CLEVELAND, Ohio — Shedeur Sanders once again assumed blame after a Browns loss, this time Sunday’s 26-8 loss to the 49ers that dropped them to 3-9.
The first time he did so was after the Browns’ 23-16 loss to the Ravens when he played the second half in place of a concussed Dillon Gabriel.
“I’m sure you’re all able to see it when we’re out there confident and I’m sure you’re all able to see when we’re not,” Sanders said. “So it’s about being more confident whenever we’re getting slow. It’s about rallying the guys and I didn’t do a great job of that today. Rallying everybody together whenever things aren’t going our way and staying focused and staying on it.”
He vowed to improve in that area going forward, and will have the chance to prove it next week against the Titans. Coach Kevin Stefanski named him the starter for that game, but wouldn’t look beyond that.
“Even when I shoot my shot and I miss, I’ve just got to keep shooting and I’ve just got to keep bringing everybody together,” Sanders said. “Because I know the offense, I know the team counts on me to do my job and do what I’ve got to do and I feel like I failed them today.”
With a chance to become the first Browns quarterback in the Super Bowl era to win his first two career starts with the team, Sanders went 16 for 25 for 149 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions for a 93.6 rating.
The touchdown was a 34-yard out-and-up to rookie tight end Harold Fannin Jr., with Sanders about to get hit as he threw. The 49ers were flagged for an illegal substitution on the extra point attempt, and the Quinshon Judkins ran in for the two-point conversion to give the Browns a 8-7 lead with 39 seconds left in the half.
But it was all the points the Browns would muster as they embarked on a series of mistakes to go with the 66-yard punt return by the 49ers in the first quarter that led to a TD.
Fannin (3 of 5 targets, 43 yards, 1 TD) fumbled the snap on a wildcat sneak attempt on fourth and 1 in the third quarter and Gage Larvadain muffed a punt in the fourth. The two gaffes also led to 49ers TDs for a 23-8 command with 11:05 left, and the Browns never recovered.
The Browns started one third-quarter drive at their 5 after Malachi Corley inexplicably ran out of bounds for no gain on a kickoff return there, and the Browns punted from their 6.
After that drive — which included an incomplete pass to Jerry Jeudy after Sanders scrambled around in his own end zone — Sanders and Jeudy (3 of 4 for 26 yards) engaged in a heated sideline exchange.
After the game, Sanders (16 of 25, 149 yards, three sacks, 1 TD, 0 INT, 93.6 rating) explained that it will take some time to get on the same page with Jeudy and trust him, as well as some of the others.
Sanders, who just started practicing two weeks ago with the starters, threw once to Cedric Tillman, who caught the ball out of bounds, and connected with David Njoku on both of his targets, but for only 4 yards.
“We ran the ball very well,” Sanders said. “When we got in certain passing situations and field position, everything like that, it wasn’t the best. It wasn’t the best. It was a comfort level. I think as players and as teammates, we have to be able to gel with each other and be comfortable with each other in every situation. That takes time.
“It takes a lot of things. So this team is not going to be a microwave thing. We’re going to have sparks. We’re going to have here and there, but it’s going to take time to be able to develop that chemistry with everybody, to be on the same page with Jerry.”
He stressed that “of course, you want to be able to get him the ball, but you’ve got to understand it’s going to take time. I’m more of a trust person and that’s just what it boils down to. So we have to spend time on task, with all those guys, and be able to trust and be able to see things (through) the same lens.
“A lot of time out there, I would say passing-wise we’re not seeing everything at the same lens or certain guys aren’t in the same spot that we’ve seen and we practiced. (By) spot, I’m saying, who’s lined up where. If you put Jerry on this side, or Jerry on this side. We’ve just got to just be comfortable and just make everything consistent.”
On the opening drive, he overthrew a wide open Jeudy on a deep ball over the middle, and took full blame.
“I’d say overall it’s about spending time,” he said. “It’s about spending time in those situations, and being able to gauge. So all quarterbacks know you got to cut through the win whenever you throw. So then at the same time, you gauging the speed and time and distance and travel and everything. I was just calculated off. That’s all it was. It was just a missed shot. So then when I missed that shot, I got to stay on myself to keep shooting.”
Sanders left the game for a play with 9:19 left after he tweaked his ankle on a sack. Gabriel came in and completed a pass for no gain to Judkins, and Sanders went right back in.
