Shedeur Sanders finds success in long-awaited first NFL start

Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders throws against the during the first half of an NFL football challenge Sunday Nov in Las Vegas AP Photo Candice Ward LAS VEGAS Not even the bright lights of Vegas and the spotlight of the NFL could rattle Shedeur Sanders On Sunday the former Colorado quarterback made his first NFL start and helped the Cleveland Browns to a - win against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium I m not gonna lie I felt very relaxed very relaxed the rookie explained And half of that comes from preparing studying and knowing I got God on my side So throughout all that I had no worries I didn t feel nervous or anything before the competition because like he took off all my worries and everything away Sanders a fifth-round draft pick in April became the first former CU quarterback to start a contest in the NFL since Koy Detmer for the Philadelphia Eagles on Jan He also became the first Browns quarterback to win his first NFL start since Eric Zeier in Others in that time had been - Sanders however displayed a lot of the cool and calm that he did during his two seasons at Colorado when he set numerous records And like old times he had his father CU head coach Deion Sanders and his brother Deion Jr in the building to watch him play Father and son embraced before Shedeur took the field for warmups ahead of the event Related Articles Injuries have taken toll on CU Buffs this season Keeler CU Buffs coach Deion Sanders is right This mess is on him So was - thumping by Arizona State CU Buffs falter late get thumped by Arizona State Western Colorado stuns Central Washington to advance in Division II football playoffs CU Buffs gold jacket coaches delivering Hall of Fame message Being able to see my family that was critical and happy they were here to be able to witness it disclosed Shedeur who completed -of- passes for yards with a touchdown and an interception The first start took much longer than he ever anticipated though While growing up in Texas and then starring at Colorado the past two years Shedeur had visions of being a top- pick in the NFL Draft Just a year ago while he was at CU a great number of projected him as a top pick Shedeur s slide in the draft has been well-documented as he not only fell out of the first round but all the way to Day The Browns selected him th overall and he wasn t even the first quarterback they took They selected Oregon s Dillon Gabriel in the third round Throughout the summer Shedeur was behind not only Gabriel but veterans Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett Eventually the Browns traded Flacco and Pickett but Gabriel has been the starter in newest weeks It wasn t until Gabriel went out with a concussion last week that Shedeur got his shot Colorado head football coach Deion Sanders right embraces his son Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders before a battle against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Nov Shedeur who played at Colorado in and was making his first start in the NFL Brian Howell Daily Camera Everybody starts different places and like I say just because I didn t get the summer reps just because I wasn t in the best situation for me to be prepared to go out there and execute like from a summer standpoint that s how life is Shedeur disclosed Everybody s not in the best situation but there s no excuse You got to go out there and perform Sanders is used to performing but also used to being the main guy at quarterback The past seven months have created a different experience for him I learned a lot mentally he mentioned I feel like I m able to understand more I was invariably great at understanding perspectives and stuff because you got to really take a deep dive on how we grew up With a Pro Football Hall of Famer as a father Shedeur grew up in a nice home and having all of his demands met But his father also put the boys in different experiences so they d learn including having them play football in lower-income areas so they could get that dawg in us Shedeur s invariably had chosen dawg in him which is why he set records in high school at Jackson State for two seasons and at Colorado There were plenty of times this season however that it appeared he may not get a shot with the Browns Coming up here before y all six seven months ago I couldn t tell you I d be here he reported God s the only way I m able to even get through everything It led me to a whole different understanding and it led me in my own experience with God with having faith when nobody else can help you in your situation but God So that s why I m truly thankful and I m truly happy It s the first time I never had stress I did the work I did everything I can in my power I was able to do So the rest was left up to him Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders celebrates after the Cleveland Browns defeated the Las Vegas Raiders in an NFL football championship Sunday Nov in Las Vegas AP Photo Eric Gay Shedeur made his NFL debut a week earlier coming off the bench against the Baltimore Ravens He struggled going -for- for yards and an interception in a - loss On Sunday he wasn t perfect but he was efficient A bomb to fellow rookie Isaiah Bond for a -yard gain set up a touchdown run He completed a -yard pass to Jerry Jeudy Then he threw a swing pass to Dylan Sampson that went for a -yard touchdown and a - lead in the fourth quarter Whether the performance was enough to remain the starter isn t known Browns coach Kevin Stefanski wouldn t commit to a starter for next week s championship against the San Francisco ers I m not going to get into that Stefanski declared I m proud of him proud of this offense and there are a ton of things to learn from For Shedeur though it was a day that was a long time coming and he relished the opportunity I enjoyed it I enjoyed it a lot he commented A lot of people want to see me fail and it ain t gonna happen It ain t gonna happen The fact that I got an opportunity and I was able to show the organization show everybody who I really am then that was truly exciting I was off-balance for a little bit the past couple months in my life But it was different I m thankful to be back where I am