Shedeur Sanders earned a victory in a respectable NFL starting debut against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 12. His second didn’t go quite as smoothly, as his Cleveland Browns lost 26-8 against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 13.
Sanders once again showed off his arm talent, making a beautiful throw on his 34-yard touchdown strike to Harold Fannin Jr. He was largely efficient and entirely avoided turnovers while completing 64% of his passes.
However, Sanders did have issues with sacks against a San Francisco defense that entered Sunday’s game having generated the lowest pressure rate of any NFL team. He took three sacks throughout the Week 13 battle and lost 34 yards as a result of them.
Sanders will need to continue to work on getting the ball out of his hands quicker while also looking to avoid drifting back and taking sacks that result in massive losses of yardage. That will be his biggest area for growth if the Browns continue to trust him the rest of the way as a starter.
USA TODAY Sports tracked Sanders’ second NFL start vs. the 49ers. Below are his stats and highlights from the game, as well as analysis of his performance and more.
Shedeur Sanders stats today
Here’s how Sanders performed in the Browns’ game against San Francisco:
- Passing: 16/25 (64%)
- Passing yards: 149
- Passing touchdowns: 1
- Interceptions: 0
- Carries: 1
- Rushing yards: 6
- Sacks: 3 (34 yards)
Kevin Stefanski announces Shedeur Sanders will start Week 14
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski was asked whether Sanders would start the Browns’ next game after their loss to the 49ers. His response?
‘Yes,’ Stefanski said.
This marked a departure from Stefanski’s strategy following Week 12. He didn’t immediately announce Sanders as the starter after his win over the Raiders, instead waiting until later in the week to make his decision.
But now, Cleveland will prepare for its upcoming matchup with the Tennessee Titans, knowing Sanders will be leading it.
Shedeur Sanders scrambles for 6 yards on fourth-and-26, sealing loss
Sanders and the Browns were trailing 26-8 with under two minutes left in regulation when Sanders was tasked with navigating a fourth-and-26. He wasn’t able to find anyone open and scrambled for six yards before being brought down.
The 49ers will get the ball back with 1:40 left in regulation. The Browns have one timeout remaining, so even if Cleveland gets the ball back, it will be with next to no time remaining in regulation.
Shedeur Sanders sacked for 10-yard loss on fourth-and-16
The Browns had to go for it on fourth-and-16, trailing by 15 with just 7:30 left in regulation. Sanders hung in the pocket, scanning the field before Keion White came bursting through the middle of the offensive line.
Sanders wasn’t able to evade White and was brought to the ground for a 10-yard loss.
Shedeur Sanders injured after sliding down for sack, returns
Sanders suffered an apparent injury after sliding down for a sack. He limped off the field for a play, with Dillon Gabriel coming on to replace him.
Sanders’ absence lasted just one play. He was able to return to the field after Gabriel’s one snap and will look to finish out the fourth quarter.
Shedeur Sanders tosses two incompletions as Browns go three-and-out
The Browns continue to struggle in the second half. On their third drive of the third quarter, Sanders tossed two incompletions after a 1-yard run by Quinshon Judkins on first down.
Cleveland was forced to punt and will wrap up the third quarter having generated just 23 yards on 12 plays and now trailing 17-8.
Browns offense starts second half slowly
The Browns are continuing to take a ground-dominant approach to open the second half. Sanders has gone 2 of 3 passing for 12 yards, but Cleveland’s drives have ended with a punt and a failed fourth-down conversion, which saw tight end Harold Fannin Jr. botch a snap on a ‘Tush Push’ attempt.
Sanders is now 10 of 14 passing for 108 yards and a touchdown.
LeBron James shouts out Shedeur Sanders after TD pass
The Los Angeles Lakers star appeared to shout out Sanders after his touchdown pass to Harold Fannin Jr.
James grew up in Akron is known to be a big-time Browns fan.
Shedeur Sanders stats at halftime
The Browns operated with a run-heavy offense in the first half, giving their runners 20 combined carries while Sanders attempted 11 passes and was sacked once.
