The Cleveland Browns never considered inserting Shedeur Sanders during Sunday’s 23-9 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Browns failed to put up a fight against the NFC North-leading Steelers. The offense finished with 248 total yards, a large chunk of that coming on a late first-half drive and with the game out of hand late.
Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel passed for 221 yards on a whopping 52 attempts. He didn’t throw a touchdown or an interception. Gabriel was also sacked six times and hit many more.
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski was asked after the game if he considered replacing Gabriel with Sanders late, with so many hits coming his way. Earlier this season, the Browns inserted Gabriel for then-starter Joe Flacco in a few games that were out of hand.
“No,” Stefanski said frankly. “We were just trying to fight there till the end.”
Stefanski admitted that the Browns have to do a better job at keeping Gabriel
“He’s a tough kid. We’ve got to keep him clean. Obviously, when the game turns into how it turned a two-score game, you have to drop back, and that’s a tough team to drop back versus,” Stefanski said. “He kept battling. Wasn’t for a lack of effort by him or by anybody. Made some plays, but we just got to be better. I think you learn in every game, win, lose or draw. And obviously, we know this kid’s tough. We know he’s tough. He’s going to keep fighting. We just got to around him, make some plays. We got to coach him up.”
Costly Drops, Penalties Cost Browns
Gabriel had a rough outing but he didn’t get much help, either. In addition to the consistent pressure, his pass-catchers let him down with multiple drops. Jerry Jeudy, Harold Fannin Jr. and David Njoku all had costly drops in the loss. Cleveland also had six penalties for 66 yards.
“We gotta get it fixed because before you start winning, you gotta stop losing,” Stefanski said. “We’re doing some things right now that are preventing us from winning.”
Jeudy was flagged for unnecessary roughness on the first drive, which put Cleveland in a tough spot out of the gate.
“Very disappointed. Jerry’s a leader for us. I think it was a retaliation-type thing. And we preach that we can’t do that,” Stefanski said. “And those are real yards that are hard to overcome. So we have to be better. It gets to the point of need to make sure you’re playing clean, then give yourself a chance. It’s hard when you make life harder on yourself.”
Browns QB Shedeur Sanders ‘Likely’ to Get Opportunity
The Browns are 1-5 and their playoff hopes are already hanging by a thread. If the losses continue to pile up, it’s likely that Sanders will eventually get a shot.
“When the time comes for Sanders to start a game — and that’s very likely to happen at some point this season — the Browns will maximize his skillset and design it specially around his best traits and the plays he likes best,” Browns insider Mary Kay Cabot said. “Perhaps the thing the Browns are most eager to see when he gets his chance: how his exceptional arm talent plays out on the field. He has an uncanny knack for delivering a catchable ball, and a natural feel for when to put some extra heat on it or loft it over a defender.”
The Browns have two games remaining before their bye week. They’ll face the Miami Dolphins next week before traveling to Foxborough to take on the Patriots.
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