Shedeur Sanders’ chance finally arrived, but he couldn’t live up to the hype. After replacing Deshaun Watson against the Steelers, Sanders made some visible mistakes that Todd Monken isn’t taking lightly. The coach specifically criticized Sanders for not throwing the ball away on the screen play when Watt blitzed off the boundary.
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“Well, it’s unfair. I mean, we’re giving him a screen to start off, and they blitz T.J. (Watt) off the boundary. Should have just, instead of getting the downfield, he needs to throw it in the ground,” Todd Monken said after their game against the Steelers. “And you know, there were a couple of plays. He could have helped us out with a check, but again, for a guy that really does, you know, the backup doesn’t get any reps during the week.
“I mean, he gets, you know, some of the look squad. So again, I think he’s always composed. I think he did fine. We certainly, you know, we had an opportunity maybe on the third and extra long; he had to escape a little bit, but he was fine.”
Shedeur Sanders took the field after Deshaun Watson received a helmet-to-helmet hit from Steelers safety Jaquan Brisker in the first quarter. The hit came when Watson threw an incomplete short right pass to KC Concepcion. Watson shook his head afterward, so the medical staff took him to the blue medical tent to check for a concussion.
Shedeur Sanders tried to make the most of his brief opportunity against the Steelers. He completed both of his pass attempts for two yards, recording a 100% completion rate and a 79.2 passer rating without throwing an interception or touchdown.
Although Sanders completed both his passes against the Steelers, his decision-making was not perfect. On his first attempt at 13:33 in the first quarter, he threw an incomplete short pass to the right. The play was called back because Browns lineman Tytus Howard was flagged for an ineligible player downfield penalty, costing Cleveland five yards.
On the next play, Sanders completed a short pass to Denzel Boston, but the receiver was stopped immediately and gained no yards.
However, Monken also acknowledged that Sanders had not received many practice reps because he is the backup quarterback. So, as the season continues, the Browns might give him more opportunities.
Last year, Sanders also had his own ups and downs. In the 2025 season, he appeared in eight games and started seven, completing 120 of 212 passes (56.6%) for 1,400 yards, seven touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. He recorded a 68.1 passer rating and an 18.9 QBR while taking 23 sacks for 164 yards.
Meanwhile, Deshaun Watson finished the night by completing 27 of his 39 pass attempts for 324 yards and zero touchdowns against the Steelers. He averaged 8.31 yards per attempt, threw zero interceptions, and was sacked eight times.
Sacks became a major problem for him, but despite that, Watson took all the blame on himself.
“It’s tough,” Watson said after the game. “You just got to get rid of the ball, find completions as much as I possibly can, try to find my checkdowns. So just really just try to get the ball out of my hands. Don’t try to be a hero; try to make the play, extend the play as much as possible. Just try to understand the game and the situation as much as possible. … They did a good job of rushing the field, having me step up, and there was always somebody there in that rush lane.”
Despite all their efforts, the Browns couldn’t do much against the Steelers and ended up losing 27-6. Now, let’s wait and see if things change against the Saints on Sunday, November 8.