Despite this, Sanders has enjoyed an efficient outing thus far, completing 8 of 11 passes for 96 yards and a touchdown. He has had a couple of missed opportunities, including overthrowing Jerry Jeudy for a potential deep gain early in the game and taking a 13-yard sack while his team was in field-goal range, but otherwise, the Colorado product has been steady and accurate.
Sanders’ best throw came on his touchdown toss to Harold Fannin Jr. The fifth-round rookie layered the ball perfectly to the tight end to set up the score, which briefly gave the Browns a lead and helped them stay within striking distance of the 49ers, who have a 10-8 advantage at halftime.
Sanders and the Browns will look to re-take the lead in the second half. They will get the ball first coming out of the locker room.
Shedeur Sanders hits tight end Harold Fannin for 34-yard TD
The Browns ran the ball nine times to open what figures to be their final drive of the first half. After gaining 56 yards on those carries, Kevin Stefanski finally dialed up a passing play for Sanders.
Sanders found Fannin, a fellow rookie, open on the left sidelined after a double move. The Colorado was able to make his best throw of the day, feathering the ball to Fannin before he ran the rest of the way for a score.
The Browns attempted a 2-point conversion following the touchdown pass and Quinshon Judkins was able to power the ball into the end-zone. That gives the Browns an 8-7 lead.
Shedeur Sanders sacked for 13-yard loss, knocking Browns out of field goal range
Sanders and the Browns were facing a third-and-15 on the edge of field-goal range when the 49ers managed to pressure the rookie quarterback. Sanders tried to spin away from the pressure, but he ended up falling further back in the pocket and absorbing a 13-yard loss.
The sack pushed the Browns out of field-goal range and forced Corey Bojorquez on to punt on fourth-and-28.
Shedeur Sanders completes 18-yard pass after hand hit while throwing
Sanders’ longest completion of the first quarter was an 18-yarder to Isaiah Bond. It wasn’t pretty, as the ball floated to the undrafted rookie after Sanders had his hand hit while releasing the ball. Still, it resulted in a big gain for the Browns.
Browns stopped on fourth-and-1 carry near red-zone
Sanders was able to get Cleveland’s offense into a rhythm after Christian McCaffrey got into the end-zone to give San Francisco a 7-0 lead. The rookie quarterback was able to complete a 13-yard screen pass to Quinshon Judkins and had a couple more short-distance completions to Gage Lardavain and Jerome Ford to help get the Browns into scoring range.
However, the 10-play Browns drive ended with four consecutive running plays before Judkins was stopped short of the line on a fourth-and-1. That prevented Cleveland from scoring, though Sanders has looked solid early, completing 5 of 7 passes for 44 yards.
Browns forced to punt after Shedeur Sanders overthrows Jerry Jeudy
The good news? Sanders was able to complete his first two passes of the day to Jeudy and Quinshon Judkins. The bad news? On a third-and-3, Sanders was unable to hit Jeudy streaking open down the middle of the field after getting strong protection from his offensive line.
As a result, Cleveland’s first possession ends with a punt on a drive during which Sanders completed 2 of 3 passes for 12 yards.
49ers to start game with ball
Sanders will have to wait to get his first home snaps with the Browns. San Francisco will start the game with the ball.
How to watch Shedeur Sanders today: Browns vs 49ers
- TV channel: CBS
The 49ers and Browns Week 13 matchup will air on CBS.
What time do the Browns play today?
- Start time: 1 p.m. ET | 10 a.m. PT
The 49ers and Browns are one of several games in the early afternoon slot.
Browns vs 49ers live stream
- Live stream:Fubo | Paramount+ | NFL+
Cord-cutters have a few options to watch Shedeur Sanders play today. Fubo carries CBS, Fox, ABC, ESPN and the NFL Networks, and also offers a free trial.
Paramount+, CBS’ proprietary streaming service, and NFL+ will also carry the game.
Watch NFL action all season with Fubo (free trial)
Shedeur Sanders stats
Through two appearances this season – one in relief and one start – here’s how Sanders has performed:
- 15/36 passing (41.7% completion rate)
- 256 passing yards
- One touchdown
- Two interceptions
- 128 yards per game
- 52.5 passer rating