Cleveland, Ohio At the conclusion of the Browns’ 19–17 victory over the Rams, Shedeur Sanders was attempting to prepare for the two-minute drill when Kevin Stefanski withdrew him in favor of Tyler Huntley.
Sanders, a determined competitor, went over to Stefanski on the sidelines and begged him to give him another chance to win the game after he had fallen behind.
With just 2:03 left in the game, the Rams’ touchdown run had put the Browns behind 17–16. By then, Sanders was losing his cool on the field and making poor choices. On his sixth possession, he lost the ball but was ruled down by contact, earning him his fifth sack. He shot the ball over the middle to Trayveon Henderson after spinning out of another sack, but the running back lost it.
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Sanders went back, back, back 24 yards for a sack on the previous drive, reverting to some old Colorado habits. On the previous play, he was flushed left for a two-yard sack. He was obviously not seeing the field well enough or receiving enough protection, so it was time to leave.
“Clearly, as an offensive unit, we didn’t play well in the second half,” Stefanski stated. One person is never to blame for that. We wanted to give Snoop (Tyler Huntley) one last push so that we could improve in many areas.
By then, Sanders, who was playing with and against third and fourth team players, had been sacked five times for 41 yards, much of which came from his retreating or holding the ball for too long. He had also gone 3 of 6 for 14 yards with no points scored in his five drives. Despite his poor rating of 56.2, he managed to record a preseason overall score of 95.8 because to his stellar start versus the Panthers (106.5). That game, in which he won over Browns fans with two spectacular touchdown throws to Kaden Davis, was a far cry from Saturday afternoon.
“There are some positive moments out there and there are things we can do better with all of our players,” Stefanski stated. However, it is our responsibility as coaches to help our players grow.
Sanders had missed three crucial practices in the previous week due to an injured oblique muscle. Additionally, he was playing primarily with players who would be cut from the roster at 4 p.m. on Tuesday.
Sanders traveled the entire length of the sideline to the pylon on the closed end, still preparing for what he believed would be his big shot to win the game. He then walked back and made his case to Stefanski, who shook his head. Huntley marched the Browns 46 yards in six plays, allowing Andre Szmyt to make the game-winning field goal from 37 yards out as time ran out, proving that the decision was the proper one.
According to Stefanski, (Sanders) is a competitive youngster. There was a plan to accompany Snoop. However, I wouldn’t take it any farther than that.
Some of Sanders’ teammates had to comfort or calm him down on the sidelines since he was still upset. Deandre Carter, the receiver, placed his hands on Sanders’ shoulders and engaged him in a deep and focused conversation while he covered his head with a towel and appeared dissatisfied. He walked into the game with cornerback Tony Brown, who followed him down the sideline to check on him. He also spoke with Bill Musgrave, the quarterbacks coach.
“When I walk, that’s just me getting my mind right,” Sanders stated in reference to strolling along the sideline without his helmet on, then turning around and going up to Stefanski for another opportunity. As you might imagine, that’s just me loading. Reaching the mental location where you can manage everything during the loading period in your head. I’m just clearing my head and figuring out what it will take to go out there and drive along the field at that point, so I leave or pretend to be riding a bike or anything.
Was it true that he asked Stefanski to return inside?
Yes, he said, I most certainly did.
“I’m not sure,” he said. I don’t know because I wasn’t in there. I didn’t realize he was in the middle of calling a play since I was mentally preparing to leave for the last two-minute drive, visualizing it before I left. Oh, all right, I think.
After the hardship on his first five, Sanders claimed he was excited to get back on track on that drive. He spent some time kneeling on the sidelines following his 24-yard sack until guard Wyatt Teller pushed him to stand up.
“That’s the quarterback’s dream, of course, and that’s what every quarterback looks forward to,” he said. Although it wasn’t me, I was glad Huntley entered and took care of the situation. Therefore, he would be the one to do it if anyone else did.
Sanders got on the bike during the Rams’ 4-minute touchdown drive to prepare for a great game finale. He asked a teammate for his helmet on his way to Stefanski to request permission to return.
“I was unaware that I was out,” he remarked. Yes, I was unaware. I was riding a bicycle. I was boosting my energy. Since that is the kind of scenario every quarterback dreams about, I was getting ready for the two-minute drive. I’ve been in a lot of situations like that before, and when he informed me I wasn’t in, I was like, “Okay.”
Sanders wanted a chance to try to win it, and he had no remorse about displaying emotion on the sidelines.
“No, that’s what you ask for in the midst of competition,” he remarked. In the game, that is what you requested. We don’t have the luxury of time travel, but if I could go back in time and change anything, I would. After all, if you had the chance, it would be everything in life. I wish I could go back in time and do things differently as a child.
Overall, you want to be that alpha, of course, but in the heat of the moment, you want to be that alpha. That dog is what you aspire to be. During the last two minutes of the drive, you want to be out there. Small things might be frustrating, of course, but that’s what happens when you want to be a player and switch franchises.
According to Sanders, the five sacks aren’t a time for him to start over.
“To be honest, it happens when you want to make big plays and get a spark in the offense, and that’s all it was,” he added. All you want to do is ignite a spark. You just want to make something happen and it s good and it s bad. If one of those ended up the other way and we score, nobody would say anything negative about it. So it comes with the game, it comes with the style of play, but it s something I try to minimize at most.
Joe Flacco recalled a challenging rookie preseason moment of his own.
Yeah, dude, I remember, he said. Yeah, big time. I can remember just like yesterday. I mean, that s part of being a rookie. You know, you re going to get thrown into situations that maybe you don t think are ideal. I got thrown into a game against New England with two minutes left. I fumbled on the one-yard line. They scored two plays later.
That was John Harbaugh s first preseason game, and he was not happy. I mean, I wasn t happy either, but like, hey, it s part of the game. It s part of what makes a football player, is learning how to deal with those situations and learn from them. So, yeah, listen, we ve all been there. It s part of the game.
Always looking on the bright side, Sanders chalked it up to experience.
I don t think anything went terribly wrong at all, he said. I m healthy. I m alive.
He acknowledged that he must operate much quicker at this level to avoid the sacks. At Colorado, he was sacked an FBS-high 94 times over the past two seasons.
I ve got to watch the film, honestly, Sanders said. I can t say what it was. Definitely different places where I could get my eyes in better spots and got through the progressions quicker and regardless to anything. So all those sack stuff, they definitely on me.
While Sanders struggled, third-round pick Dillon Gabriel excelled in relief of Joe Flacco, putting a field goal and a touchdown on the board on his two drives, and running a textbook two-minute drive at the end of the half, on which he went 9-of-11 for 86 yards, including a 3 yard TD pass to Gage Larvadain. The performance kept Gabriel in the mix fo the backup job to Flacco Week 1, especially if Kenny Pickett isn t fully recovered from his hamstring injury by Sept. 7 when the Bengals come to town.
As for Sanders? He ll get back to work running the scout team, and learning how to play ball against the likes of Myles Garrett and Denzel Ward. As he said earlier in the week, he needs more time to cook before he s ready to play.
Yeah, I mean, I m happy I get to go against the first team defense every day in practice now, he said. So I get to sharpen my craft and do everything I can to be the best player.
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