The Cleveland Browns made an odd decision with quarterback Shedeur Sanders during Saturday’s preseason game, and he did not appear too happy about it.
The Browns were trailing the Los Angeles Rams 17-16 with 2:03 left in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland, Oh. Sanders had played the entire second half of the game up to this point, but was benched for Tyler Huntley during the two-minute drill.
Sanders looked visibly confused on the sideline as Huntley was sent into the game.
Snoop Huntley in the game with a chance to win it for the Browns with 2 minutes on the clock…
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Sanders admitted after the game he had not expected to be pulled in that situation.
“I was on the bike. I was powering up for that two-minute drive because that’s the situation every quarterback dreams for. I thought I was in,” Sanders told reporters after the game.
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski suggested the offense’s struggles with Sanders at the helm in the second half were a factor in the decision.
“We didn’t play great as an offense in the second half,” Stefanski said. “That’s never on one person. We could be better in a bunch of areas. We just felt like we wanted to get Snoop the last drive.”
Sanders did struggle during the second half, going just 3/6 for 14 yards. He took five sacks, including a 24-yard loss where he missed several opportunities to throw the ball away before going down.
.@RamsNFL close in and notch their 5th sack of the day
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It is not exactly a huge vote of confidence in Sanders if the Browns would rather give a veteran who likely won’t even make their roster a two-minute drill instead of their rookie who needs the reps.
Sanders looked a lot better in his first preseason outing, though he felt he had room to improve even further. Presumably, he will not be thrilled with how this one went, but he clearly still expected to have the chance to win the game on the final drive.
Huntley went 1/1 for 7 yards on the drive and added a 9-yard carry. A series of Rams penalties put the Browns in field goal range and they wound up winning 19-17.