Shedeur Sanders’ first home start has everyone hyped up

The Cleveland Browns host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday in a game filled with numerous storylines.

Cleveland will be looking to win consecutive games for the first time since a four-game winning streak in December of 2023. The 49ers, meanwhile, are on the hunt for a fourth win in five games as they remain in a tight battle in the NFC West Division.

Myles Garrett will continue his quest to break the official record for sacks in a season. Garrett enters the game with 18 sacks, just 4.5 behind record holders Michael Strahan and T.J. Watt, and after picking up 14 sacks in the past five games, Garrett breaking the record on Sunday in front of the home fans is not as crazy as it sounds.

All that takes a back seat, of course, to the only storyline that matters across the entire NFL universe on Sunday, which, of course, is the home debut of Shedeur Sanders as the starting quarterback.

Fresh off a respectable debut against the Las Vegas Raiders, Sanders will look to build off that modest outing after a second week of practice reps with the first team as the hype continues to build both inside and outside the Browns universe.

The biggest moments from Sanders against the Raiders were a 52-yard completion to wide receiver Isaiah Bond that led to Cleveland’s first touchdown, a 39-yard completion to wide receiver Jerry Jeudy that should have led to a touchdown if not for Jeudy losing the ball on a fumble, and a one-yard toss to running back Dylan Sampson that turned into a 66-yard touchdown reception.

Those are the plays the Browns have been looking for in the offense, and ones that were part of Sanders’ game in college, as left guard Joel Bitonio pointed out this week:

“I think that’s part of his game. You saw it in college. He makes plays, he moves around the pocket. That throw in the moment (to Bond), I didn’t even know, you’re blocking somebody else, but the hit he took while he made that throw was very impressive. But those are the plays I think you saw him flash in college that were like, ‘All right, this guy has some potential to make those on the next level,’ and hopefully we can keep building on it.”

Bitonio is not the only one who was encouraged by Sanders’ debut, as Jason and Travis Kelce also gave the rookie some love on their popular New Heights Podcast:

Travis: Talk your s***, Shedeur. Let’s f*** go! The 45th starting quarterback for the Browns since 1994. The first Browns QB to win in his first official start since 1995. Cleveland has been waiting for this – we have been waiting for this.

Jason: In one game, Shedeur showed them more than they had seen really in any of the games with (Dillon) Gabriel. And that is not a shot at Gabriel; that is just the reality of it. They had at least a big play. It wasn’t like he (Shedeur) was out of this world … he did not have amazing stats. But he made a couple of big plays, and for a first start, he won them a game, had some success, and now we get to see it again.

Those comments may not have reached the level of hype that some of Sanders’ fans believe his performance deserved. Still, they are consistent with what anyone objectively watching the game against the Raiders saw:

• There were things to like about Sanders that the offense can build on, especially with it being his first NFL start.

• Just don’t look too closely at the rushing numbers, third-down conversion rate, or any advanced metrics. But those can be cleaned up.

• And having him as the starting quarterback turns what would otherwise be a dreary game against the 49ers into one worth tuning into.

Which, at this point in another lost Browns season, is good enough.