Shedeur Sanders had an incredibly successful first NFL regular-season career start on Sunday, leading the ailing Cleveland Browns to their first victory in months, defeating the Las Vegas Raiders 24-10 at Allegiant Stadium this weekend.
The victory meant that Shedeur Sanders was always going to be favored to start Cleveland’s next game against the San Francisco 49ers. He has been designated the starter for the next encounter, despite Dillon Gabriel being medically cleared.
Shedeur Sanders, on Dillon Gabriel:
“He’s a hard worker. He’s the same guy.”
“He knows how to bond and mesh with different people. Since he’s been back, he’s been good. He’s been cool throughout everything.”
— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) November 26, 2025
Despite having spent much of the season so far as QB3 and then QB2, Shedeur Sanders is being magnanimous in his time of success. Here’s what he recently told the press about his relationship with Gabriel:
“He’s a hard worker. He’s the same guy.”
“He knows how to bond and mesh with different people. Since he’s been back, he’s been good. He’s been cool throughout everything.”
Shedeur Sanders’ game against the Raiders was a solid one, with 209 passing yards, one touchdown, and an interception. That included two 35-plus-yard passes, which showed his ability to go down the field with his arm. His rating for the encounter was 87.3, and his completion percentage was indeed a tad low at 55%.
Deion and Shedeur Sanders’ Reactions to Cleveland’s Victory
Right after the game, Shedeur Sanders spoke with the press, and he made sure to talk back at his haters and disbelievers, following his first NFL regular-season success:
“A lot of people want to see me fail,” Sanders said, “and it ain’t going to happen.”
Deion Sanders was on the stands to see his son win his first game in the NFL, and he reacted to the experience in his most recent press conference with the Colorado Buffaloes. First of all, he was thankful to the Raiders for allowing him into the VIP boxes at Allegiant Stadium:
“I’m thankful for just being allowed to sit up in a box with the opposing [team’s owner],” Sanders said. “The owner of the opposing team to allow the dad of the quarterback on the opposing team to sit in his box. Like, how many times did that happen. Like, that is unbelievable, man.”
He also spoke about how weird it was to see Shedeur play without him on the sidelines:
“… That’s the first time I’ve ever watched him play without me on the sideline,” Sanders said. “I’ve never seen him play without me coaching him. So that was strange but it was good and it was healthy because I was just in straight dad mode. I went into coach mode [before] and I loved that I was able to see him gain the first victory.”
Shedeur Sanders played under Deion Sanders since high school, and most famously at Jackson State first and then at Colorado, becoming the leading passer in school history at the second school.
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