Las Vegas an appropriate setting for Browns QB Shedeur Sanders to make 1st career start

Sanders will make his much-heralded first start when Cleveland takes the field in a matchup of 2-8 teams that otherwise would draw scant attention on a Sunday in late November.

The spotlight, however, is what Sanders is used to, and he leans into it like his father Deion Sanders did during his Hall of Fame playing days and now during an equally visible coaching career. The younger Sanders' bio on X simply reads, “LEGENDARY,” and if there was a place for him to show what the hype is about, this city of neon lights feels appropriate.

“I know our fans have a lot of expectations and hope, and I would be doing a disservice to myself and disservice to the organization if I didn’t feel like I am the guy,” Sanders said. “I’m doing everything I need to to prepare to be the best version of myself as possible. With the circumstances, everything got to be sped up and that’s great. I like pressure in life.”

He played for his dad the past two years at Colorado and before that for two seasons at Jackson State. Sanders, the Big 12 Conference Offensive Player of the Year last season, passed for 4,134 yards with 37 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 2024.

Though he was projected to be selected in the first round of the NFL draft, Sanders slid to the fifth round, and the Browns also took Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel in the third. The Browns went into training camp with four quarterbacks, but eventually traded Joe Flacco to Cincinnati and Kenny Pickett to Las Vegas.

Gabriel became the starter leading into Cleveland's Oct. 5 game against Minnesota. The Browns are 1-5 in his starts, and he suffered a concussion against Baltimore, giving Sanders his first chance to play.

It wasn't pretty.

Sanders completed 4 of 16 passes for 47 yards with an interception. He also was sacked twice.

But now he's receiving a full week of preparation and — for the first time — snaps with the first-team offense.

“Certainly, you look at having a full week of prep, a full week of game planning, a full week of him being in the forefront of your mind as a coach and he knows that as a player, you hope that all those things benefit and come to fruition on Sunday,” Browns offensive coordinator and play-caller Tommy Rees said. “Expectations, I would say we try to limit those. It’s more about, ‘Hey, we’re going to pour this whole week into making sure that you feel comfortable and confident.’”

View from Vegas

The Raiders don't have a lot of video on Sanders, which makes preparing for this game tricky. They are looking at his work at Colorado, where Sanders was accustomed to buying time to throw by scrambling in the backfield.

He tried to scramble backward against the Ravens, but took sacks that cost his team a combined 27 yards.

“All young quarterbacks think that's the move,” Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham said. “He can do that, but the monsters are back there.”

Myles Garrett’s tear

Browns All-Pro pass rusher Myles Garrett has 10 of his league-leading 15 sacks in the past three games.

With a pair of sacks on Sunday, Garrett can join Pro Football Hall of Famer Reggie White (19) and Mark Gastineau (17 1/2) as the only players since 1982 — when sacks became an official statistic — with at least 17 through their first 11 games of a season.

Garrett, who has at least one sack in 74 career games, has sacked Smith once.

“He be putting up Madden numbers now,” cornerback Denzel Ward said. “So it’s definitely exciting to see. You can’t say enough things about Myles, but yeah, we just got to get some wins, though.”

No regrets

Raiders coach Pete Carroll and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly continue to defend their ultra-aggressive approach in Monday night's 33-16 loss to the Cowboys, noting Las Vegas moved the ball effectively.

The Raiders crossed the 50-yard line on five of their six first-half drives, but settled for nine points. They called 32 pass plays and three runs over the first 30 minutes.

“I thought if you look at the play-action passing game, we went up and down the field with it,” Kelly said.

AP Sports Writer Joe Reedy in Cleveland contributed to this report.

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