Browns' Shedeur Sanders speaks honestly about 'rough' regular-season debut

Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders made his regular-season debut during Sunday's home game against the Baltimore Ravens and then showed with his play why he spent the first 10 weeks of the campaign as an unused backup. 

After Sanders played poorly in a 23-16 loss that dropped Cleveland to 2-8 on the season, he spoke honestly about his lackluster performance. 

Shedeur Sanders knows he played poorly in debut

"I don't think I played good," Sanders admitted, per
Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN. "I don't think I played good at all. ...I think you've seen, it was just rough, overall. It was a rough day, overall. But the thing that I was excited about is just being able to get out there. This is the first time I got hit since my last game at Colorado. So, just having that feeling back is good, and I feel fulfilled overall when it comes to being out there, practicing, going in between the lines, seeing what it's actually like." 

Sanders entered the game at the beginning of the second half after starter and fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel suffered a concussion. The 2025 fifth-round draft pick then completed just 4-of-16 passes for 47 yards with zero touchdowns and one interception. At least one more of his attempts probably should've been picked off, he was sacked twice and he was guilty of an intentional grounding penalty. 

After the defeat, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski revealed that Gabriel will start at the Las Vegas Raiders (2-7) on Nov. 23 if he clears concussion protocol. If he doesn't, Sanders will get the nod for that matchup. 

"I know I'm made for it," Sanders added. "I don't think there was a doubt in my mind that that final drive, [we were] going to go down there and score. Things happened and we didn't, but I was just excited because I knew what I was going to be able to do out there."

Myles Garrett shares how Shedeur Sanders reacted to loss

Browns star pass-rusher Myles Garrett tallied four sacks against the Ravens. After the defeat, he shared that Sanders tried to accept blame for the result while addressing his teammates inside the locker room. 

"He spoke after the game, and he wanted to pin it on himself and his performance, but we're not going to allow him to do that," Garrett said about Sanders. "It's a team game, so we're all in this together."

History shows Gabriel probably will remain sidelined for at least a week. Thus, Sanders should practice as a QB1 for the first time this season ahead of the Raiders game.