Shedeur Sanders’ Win: Skip Bayless Shades Tom Brady, Ryan Clark Sends Kevin Stefanski a Message

Well, Shedeur Sanders has finally done it. After enduring the most diabolical slide in the history of the NFL Draft, Shedeur was only given a week’s worth of first-team reps before he was handed a start by the Browns against the Raiders on Sunday. The former Buffs star, however, managed to overcome the odds and record his first win as an NFL starter.

Shedeur, who was accompanied by Cleveland’s top-ranked defense, gave the Browns their third win of the regular season and their first victory since Week 7 in mid-October. Before the start of the contest, the Browns were booked as 3-point underdogs.

But Sanders didn’t get that memo. It’s a benchmark win for not just the 2024 Golden Arm winner, but also his supporters in the media, like Skip Bayless and Ryan Clark.

Ever since he first began to fall on night one of the 2025 NFL Draft, Bayless has been there to advocate for Sanders. He’s called for the second-generation athlete to receive a chance on numerous occasions, and now that he’s made the most of this one, it’s safe to say that the former Undisputed host will be taking a victory lap across social media for the next several days.

And Skip went straight for the GOAT in one of his posts on X, written in all caps, possibly for impact! “So happy for Shedeur Sanders. Show ’em, young man! You just threw a Vegas party on Tom Brady’s team — the one that had 7 chances to pick you and didn’t, clearly because Brady advised them not to,” wrote Bayless.

ESPN’s Ryan Clark wasn’t far behind, either. The former Pittsburgh Steeler has been just as vocal about his stance on Sanders as anyone. And in light of the 2024 Golden Arm winner’s success against the Raiders in Week 12, he now believes that Sanders should get the nod again in Week 13.

Thanks to a 24-10 scoreboard, Sanders is officially the first quarterback to win his career debut as a Cleveland Brown since 1999. So even though his completion percentage, as well as an early turnover, left a lot to be desired, his performance was still one that we haven’t seen since the turn of the century.

Naturally, this will make things a lot harder for Kevin Stefanski, who will now have to justify his decision not to play Shedeur. Cleveland’s coaching staff had been particularly fond of Dillon Gabriel before the concussion that ruled him out of Week 12. And even though Shedeur was able to find success in the desert, Gabriel may still be favored moving forward.

Nevertheless, Shedeur, the 144th overall draft pick, was able to help the Browns find their sixth win since December of 2023. That’ll likely be more than enough to put some extra pressure on Stefanski and Co. whenever Gabriel is finally healthy and prepared to return.

In the meantime, however, let us all rejoice in the fact that, after months and months of setbacks and controversy, Sanders’ time has finally arrived.