BROWNS FANS GO WILD AS SHEDEUR SANDERS MAKES LONG-AWAITED NFL DEBUT AGAINST BALTIMORE RAVENS
Shedeur Sanders finally made his long-awaited NFL debut on Sunday night, after checking into the Cleveland Browns' game against the Baltimore Ravens.
Following a head injury to starting signal caller Dillon Gabriel in the third quarter, Browns coach Kevin Stefanski called upon Sanders to step into the game.
The 23-year-old was met with loud cheers from fans inside Huntington Bank Field, footage showed, as he ran to midfield and prepared for his very first NFL snap.
Reports even claimed that the Browns offense had to shush the crowd as they prepared for Sanders' first competitive play as a Cleveland player.
But the former Colorado star - son of the legendary Deion Sanders - was unable to inspire Cleveland to victory as the Ravens edged Sunday's game 23-16.
Sanders had the chance to orchestrate a game-winning final drive and he led the Browns to the Baltimore 25-yard line. But the quarterback failed to find anyone in the end zone.
He ended the night with 16 rushing yards and 47 passing yards after completing four of his 16 passes. He also threw one interception and was sacked twice.
Ravens star Kyle Hamilton appeared to perform Sanders' trademark celebration after he sacked the rookie quarterback.
Overall, in his first three drives at QB, Sanders completed two of his five passes for 15 yards, threw one interception and was sacked twice for 27 yards.
Sanders was selected by the Browns after an embarrassing slide to the fifth round of this year's draft.
However, after joining, he found himself at the bottom of the pecking order amid the stacked quarterback depth that the Browns had at the start of the season.
Cleveland began the season with five total quarterbacks: Flacco, Gabriel, and Sanders - as well as Kenny Pickett and Deshaun Watson.
But Watson's recovery from a torn Achilles has been complicated - leaving his status for the rest of the season up in the air.
Pickett was cut from the roster before the season began and Flacco was benched after four lackluster starts.
It left Gabriel to take over from Flacco but, following his injury on Sunday night, it now opens the door for Sanders to show his quality for the Browns.
Gabriel had been evaluated for a concussion after coming off before it was later confirmed that he had been ruled out for the remainder of the game.
Before the injury, Gabriel had completed seven of his 10 passes for 68 yards and was sacked once for seven yards.
Meanwhile, after joining the Browns, Sanders impressed during his preseason debut as he tossed two touchdowns and completed 14 of 23 passes against the Panthers.
However, he was ultimately unable to reproduce his heroics over the following two weeks, as he missed his team's second preseason game with an oblique injury and took five sacks against the Rams in the next.
Read more- What's behind the Browns' bold decision to have Dillon Gabriel take first reps over highly-anticipated Shedeur Sanders?
- Could Shedeur Sanders overcome a draft-night nightmare to shock the NFL world, or is the Cleveland Browns' QB already destined for benchwarmer obscurity?
- Is Shedeur Sanders facing insurmountable odds to make the Browns roster with star quarterbacks like Joe Flacco in the lineup?
- Could Shedeur Sanders be the Browns' secret weapon after yet another lackluster performance from quarterback Dillon Gabriel?
- Will Shedeur Sanders surpass stiff competition in his high-stakes debut with the Cleveland Browns?