Sunday in Las Vegas wasn’t just another game. It was a moment three decades in the making—a breakthrough that Cleveland Browns fans had been waiting for since 1995. When rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders led the Browns to a decisive 24-10 victory over the Raiders, he didn’t just win his first NFL start, it was history.
Making History in Sin City
Sanders became the first Browns quarterback to win his first NFL start since 1995, snapping a 17-game losing streak—the longest such streak in NFL history for quarterbacks making their debut starts. To put that in perspective, 13 rookie starting quarterbacks had lost their first game, including notable names like Tim Couch, Baker Mayfield, Johnny Manziel, and most recently, Sanders’ teammate Dillon Gabriel.
The weight of that history could have crushed a lesser player. Instead, Sanders carried it with remarkable poise, completing 11 of 20 passes for 209 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. His performance was efficient, steady, and exactly what Cleveland needed after a three-game skid that had fans questioning whether this season held any hope at all.
The Moment That Mattered
Sanders’ first NFL touchdown came in the fourth quarter on a play that showcased both his decision-making and his teammates’ playmaking ability. He found running back Dylan Sampson on a screen pass, and Sampson turned it into a 66-yard touchdown, blowing the game wide open with a 24-3 lead. While some might dismiss a screen pass as less impressive than a deep ball, the play demonstrated Sanders’ ability to take what the defense gives him and trust his teammates to make plays—a mature approach for any quarterback, let alone one making his first start.
But the highlight that had Cleveland’s sideline buzzing came earlier. Late in the first quarter, Sanders escaped a blitz to find Isaiah Bond for a 52-yard pass to the 2-yard line, drawing an amazed look from Myles Garrett on the sideline. That completion ended a 15-game drought for Browns quarterbacks without a 50-yard pass—another frustrating streak finally broken.
A Defense That Dominates
While Sanders deserves credit for his composed performance, he had plenty of support from one of the NFL’s most fearsome defensive units. The Browns recorded 10 sacks on Raiders quarterback Geno Smith, with Myles Garrett collecting three to bring his season total to 18, breaking his own franchise record of 16. Garrett is now on pace to challenge one of the NFL’s most hallowed records—Michael Strahan’s single-season mark of 22.5 sacks.
The defensive dominance was relentless. Eight different Browns defenders recorded sacks, with Maliek Collins adding 2.5 to complement Garrett’s three. The Raiders’ struggling offensive line simply had no answers, continuing a brutal stretch in which Las Vegas has allowed 20 sacks over three weeks.
From Doubt to Determination
Sanders’ journey to this moment has been anything but typical. Once projected as a potential first-round pick after starring at Colorado under his father, Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, Shedeur’s draft-day slide to the fifth round (144th overall) raised questions about his readiness and fit for the NFL game.
Those doubts seemed validated in his emergency debut the previous week against Baltimore, where he struggled mightily after replacing the injured Gabriel at halftime, completing just 4 of 16 passes for 47 yards with an interception. But Sanders had a message for his critics after Sunday’s win, declaring emphatically: “A lot of people wanted to see me fail, and it ain’t going to happen. It ain’t going to happen.”
The difference between Week 11 and Week 12 was preparation. With a game plan tailored to him and a week of practice reps with the first-team offense—his first since being drafted—Sanders showed significantly more comfort. He took just one sack compared to two against Baltimore, and his decision-making was noticeably sharper despite the inevitable rookie mistakes.
Sanders reflected on the adjustment, noting that “being a backup and everything, sometimes you have to compromise your personality and change the way you do things, to never step on anybody’s toes. The fact that I got an opportunity, and I was able to show the organization, show everybody who I really am, it’s truly exciting.”
What’s Next for Cleveland?
The Browns have now confirmed that Sanders will start again in Week 13 at home against the San Francisco 49ers, even with Gabriel having cleared concussion protocol. It’s a decision that speaks volumes about what the coaching staff saw on Sunday and what they believe Sanders can become.
Cleveland’s offense had been stagnant and predictable for much of the season. After Sunday’s performance, one thing was clear: the Browns’ offense was finally interesting. Sanders brings a different energy, a different arm, and most importantly, a different belief in what’s possible.
The Browns improved to 3-8, hardly playoff contention, but that’s not really the point anymore. This season has become about evaluation, about discovering whether Sanders can be part of Cleveland’s long-term solution at the most important position in football. The franchise has cycled through 42 starting quarterbacks since returning to the NFL in 1999—an embarrassing parade of failed experiments and dashed hopes.
A Foundation to Build On
Sanders wasn’t perfect on Sunday, and no one should expect perfection from a fifth-round rookie making his first start. He threw an interception when he was clearly fooled by the defense. He had some errant throws. The game plan was conservative by design, protecting him while the dominant defense took over.
But here’s what matters: Sanders showed the poise, arm talent, and competitive fire that made him successful at Colorado. He made plays off-schedule when protection broke down. He avoided the crushing mistakes that can derail young quarterbacks. He led his team to victory and broke a curse that had haunted Cleveland for three decades.
For a franchise that has known more heartbreak than hope at the quarterback position, Sunday represented something precious: possibility. Shedeur Sanders proved he belongs on an NFL field. Now comes the harder part—proving he can be the answer Cleveland has been desperately seeking.
As Sanders looks toward his next start at home in Cleveland, he carries not just the hopes of a struggling franchise, but the belief that failure—the kind so many predicted for him—simply isn’t in the cards. Sometimes the best response to doubt is the final scoreboard. On Sunday, it read Browns 24, Raiders 10. For Shedeur Sanders and Cleveland fans alike, it was the sweetest kind of validation.