QB Shedeur Sanders displays poise and accuracy in first NFL game
In his first NFL game action, Sanders displayed different traits of his game – both positive features and areas of growth. In the first half alone, he connected with WR Kaden Davisfor two touchdowns to give the Browns a 14-7 lead over the Panthers. The first touchdown Sanders threaded the ball through tight traffic to find Davis in the end zone. The second, after RB Ahmani Marshall came in for the blitz pickup to give Sanders more time in the pocket, he found Davis in the end zone.
"I thought there were a bunch of play where the guys were working together," Stefanski said, "Sometimes, it was in rhythm, and we got to a read because we're in rhythm and the protection was good. There were other times we had to make plays off schedule and those are the things, again, when you're at practice, you preach them, and you work those off-schedule play. So, it was good that those came up tonight."
Sanders continued to display his accuracy in his placement of the ball, as he launched a pass downfield to WR Luke Floriea, who caught the pass one-handed and stayed in bounds for a gain of 30 yards. He also demonstrated awareness as he scrambled on a play and took off for the keeper, gaining the first down.
In the first half, Sanders completed 11 of 18 passes for 103 yards and two touchdowns, as well as one sack. He played a large portion of the third quarter as well before his night ended with less than two minutes in left in the quarter. Sanders finished his first NFL game completing 14 of 23 pass attempts for 138 yards, two touchdowns. He added four carries for 19 yards and took two sacks.
"The situations were invaluable for Shedeur (Sanders), for all of our offense," Stefanski said. "We got a third-and-1 where he had a quarterback sneak. I mean there's just a lot of football and that's by design with him getting a ton of reps in this game and he'll get a ton of reps next week as well. That's all part of our development of our young players."
However, there were also moments of growth as the rookie adjusts to the league. On two of his scrambles, while Sanders was able to evade pressure and throw the ball away, he was pushed back down the field. On both plays, he found his way back closer towards the line of scrimmage and got rid of the ball, but served as teaching points for the rookie quarterback.
"Pleased with Shedeur (Sanders), pleased with the offense," Stefanski said. "Again, not perfect, plenty that we can work on. But I thought the guys did a really nice job with Shedeur and operating, the guys making plays, so, again, a ton to teach off of."