There’s no way around it, football fans. Shedeur Sanders had a terrible, dreadful debut. After replacing Dillon Gabriel, who left in the third quarter with a concussion, Shedeur had a 16-10 lead to work with and plenty of excitement behind him. The same home crowd that had been booing the offense recently was suddenly fired up. But the Colorado product proceeded to blow the game, while looking atrocious through and through.
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Shedeur ended the day completing just 4 of 16 passes for 47 yards. He threw an interception, scored no touchdowns, and posted a brutal 2.4 QBR. He did add 16 rushing yards on three attempts, but that was the lone bright spot in an otherwise disastrous outing.
Perhaps the worst part of the debut was that Shedeur coughed up the lead to a division rival and lost the game. Sure, the Baltimore Ravens were expected to win, and maybe the Browns would’ve still come back with Gabriel in the game. But Shedeur made things harder, not easier, and the offense completely unraveled under his watch.
After the contest, cameras caught Shedeur sitting alone on the sideline, staring blankly into the distance, looking crushed by his performance. Then, moments later, LaJohntay Wester, his former Colorado teammate and now a Ravens wideout, came over and sat beside him in a now-viral clip. Perhaps Wester was offering a bit of comfort on a brutal night.
From college to the pros, brothers for life. pic.twitter.com/AtWAiuzVQT
— NFL (@NFL) November 17, 2025
In the clip, Shedeur didn’t seem to say anything, but Wester did. Naturally, everyone wondered what the latter could’ve possibly been saying. After all, Shedeur had just played horribly, and Wester hadn’t caught a pass all season.
Many NFL fans in the comments even took a crack at guessing what Wester was saying. “‘Damn we both played like s**t today huh lol’ -Probably Wester,” one fan cheekily wrote.
“‘Neither of us belong in this league.. Can you believe we’re getting paid for this?’” another joked. “‘Tough loss, but good to see you, bro,’” someone else guessed.
Although one person had some thoughtful analysis on the Shedeur situation:
“I’m not rooting for or against Sanders. I find the hype annoying, but that’s not entirely his fault. Regardless, dude is out there pursuing a dream and facing ridiculous amounts of scrutiny. It’s good to see people in his corner even during struggles,” they wrote.
Shedeur has indeed faced a ton of scrutiny since coming into the league. Now with his first taste of NFL action behind us, he’s only going to face more of it. And he deserves it for now, but that doesn’t mean his career is over.
It was just one bad start to Shedeur’s career on Sunday, and he will have more chances to correct himself. Admittedly, there were flashes of solid QB play at times, like on 3rd and 3 in the third quarter when he evaded pressure and scrambled for a first down. He also led the Cleveland Browns down the field and gave them a chance to tie as time whittled down.
However, Shedeur’s sack issues persisted in his debut. He was only sacked twice, but for 27 yards, a killer amount that essentially ended both drives. If he wants to see more playing time, he’s going to need to kick that problem, regardless of how bad the Browns’ offensive line may be.
All in all, though, it was nice to see Wester come and support Shedeur after a rough debut. Nobody was expecting things to go sideways like they did on Sunday. But now that they have, Shedeur is going to have to pick up the pieces, get back to work, and prove that he deserves to be in the NFL. We’re confident that he can do it, but only time will tell.
