The big picture: Could this be Shedor Sanders’ only chance to prove himself?

Why can’t we say Shedeur Sanders was bad in his NFL debut?

He was bad.

That doesn’t mean he’ll forever be a bad player. Or that he’s a bad person. In fact, after the game, he said just the opposite. No, seriously.

“I’m a good person,” Sanders said at the podium.

But Sanders doesn’t have time to be a bad NFL quarterback. As a late-round pick, he won’t get many chances to prove he can be an effective pro. So far, he’s 0-for 1. He’s going to start Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders. He can’t be anywhere near as bad as he was against the Baltimore Ravens.

In that game, Sanders entered early in the second half with a six-point lead after Browns starter Dillon Gabriel suffered a concussion. Sanders had 21 dropbacks and 16 passing attempts. He completed four passes for 47 yards with one interception, two sacks, a 13.5 passer rating and a completion percentage over expected of -21.1%.

There’s obviously context to all those (horrendous) stats. It’s the Cleveland Browns, after all. It’s hell for a quarterback. And that’s exactly what Sanders experienced in his limited action on Sunday. The Browns — as much as the Ravens — gave him hell.

It’s fair to note that context. But it’s also fair to say that Sanders was bad.

It has nothing to do with his name. It has nothing to do with his pre-draft grade or his post-draft status. It has nothing to do with his LEGENDARY brand or his social media persona. 

“The bottom line is, as a backup quarterback, you’ve got to come in on short notice. And you can’t throw interceptions,” former journeyman backup Chase Daniel said on his YouTube channel while breaking down Sanders’ game film. “So honestly, it could not have started worse.”

On his second drive, Sanders threw an interception — the first of many mistakes in the game. He demonstrated growth at a few points, most notably executing a passing concept that, earlier in the game, he botched. It wasn’t just his biggest throw of the game — a 25-yard pass to tight end Harold Fannin Jr. — it was his biggest win from a developmental standpoint.

But Sanders couldn’t get the ball into the end zone on that drive. 

It was the same story on Cleveland’s final drive.

On one throw — an incompletion that receiver Gage Larvadain couldn’t rip away from tight coverage — the Browns QB could have hit a wide open Jerry Jeudy to pick up the first down. And Jeudy should’ve been Sanders’ primary read.

This is all true! Frankly, it’s not contestable. 

But Sanders’ supporters will want more context. So let’s get back to it. The Ravens blitzed Sanders on 38.1% of his dropbacks, and even though Baltimore repeated a number of the same blitzes (often including a pick stunt), the Browns’ offensive line and running backs simply did not execute proper pass protection. Which was why Sanders looked like vintage Sanders from his days at Colorado: running for his life. He tried to play hero ball — taking long sacks, incurring a grounding penalty and, in one case, escaping the rush and nearly making a heroic throw (which ultimately fell incomplete).

“It’s the first time I got hit since my last game at Colorado — just having that feeling back is good,” Sanders said. He later added that “it truly was exciting” to get to play with the first team for the first time all year.

Tucked in there, Sanders provided more context: No snaps with the first team.

NONE?! some wondered. ZERO?! HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE!??!?!

It’s actually commonplace for teams to reserve every practice snap for their starter. Now, that might be an institutional issue league-wide. But it’s an issue that every backup faces. That likely includes Kirk Cousins, for example. That included longtime backups like Daniel, Luke McCown and Brian Hoyer.

“[Backup QBs] Come and fight [and] You have been rated [off] This performance. “Right or wrong, the league is judging you.” McCown said in a lengthy tweet about Sanders on Sunday. “That’s why it’s so hard for backups to have a long career where they weren’t at one point a full-time starter.”

That doesn’t mean some teams don’t split snaps into backups. Last year, quarterback Drake Maye received nearly 30 percent of the team’s snaps, even when he was a reserve. It was a deliberate and extraordinary effort to develop the young midfielder. But Maye was the third overall pick. Sanders went 144th.

The debate over whether Sanders should receive more coaching snaps has two sides. Point: Gabriel needed every shot he could get to develop and prepare. Counterpoint: Gabriel was not So It’s a good thing he should have kept Sanders off the field, at least, for a few snaps here and there.

Coach Kevin Stefanski can think outside the box and split up shots. But then he might face questions inside the locker room about indecision — and prioritizing winning every week.

I can’t take sides because we don’t know what Sanders’ work ethic and scout team performance were like behind the scenes. What we do know is that Sanders botched his primary interviews in part due to an apparent lack of preparation. It remains to be seen if he has put his head down since then to earn more reps as a starter.

But on Sunday, he opened a small window into his way of thinking. When asked if he saw any positives in his performance, here’s how he answered:

“Losing is not something I’m comfortable with. I’ve just got to accept this loss. I’ve got to take the pressure off. It’s already happened while I’ve been around. I don’t like that feeling. I know offensively if I can get out there and get a shot, I’ll be able to take everything to the next level,” Sanders said.

He concluded the press conference with this thought: “The feeling of loss – that’s not something I’ll be comfortable with. Not on my watch.”

Sanders will get a decent start on Sunday. He will get a week to prepare with the starters.

As is the case this week, the world will measure it – in a polarizing way – despite the small sample size.

We will get a fairer evaluation. Some elements will still be unfair, including the fact that Cleveland’s offensive line isn’t that good. In the end, this will only be his first start. Broncos quarterback Bo Nicks looked like hot garbage in his first start, but look at him now — he’s excelling as the game manager for the top seed in the AFC. First-round picks get all the benefits in the world when it comes to development (as we noticed in Maye’s practice footage).

If things are fair, we can wait and see what Sanders develops into — even if it means he competes for a starting job on another NFL roster during 2026 training camp. But he won’t get much time. That’s not how the league works.

First, he needs to try to convince Brown that he should invest more time with him — whether in coaching this year or next. If that fails, it could get ugly. The Browns could move on from Sanders this offseason, whether Stefanski sticks around or not. Then what? Every team passed on Sanders in the draft. They may do the same if he becomes a free agent in March.

So the young midfielder is playing for his future.

Before his first start in the NFL, he has to prepare because nothing else matters in his life. He needs to use this preparation to completely avoid transitions and reduce cysts. And he needs to almost turn a few Sunday touchdowns into actual touchdowns.

It’s a long task. It’s an unfair task.

But it is the reality of the situation.

No single game should determine the outcome of an NFL player’s career.

However, for Sanders, this may be the case.

Before joining FOX Sports as an NFL reporter and columnist, Henry McKenna He spent seven years covering it Patriots For USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @HenrysMkina.

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