“I Know I Have It in Me”: Shedeur Sanders on Replicating Joe Burrow’s Rookie Record in Cleveland

Ever since AC/DC first debuted their hit single, “It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘N’ Roll),” more than 30 years ago, the chorus of the song has been used to refer to the fact that you’ll experience a great deal of adversity while pursuing your goals. For those over the age of 40, it’s a rather redundant track, but for members of the newer generations, such as Shedeur Sanders, it’s been a rather painful lesson to discover.

After being heralded as an early first-round draft pick, Shedeur Sanders has endured the most unprecedented slide in the history of the NFL Draft, falling all the way down to the Cleveland Browns at the 144th spot. Once he arrived, however, he was promptly buried at the bottom of a depth chart that once included five other quarterbacks.

Nevertheless, Sanders somehow managed to find his way into the starting role, and it’s clear that he isn’t willing to look back. The 23-year-old managed to throw for 364 passing yards and three touchdowns against the Tennessee Titans in Week 15, drawing heaps of praise for being the first and only other QB to do so in their third career start since Tom Brady.

When you factor in his rushing touchdown, he’s just the second rookie QB to record such a stat line, with Joe Burrow being the only other one. Sanders has also enjoyed four pass plays of 50+ yards throughout his first three starts, a feat that only Aaron Rodgers has accomplished since the turn of the century.

Simply put, even though the Browns were unable to come away with the victory, it was a monumental performance for Sanders, whose self-belief has not once faltered. “I know I have it in me,” the rookie noted while speaking with ESPN Cleveland. “I’m just thankful to showcase it.”

His development has been readily apparent throughout the past three weeks, but Sanders is crediting much of that to his head coach, Kevin Stefanski, for patiently answering his endless number of questions. “I have a lot of questions,” he admitted. “It’s so I can have a better understanding of exactly what you’re looking for.”

In typical QB1 fashion, however, Sanders also suggested that his individual success doesn’t mean much when it doesn’t translate to wins. “It’s cool and all, but we’d rather get the dub.”

Thankfully, Sanders and the rest of his pack will have an opportunity to do just that when they travel to Soldier Field to take on the 9-4 Chicago Bears. It won’t be easy, but the weatherman is calling for single-digit temperatures on game day, making it just the 11th time in Chicago’s history that a game will be played with temperatures below 10 degrees.

That frigid environment should help to create the exact kind of low-scoring, gritty affair that Cleveland tends to thrive in, so don’t be too surprised if you see Sanders’ hot streak melt through the snow in Chicago this Sunday.