Though he was the emergency third quarterback and didn't play in the Cleveland Browns' 17-16 Week 1 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, Shedeur Sanders still found himself going viral on social media.
The Bengals led from the middle of the first quarter to the middle of the third quarter before the Browns took a 16-14 lead on a Joe Flacco 5-yard touchdown pass to Cedric Tillman with 7:20 remaining in the third.
Cincinnati retook the lead three drives later, though Cleveland had a chance to steal the game late in the fourth quarter but failed after Andre Szmyt missed a 36-yard field goal wide right.
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Szmyt was getting dragged on social media for missing what many considered a chip-shot field goal, but Sanders chose to try and lift his spirits instead of piling on.
A video of Sanders going over and trying to cheer up Szmyt after the missed kick went viral on X, garnering 4.9 million views.
The user who tweeted the video, @SMHIghlights1, taunted Sanders for wanting the starting quarterback job because Cleveland lost, and instead of joining in on the mockery, several fans in the comment section actually applauded Sanders for being a good teammate.
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"Like a true leader , Shedeur went to check on him; saw the same thing at Colorado after losses. How you keep the team together," one fan wrote.
"Feel like he's just trying to show himself as a good leader and helping keep morale up. Nothing wrong with that🤷♂️," another fan added.
"Or maybe he was being a good leader and talking to him about how he needs to move on and not let this define him? Was he supposed to laugh at him and call him a loser? A true teammate helps you up when you're down," a third fan chimed in.
"Nah this is just straight up good teammate stuff right here tbh," one user replied.
"Looks like he's encouraging him and telling him to keep his head up and keep going cause that's what solid teammates do," another user commented.
"It's Called leadership," remarked another fan.
Though the Browns lost, it's unlikely the team will bench starter Joe Flacco after just one game. The 40-year-old former Super Bowl champion threw for 290 yards, a touchdown, and an interception with a 75.2 passer rating.
Things won't get any easier for Flacco next week with the Browns traveling to Baltimore to play the Ravens, who typically always have a top-10 caliber defense.
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