The Cleveland Browns‘ rookie backup quarterback, Shedeur Sanders, entered his first NFL start against the Las Vegas Raiders with much pressure and expectations. With the 24-10 win, it’s safe to say he busted all doubts around his leadership under the center. Of course, head coach Kevin Stefanski was more than pleased with the historical road win, and so was Sanders’ mother.

“How about that road win?” Stefanski said in his locker-room speech. “We stayed resilient together, and we fought together. Then another rookie making his first start, nice job, Shedeur.”

Shedeur’s mom, Pilar Sanders, slid into the comment section of the post and praised her son’s hard work, noting, “Look how that ONE week of Practice paid off!!!! GREAT JOB rookie !!! Your FIRST START AND WIN at the same time! Not seen since 1995 go SHEDEUR! THATS BIG Browns!”

After the Browns’ primary signal caller and fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel exited the team’s matchup against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 11, Sanders got to make his debut after halftime. However, it being his first-ever reps with the first team, the quarterback suffered ruthlessly. The former Colorado Buffaloes star completed just 4 of 16 passes and tossed an interception. Things, however, changed in Week 12.

Before the Raiders’ game, Sanders got an entire week of preparation. With that, offensive coordinator Tommy Rees was able to tailor offensive schemes that work best with the fifth-rounder’s tendency for long air game. Moreover, Sanders, too, gained first-hand experience at the NFL’s level and got to connect with his teammates. The result?

The Colorado product went 11-of-20 for 209 yards, a touchdown, and a pick. Clearly, Pilar wanted to clarify all the facts for the rookie after a tough start to his NFL career, from being a fifth-round pick in the draft to being a fourth QB and then not receiving first-team practices.

In fact, Sanders’ first NFL start nod also came due to an unforeseen situation.

Stefanski named Shedeur Sanders the QB1 ahead of the Raiders game, mainly because Gabriel was still stuck in concussion protocol after being the starter ever since the team moved on from Joe Flacco.

Interestingly, Deion Sanders was present in the arena, watching his son play for the first time while not being on the sidelines with him. He was in the Raiders owner Mark Davis’ suite. After the game, the Colorado head coach made sure to acknowledge the gesture.

“I’ve never seen him play without me coaching him, so that was strange,” Deion told reporters at his Colorado presser on Tuesday. “But it was good, and it was healthy. ‘Cause I was just in straight dad mode. I wasn’t in coach mode and I loved that, that I was able to see him gain the first victory.”

Moreover, Deion’s face was proof enough that he thoroughly enjoyed his son’s success. During the game, the camera would zoom into the suite to show expressions of a proud father seeing the quarterback show off his downfield accuracy and playmaking, which he became known for during his college career.

And it didn’t take long for things to change fast. Shedeur put in the work all week, and it showed.

Shedeur Sanders created history in the Week 12 Browns’ win

Unlike his NFL debut against the Ravens when he walked onto the field hyping the crowd, the No. 12 quietly got under the center. However, he let his game talk.

He electrified the fans late in the first quarter with a 52-yard toss to fellow rookie wideout Isaiah Bond while also beating a blitz, for the team’s longest pass play for the season. The play set up running back Quinshon Judkins for his second of the two touchdown runs in the first half, giving Cleveland a 14-0 lead early. To end the game for good, Sanders dumped off a pass to RB Dylan Sampson in the fourth quarter, who raced 66 yards to the end zone for the rookie’s first touchdown in the 24-10 win.

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The Browns have been struggling with offensive issues all season. In fact, they’d scored 17 or more points only four times in 11 games heading into their Week 12 matchup, while their second-ranked defense, according to PFF, has been helping them through it all.

But against the Raiders, everything finally clicked as the rookie also made a little franchise history while pushing the team forward.

• He became the first Cleveland rookie quarterback to win his debut NFL start since Eric Zeier in 1995.
• Sanders also snapped a 17-game losing streak for Cleveland in matchups where a quarterback was making his first career start. It’s the longest such streak by any franchise since QB starts began being tracked in 1950.
• The win also put an end to the Browns’ 13-game road losing streak, the longest active skid in the NFL and the second-longest road slump in team history.

With that confidence boost, Sanders also made one thing clear for the upcoming opponents…

“Nobody cares if this was one week of prep,” Sanders said after the game. “Who cares? A lot of people want to see me fail, and it isn’t going to happen.”

Next, the Browns will host the San Francisco 49ers, and the team’s approach will be straightforward: anticipate high-pressure blitzes on the young QB and try to create opportunities for big plays anyway. Can Shedeur Sanders keep this level of play?