Shedeur Sanders has experienced the highs and lows that come with being a rookie quarterback in just four starts for the Cleveland Browns' 2025 season.
In Week 14, he accounted for 393 total yards and four touchdowns in a 31-29 loss to the Tennessee Titans that proved to be the best game of his young career. A week later, Sanders had his worst game as a pro, throwing three interceptions in Cleveland's 31-3 loss to the Chicago Bears.
Sanders will make his fifth career start Sunday when the Browns host the Buffalo Bills (1 p.m. ET, CBS). At his best, he has been an accurate downfield passer with playmaking ability. At his worst, he has been a tentative processor who is still adjusting to NFL defenses and has a propensity to hold onto the ball too long.
"In every situation, it's always going to be things that you want to work on, things that you want to get better," Sanders said after the loss to the Bears. "I think that's where I'm headed. I'm in the learning and understanding phase of this game and how things are."
Signs of Sanders' improvement
Since making his first start in Week 12, Sanders ranks 30th out of 32 qualifying passers in Total QBR (22.9). He has thrown for 899 yards and five touchdowns, bringing plenty of big plays to a dormant offense.
Sanders has recorded seven completions on deep passes -- attempts that travel at least 20 air yards -- in his four starts. For comparison this season, Joe Flacco had four completions on deep passes in four starts for the Browns, while Dillon Gabriel had two completions on deep passes in six starts. Coaches have praised improvements in Sanders' footwork and pocket presence that have led to his execution as a passer.
"The overall improvement of our footwork and our understanding -- what footwork applies to what concepts and our ability to work through progressions," Browns offensive coordinator Tommy Rees said last week. "And he's put a lot of work in these last few weeks to get ready to play these games. And you see the steps as he progresses, which is again what you're after with your young players, which you're after with all your players is are they coachable, are they applying some of the things that you're trying to ask them to do and he has shown that.
"And obviously he played a nice game for us [against the Titans] and really made some plays that showed those signs that he's improving in those areas."
While Sanders has opened up Cleveland's passing game at times, he has made his fair share of mistakes. After a trio of interceptions against the Bears, Sanders has thrown five since becoming the starter in Week 12.
"I think you learn from all those," Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said Monday. "And at times you tip your cap to the defense and you say they made a play, and other times you talk to the quarterback, 'Hey, could be footwork, could be who you're keying, could be decision,' all those things.
"I do think you have to give them credit and say that they're making plays, but I think how we coach our guys is, 'Hey, next time we did it, here's some things that we would do differently.'"
Stephen A. Smith calls out Browns coach Kevin Stefanski for refusing to develop other quarterbacks while the team tries Shedeur Sanders at QB.
Offensive woes continue
The insertion of Sanders into the starting lineup hasn't been enough to lift one of the NFL's worst offenses. In Sanders' four starts, the Browns are averaging 16 points per game; Cleveland averaged 16.2 points per game in the previous 10 games.
The issues on offense have been widespread.
The Browns' revolving door at offensive line has continued; the team has used three different starting O-line combinations since Week 12 and has used nine different combinations this season.
Cleveland hasn't been able to run the ball consistently, especially since Sanders became the starter. The Browns rank 20th in ESPN's run block win rate -- defined as how often an offensive lineman successfully holds his block on designed running plays -- since Week 12. Cleveland also ranks 30th in both rushing yards per game (78.3) and success rate on designed rushes (37.2%) during that timeframe.
As far as pass protection, the Browns rank fourth in pass block win rate since Week 12, but Sanders has still been under duress, a byproduct of mistakes along the offensive line and his own doing. Sanders has faced pressure on 43.9% of his dropbacks since Week 12, a mark that only trails Los Angeles Chargers QB Justin Herbert (46%).
According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Sanders has faced 17 quick pressures since Week 12, tied for 11th most in the league (quick pressures are defined as dropbacks where the pass rush affects the quarterback before the pass is thrown in under 2.5 seconds). Sanders also has faced 14 unblocked quarterback pressures since Week 12, tied with Titans rookie Cam Ward for the second most in the NFL (unblocked pressures are defined as pressures on dropbacks where the pass rusher does not encounter any blockers over the course of the play).
Sanders, though, has acknowledged he has held onto the ball too long at times in search of big plays. He has spoken about being hesitant as he gains rapport with his pass catchers (Cleveland's receiving core this season has been lackluster, with no pass catcher ranking higher than 98th out of 127 receivers and tight ends in ESPN's Receiver Scores).
Sanders has a 3.35-second average time to throw in his four starts, the highest of all qualifying quarterbacks. For comparison, Flacco had an average time to throw of 2.85 seconds in four starts, and Gabriel had an average time to throw of 2.73 seconds in six starts. Only 27% of Sanders' passes have come within 2.5 seconds, the lowest rate in the NFL since Week 12, and he has seven extended pressures, which occur on dropbacks when the time elapsed from snap to pressure is four seconds or longer.
"Obviously our focus for our passing game is to keep the quarterback clean and obviously get the ball out on time," Stefanski said. "There's various ways and various play types to get into to try to mitigate pass rush, but it's so dependent on the team you're playing and the challenges that they present."
Though Sanders is coming off the worst game of his four starts, Stefanski reaffirmed the fifth-round pick will start the remainder of the season and said he's not worried about the quarterback's progression.
"Sky's not falling," Stefanski said. "I think with young players, there's growing and there's learning that happens. ... I don't care what the position is, but look at history in terms of young players, and sometimes there's moments that aren't going to go your way, and you learn from those. So that's no different for any position, no different for Shedeur versus any other player.
"There's going to be really good games. There's going to be games you want back. ... We'll learn from those, we'll grow from those, and we'll be better from those."