“It was just a little ankle,” Sanders said. “We’re good though.”
The good thing about Sanders’ game is that he didn’t throw an interception for the first time, and he evaded pressure well and got the ball off under duress. He was only sacked once through three quarters, and then the 49ers were able to tee off for two more in the fourth with a commanding lead.
“(I judge myself) by wins and losses,” he said. “Obviously we lost, so I ain’t played well. It’s definitely things on film I’m going to look back and want to get back and want to see. At least moving forward I know what we could do differently going about the week and being able to get fully, fully prepared for every possibility.”
He harped again on rallying the troops, which will be a point of emphasis this week.
“Life’s difficult in general, so that’s not a big problem, I’ll say, to me,” he said. “I just got to be better overall. I got to be able to rally everybody together when adversity is hitting. So even when I’m off, I’ve got great teammates around me that pick me up and keep going. But I think overall, I’ve just got to have more of a role like that and be better at that.”
Judkins begged to differ, lauding Sanders’ leadership skills.
“He’s very poised, a great quarterback, a great leader,” Judkins (23 carries, 91 yards, 4.0 average) said. “He handles all these situations the right way, continuing to show the guys around him his leadership, not only by his words but by his actions. So I’m proud of him and how he handles everything.”
Is his energy infectious, even in a loss?
“Yeah, I think it’s a lot of guys like that just because of different personalities all throughout our offense,” he said. “Each guy brings a different energy, and you just embrace it.”
Judkins is confident it’s the prevailing sentiment in the locker room.
“Everybody in the room believes in him,” he said. “Everybody on this team believes in him, so he’ll continue to go out there and perform the way he does.”
Sanders, now 1-1 as a starter, is grateful for a chance to face the Titans at home next week.
“I remember when I wasn’t playing so I never forget that feeling,” he said. “So I try my best to not let that happen again for me to be in that position. But we fell short today and we just can’t continue doing that. We can’t continue doing that at all. So I know we let a lot of people down. We let the coaches down as players and everything today, but we will be ready to go next week.”
Sanders took exception to a question about the Browns’ aggressiveness in going for it on fourth and 1 from their own 33 with 7:05 left in the third quarter and the Browns down only 10-8. Fannin fumbled the snap on the attempted sneak, and the 49ers recovered at the Browns 32, converting into a Brock Purdy 2-yard scramble for a TD. That made it 17-8 49ers.
“First, that’s a rude question to ask if I think it was a great call by my coach,” Sander said.
“Do you like the aggression?” the reporter asked. “Do you like the call?”
“I like being out there playing,” Sanders said. “So whatever that comes with, it comes with. We’re not going to be here and ever point a finger at a coach or do anything like that. That’s extremely disrespectful and that’s not even in my place. So I’m thankful for being out there honestly. And I’m thankful that he trusts us as an offense to be able to go out there and execute. Did we execute? No, we didn’t, but I’m just thankful that we have that trust.”
Stefanski, asked if he’d look beyond next week with Sanders as his starter, said, “I’m not going to get into all that other than to say we all have to just play better.”
Sanders, who converted only 3 of 11 third downs for 27%, made a few nice throws, including an 18-yard pass over the middle to Isaiah Bond in the first quarter on which his arm got hit. But later on the drive, he took a 13-yard sack on third down that took the Browns out of long field goal range when he had Fannin open on a sit down.
Fannin also dropped a third down pass in the third quarter, and Sanders missed Bond on a deep ball near the 5 when he was singled up with the deep safety.
It was a mixed bag for Sanders, who played most of the game without right tackle Jack Conklin, and had Wyatt Teller and Teven Jenkins alternating series at right guard because of a coach’s decision.
When Sanders has more time with the starters, an upgraded offensive line, and a more experienced supporting cast in general, he’ll likely fare much better. For now, he’s shown enough to warrant a longer look, at least next week against the Titans.
How does he balance patience with a desire to win now?
“I’m sure everybody’s frustrated now, so I think it’s easy for everybody to jump on board,” he said. “I think we all want to win. I think that’s with Cleveland. I think that’s with the coaches, that’s what everybody wants — to win. So I feel like we’ll be able to do what’s necessary to get that result.”
Next week, it should easier to do so.
Football Insider newsletter free trial: Take a minute and sign up for a free trial of our Football Insider newsletter, featuring exclusive content from cleveland.com’s Browns reporters.
