-outs, and Sanders admitted that he and the offense had much to work on before they play the Philadelphia Eagles on Aug. 16.

"I'll say, of course, towards the end, I say we got a little sloppy and we overall, got to finish up, and it's going to be a point of emphasis going into this next week," Sanders said. 

Sanders felt like he had "pockets" of finding his rhythm against the Panthers, but knows he has yet to fully adjust to the speed of the game at the NFL level.

Sanders accomplished enough to justify more reps from the Browns next week in practice. He showed incredible accuracy on multiple throws. 

Sanders' ceiling is higher than that of Kenny Pickett and Dillon Gabriel, and Friday night's achievement should alter the quarterback competition for the rest of the preseason.