Shedeur Sanders: Walk or Talk?

By Isaiah Magar | KZA Sports

Shedeur Sanders is one of the most polarizing names in the country. And whether you like him or not, he will be making the second NFL start of his career on Sunday when the Cleveland Browns host the San Francisco 49ers. For some reason, it seems to be really hard for anyone to have a centralist view of Shedeur, or really the Sanders family as a whole. You either tend to love 'em or hate 'em. I'm personally a fan, but nobody is perfect, and I'm not going to pretend there weren't any flaws in Shedeur's performance against the Raiders.

In his first full game in the League, Sanders posted a solid stat line, completing 11 of 20 passes for 209 yards, with a touchdown and an interception while only taking one sack for a loss of three yards. His play was far from perfect but it was very encouraging, especially his evolution of throwing the ball away rather than trying to make a play and ending up taking a sack. His interception didn't feel like something that will be a repetitive problem, but just an anomaly on a misread. Something many Browns fans seemed to love the most was Sanders' willingness to throw the ball downfield, something rarely seen from previous starter, Dillon Gabriel. He became the first Browns quarterback to win their debut with the team since 1995 and he will try to stack more momentum on Sunday.

However, along with all the good, there were a few times the game looked a bit fast for him. The misread on the interception is something that can easily be fixed through more film analysis, but there were a couple times the offensive line broke down and left Shedeur looking a little flustered. Obviously, this isn't all his fault, and his line played extremely well against Maxx Crosby and the Raiders. But it is a bit worrisome how pressure may affect Shedeur. The Raiders didn't bring much pressure, rarely sending any blitzes, so it will be interesting to see how opponents treat it moving forward, and I expect more pressure will be brought. Sanders has the arm to sling it, but he will need to be able pick defenses apart with his mind before using it.

If you are cheering for Sanders to fail, ask yourself why. I know most of you haters will say "because he's just an arrogant kid who needs to be humbled." But, like, why does that matter so much to you? You don't know him, he doesn't know you and cheering for someone who has no bearing on your life to fail is miserable. If you don't like him, fine, but why are you paying so much attention to something you respond so negatively to? How about you find something that you react positively to and replace your malice towards another man with it. Might I suggest cooking something fun, woodcarving, painting, traveling, or any number of other creative outlets you could spend your energy on.

Spread love this season. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and have an amazing Christmas!

Buy the Shedeur "First Start" tee here.

You can find Isaiah Magar on X here.