For the first quarter of the Browns‘ dramatic 13-6 win over the Steelers on Sunday in Week 17, it looked like Cleveland and quarterback Shedeur Sanders would be in line for a barnburner. They jumped out to a 10-0 lead, and Sanders was sharp, both throwing down the field and in his short-range attempts. By the end of the first half, Sanders had 164 yards passing, and was 12-for-17 with a touchdown and an interception.
But as the game wore on and the nasty conditions at Huntington Bank Field–cold and wet–took their toll, the Browns’ barnburner went from a roiling boil to a slow simmer. In the second half, Sanders was 5-for-6 passing with just 22 yards, and the only points the Browns scored were gifted by the Steelers after they failed to convert a fourth down on their own 20 with two minutes to go in the game.
Sanders, after the game, called the outcome “bittersweet” and a look at the numbers–he added a second interception and had a 75.6 passer rating–shows why there’s truth to that.
Shedeur Sanders Growing in Confidence
Still, it’s a win over a hated rival, and for Sanders and the Browns, those have been rare. Cleveland now sits at 4-12 on the year with a game in Cincinnati left on the docket, which represents Sanders’ final chance to make an impression on the Browns decision-makers as they head into the offseason and figure out what they’re going to do at the quarterback position.
Sanders has grown in confidence as the year has gone on and as he has gotten a better understanding of the offense. But he was asked on Sunday what he thinks he should have known when he first took over as the starter six weeks ago.
“I would say definitely know you’re supposed to be out there dominating,” Sanders said. “I think what you kind of gotta understand also like sitting and everything like that and just watching like it’s a mental thing.”
Browns Kept Him on the Bench
Sanders said he is more comfortable playing “angry,” and that he needed to learn to give himself some space to build up that anger. Sitting behind Browns starters Joe Flacco and Dillon Gabriel to start the year took him out of his normal routine.
Of course, through his father, Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, Shedeur Sanders already knows more players around the league than any other rookie. But he is learning to leave that aside.
“Dang, you start questioning a lot of things, you know, and then sometimes you gotta…” Sanders said before pausing.
“Like me, like before the game and stuff, I gotta like have a lot like built up anger, like within myself. Because like that’s why I gotta play with that fire, with that different emotion within me, you know? And I think when you go out there the first time, I think it’s more of like, ‘Dang, like this dude over there, like, they cool.’ But then like when you actually out there, you’re like, ‘I don’t care who it is. I’m trying to dominate them,’ you know?”
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