It is not often that preseason NFL games get a lot of attention, but quarterback Shedeur Sanders starting for the Cleveland Browns on Friday night got a lot of people excited.
Despite being the fourth-string QB, Sanders got the start because Kenny Pickett and Dillon Gabriel were nursing injuries. Sanders went on to have an excellent performance, completing 14 of 23 passing attempts for 138 yards and two TDs.
Shedeur Sanders is a divisive player and has as many supporters as he does detractors. One person who supported him in his performance on Friday was former NBA star DeMarcus Cousins. He tweeted, saying that his haters were in shambles.
The Shedeur haters in shambles rn 🤣🤣🤣
— DeMarcus Cousins (@boogiecousins) August 9, 2025
Cousins coming to the defense of Sanders led to a big reaction from fans on X.
“Dudes taking victory laps over a guy playing Ok in a preseason game against third stringers is all time hilarious. Gonna be fun listening to all the excuses when the inevitable happens,” one fan wrote.
“I was critical of his play coming into the league. But I was impressed with this game from him,” one fan commented.
“Because of a pre season game against one of the worst defenses in football last year?” one fan added.
Fans continued to react in the comments.
“I have no problem with him. Great athlete. I can see where some folks might not want to deal with him but that’s their loss,” one fan wrote.
“Honestly I’m loving it cuz I can’t wait for what happens in the actual league,” one fan commented.
“Talk to me when he’s not throwing against guys who’ll be selling insurance next month,” one fan added.
Shedeur Sanders Impresses Cleveland Head Coach Kevin Stefanski in His Debut
Part of the story heading into Shedeur Sanders’ debut was that he could struggle because of his limited reps with the first team. Many analysts speculated that Sanders could struggle against a Panthers team that was playing many of its starters.
That was not the case and it impressed head coach Kevin Stefanski. He spoke about Sanders’ performance after the game.
“Pleased with Shedeur, pleased with the offense,” Stefanski said.
Stefanski went on to say that it was not a perfect performance and there was plenty for Shedeur Sanders to learn from. However, he emphasized that it was a fine performance and should help him learn a lot. Despite his strong performance, Joe Flacco is still expected to be the Week 1 starter.
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