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By Matthew Couden
Contributing Writer
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Shedeur Sanders got his chance to shine in Week 11 in a home matchup against Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens. The fierce game between division rivals appeared to be a significant upset for the home team, with their young quarterback, who was filling in for Dillon Gabriel, at the helm.
Gabriel exited the game in the third quarter due to a concussion after throwing 7-of-10 completions for 68 yards. That meant the Browns needed to rely on their backup, Sanders, to attempt to guide the team to a victory.
The former Colorado Buffaloes star was 4-for-16 with 47 yards passing, one interception, and two sacks for a loss of 26 yards. He also ran for 16 yards in his team’s 23-16 loss.
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Following the game, head coach Kevin Stefanski spoke about Sanders' debut performance and the possibility of him starting in place of Gabriel for the team's next matchup.
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"We trust all of our guys. We trust our guys to perform. He’s no different. Playing a backup quarterback role, as we talked about over the years, that’s tough to come in there, but we trust him. I know there’s things he’s gonna want to do better, but that's why we work," Stefanski said in assessing Sanders' debut.
Stefanski also said those were Sanders' first repetitions with the starting offense, since it had mostly been Gabriel doing that this season. However, he clarified that the team's entire playbook was available to Sanders in the second half and also suggested that Sanders had good preparation for today's situation.
“We do so much work with the quarterback position and the entire team. Not just those reps on a practice field. As we all know, those are tough reps when you have a young starter as well, but there’s so much that we do to supplement that type of thing,” he said.
Stefanski said he was unsure if Gabriel was concussed on a particular designed run play, and indicated that if he cleared the concussion protocol, he’d return as the team’s starter.
“That’s obviously a lot in that protocol, a lot goes into that,” he reminded the media, which seems to leave a possibility that Sanders would start in their next game.
The loss dropped Cleveland to 2-8 overall, while the Ravens evened their record at 5-5. Next up, the Browns visit the Oakland Raiders on Saturday, Nov. 23, with their quarterback situation currently unclear.
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