"Shedeur is going to bring it." That was a verdict we saw just a few days ago. After his disastrous start, Shedeur Sanders had a full week to know the playbook. And facing arguably one of the worst teams in NFL right now, the Las Vegas Raiders, he had his work cut out for him.

Not only did Sanders outshine expectations, he broke a streak that lasted almost 30 years for the Browns!

For nearly three decades, every Browns rookie quarterback who made his first start walked off the field with a loss. Seventeen of them tried, and seventeen failed. Not since Eric Zeier in 1995 had a Cleveland rookie debuted with a win. Shedeur Sanders changed that storyline on Sunday.

And he didn’t need a huge stat line to make history. He completed 11 of 20 passes for 209 yards, threw one touchdown, and had one interception. Just as we expected, his passing game worked well with Judkins running the show on the ground and scoring two touchdowns. Also, Dylan Sampson turned a short swing pass into a 66-yard score that pushed the Browns ahead for good. However, does this mean Sanders will start regularly?

Head coach Kevin Stefanski didn't have an answer. "I’m not going to get into that. That puts a smile on my face. The franchise record, I kind of expect that of myself. I continue to set the bar higher and higher." However, Shedeur Sanders thinks his perfomance was all the vindication he needed after being relegated to QB4 early on in the season.

In fact, he topped it all off with a cheeky suggestion. He said, "I'm who they've been looking for. A lot of people want to see me fail and it ain’t going to happen." We've already seen what a thriving running game did for the Browns against the Dolphins. And now, if Sanders brings in consistent performances, could things turn around? Only time will tell.

For now, let's look at the defensive end of the field because there are definitely some impressive stats from the Browns.

Myles Garrett Backed Defense Turns Shedeur Shanders Debut Into a Win

While there may not be too much to take the eyes of a massive Sanders performance, the Cleveland defense put up a show. Jim Schwartz’s group dominated from start to finish, holding the Raiders to 268 total yards and sacking Geno Smith 10 times. Myles Garrett led the charge with three sacks, putting him just five away from the all-time single-season record with six games still left. But that's not all!

The offense started strong thanks to a 44-yard punt return from rookie Gage Larvadain. That return set up Judkins’ first touchdown out of the wildcat formation. A few drives later, Sanders hit fellow rookie Isaiah Bond for a 53-yard pass, which led to another Judkins touchdown from the same formation. Even when Sanders threw an interception, the defense stepped in and held Las Vegas to a field goal, keeping control of the game.

Cleveland’s game plan was clear: move Sanders out of the pocket and avoid the drifting issues he showed in college. The Browns rolled him out often, letting him make quick decisions and stay away from sacks. Because of that, he was sacked only once, a major improvement from what many expected.

With the 49ers up next, can Shedeur Sanders retain his spot and lead the Browns to victory? Let us know in the comments!

Written by

Mohd Mudabbir Ansari

Edited by

Siddharth Shirwadkar