Shedeur Sanders and the Cleveland Browns fell 31-29 to the Tennessee Titans in a perhaps surprisingly exciting early afternoon contest. The over/under was only 33.5, but it was almost exceeded at halftime, as Cleveland led 17-14. Despite neither team having much to play for at this juncture, players on both sides of the ball delivered an absolute thriller!
The story of the game, unfortunately, ended up being the decision made by Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski on a two-point conversion attempt that could have tied the game. The decision only fueled the thoughts of many fans who question whether Stefanski has Sanders’ best interest at heart.
Sanders easily had the best game of his young career, throwing for 364 yards, three passing touchdowns, and rushing for another score. The outing was not perfect as he completed only 55 percent of his passes and threw a bad interception on an overthrow late in the third quarter. Sanders was ultimately able to recover, though, leading two touchdown drives late in the fourth quarter to give the Browns a shot to tie the game. The young signal caller, however, did not have the opportunity to finish what he started.
Yes, Sanders was on the sidelines when Cleveland had a chance to tie the game! Despite showing resiliency and leading the troops to TD drives twice in the fourth quarter, he had to watch the biggest play of the game from the sidelines.
The postgame press conference started as expected for Coach Stefanski, with the media meeting him with questions about that potential game-tying play. While Stefanski basically said there was enough blame to go around for the game as a whole, he ultimately took the blame for the ending. Here’s how he responded when specifically asked why he took Sanders off the field when he had the hot hand.
Yeah, again it’s a two-point play. Didn’t come through on our first two-point play. Got to the second two-point play, we didn’t come through, but that’s on me.
Taking the blame is the obvious right move, but it did not specifically answer the question regarding removing Sanders in that situation. One could argue that the reason is that no explanation really exists for that decision. When a player, especially your quarterback, has the hot hand, they should have the chance to finish the mission.
Before Sanders got a chance to start, his supporters questioned how the Browns were handling the rookie QB. Many felt that he was not being given a fair chance, and were concerned that the head coach flat-out did not like him. No one truly knows what Stefanski feels internally, but that late-game decision to pull Sanders surely did not help dispel those rumors.
That move was flabbergasting, all things considered. Cleveland’s season is already lost, so at this point, you should be evaluating the young talent to see what you potentially have. There was a chance for Sanders to prove that he could execute in the clutch, but the head coach had other plans. That hot seat Stefanski is already on is probably scorching now!
Sanders needs to be showcased in every situation possible right now to see if he may be worth building around. The only way that can happen, though, is if the ball is in his hands when it matters the most. Now that Sanders has been named the starter for the remainder of the season, he will perhaps get those opportunities.
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