In his second NFL appearance and first career start, Shedeur Sanders led the Cleveland Browns to a win over the Las Vegas Raiders. Sanders stepped in as the Browns’ 42nd starting quarterback of the expansion era and became the first to open his career with a win since Eric Zeier back in 1995, per ESPN.
Moreover, Sanders snapped Cleveland’s run of 17 straight losses in games in which a quarterback was making his first start, a skid that stood as the longest by any team since 1950, when the league began tracking starting quarterbacks.
The Browns Could Be Looking for a QB in the Offseason
While Sanders went 11-for-20 on his pass attempts for 209 passing yards, one touchdown, and one interception to help the Browns record a 24-10 win over the Raiders, the rookie quarterback will have to impress in these final handful of games to be in the running for the starting job next season.
A debut dub for the rookie 😤 pic.twitter.com/JSTmUQZTl2
— NFL (@NFL) November 24, 2025
On Monday, NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, published his takeaways from Week 12, and he noted he still expects the Browns to go after a signal-caller in the offseason.
“If I were Kevin Stefanski or Andrew Berry, I’d want to see more, just in an effort to get more information on where I stand at the most important position on the field going into 2026, with plenty of information gathered already on Dillon Gabriel through Gabriel’s six starts.
“Now, from a big-picture perspective, I’d still very much bet that the Browns’ quarterback for 2026 isn’t on the roster yet. But from here, it’s on the team’s brass to get a clear picture out of what is on the roster now (and that includes Deshaun Watson, as I see it),” Breer wrote.
Shedeur Sanders Will Start for Browns in Week 13
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said on Monday that Sanders will start at quarterback when Cleveland hosts the San Francisco 49ers this Sunday, despite fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel clearing concussion protocol.
“The No. 1 job of a quarterback is to win,” Stefanski said (h/t ESPN). “So, excited to get that first win under his belt. And the next thing is improvement, and that’s what young players do. Certainly, young quarterbacks do. You get one game better, and that’s just from working at it. So, that’ll be our focus.”
Nonetheless, Stefanski won’t be committing to any quarterback beyond Week 13, as the Browns coach stated that he’s “just going to focus on this week. Not going to get much past this week.”
