The biggest storyline of the weekend in Cleveland was Shedeur Sanders’ highly anticipated preseason start — and he delivered. In 10 series, Sanders led three touchdown drives, completing 14 of 23 passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns. “The kid balled out,” Ryan Tyler said simply.

For many fans, the night was about more than stats. “It was fun to be a Cleveland Browns fan for the first time in what felt like a really long time,” Jack O'Rourke said, recalling the electric atmosphere at Lakewood Truck Park as fans cheered each Browns touchdown.

It’s a feeling Cleveland hasn’t consistently enjoyed since “March 2022 when they made the trade for Deshaun Watson,” and even then, moments of optimism felt temporary according to Nick Pedone. Now, “we are elbow deep in Shedeur Sanders mania.”

Part of Sanders’ instant appeal according to Jack is his swagger. “Seeing Shedeur Sanders walk-in to his own song with a speaker that was probably bigger than me… that was the first time we had like a cool swag or cockiness to us for the first time in forever.” Nike even dropped an ad during the third quarter of a preseason game — for a fourth-string quarterback.

On the field, Sanders’ performance impressed Nick, who entered the night already rooting for him and those trying to judge him as a rookie. “He was comfortable in the pocket… Kevin was scheming people open. He was hitting them in space and delivering the ball.” While there were a few rookie moments — “He turned his back to the defensive line twice” and “there were could have been interceptions that were drops” — his poise and execution were praised.

One reason Sanders may not have seen the same early reps as Dillon Gabriel is playbook familiarity. As Nick explained, “They really like that Dillon Gabriel can recite and repeat their language and their lingo… whereas Shedeur Sanders played in a little bit more of a QB friendly offense at Colorado with his dad.” But Friday’s game showed Sanders could handle the NFL pace: “He was able to relay plays to the line of scrimmage… identify the defense, slide protections, directing motions… all of the things that it takes to run Kevin Stefanski’s offense.”

His pocket presence stood out in key moments. On a third-and-nine deep in their own territory Ryan noted that “he hung in the pocket, delivered a throw right over the middle to convert the first down… that’s huge.” Later, in the red zone, a free rusher came through the A-gap, “Shedeur took one slide right… and he delivered the touchdown.”

While some may dismiss preseason success — “it allows the haters… to say, ‘Oh, well, it was just a preseason game’” — Sanders made throws that transcended the context, including a first touchdown pass “in triple coverage… in the one location that it had to be.”

For now, Nick's takeaway is clear: “There were a lot of reasons to be encouraged, and that’s why pretty much anybody that’s seen practice with their own two eyes have told you that Shedeur Sanders and Joe Flacco are probably the two best QBs out there.”