5 predictions for Shedeur Sanders vs. the Raiders in his 1st NFL start

With Cleveland Browns rookie signal-caller Dillon Gabriel on the shelf with a head injury, fellow rookie Shedeur Sanders is in line to finally get an opportunity to start at the highest level. The Browns have named him their starting quarterback for their Sunday bout against the Las Vegas Raiders.

Fortunately for Sanders, he will pick up his first start against a Raiders team that’s been less than stellar this season. Las Vegas is just 2-8 on the season and 1-8 since winning its first game of the campaign.

Ahead of the 2025 fifth-round pick’s first professional start, let’s make five predictions regarding how he will fare against the Raiders.

1. He’ll record his first NFL touchdown

In Sanders’ season debut last week after he entered in relief, he registered an interception but didn’t throw a touchdown. He will finally record a touchdown at the highest level this coming Sunday.

In fact, he will be responsible for two touchdowns: one on the ground and another in the air. Sanders isn’t exactly a dual-threat quarterback who is going to change the game with his legs, but he did have eight rushing touchdowns over his last two collegiate seasons.

His passing touchdown will come in the opening quarter of the contest, and he will find rookie tight end Harold Fannin Jr. in the end zone. Fannin has been one of the better tight ends in football this season, and he’s the Browns’ leader in total receiving yards at 422.

Sanders will then score his first rushing touchdown as a pro in the fourth quarter, which will give the Browns a comfortable lead and essentially put the game away.

2. He’ll struggle to be accurate with his throws

Sanders completed just four of his 16 passes in his season debut, and that came as a surprise to some folks because of how precise he was with his passes in college. He’s actually the all-time leader in completion percentage at the FBS level at 71.8 percent, but he was throwing incomplete passes left and right against the Baltimore Ravens.

The prediction here is that he will continue to miss some targets this weekend against Las Vegas. The rookie will throw his fair share of passes — 30 to be exact — but he’ll barely complete over half of them. He will complete 16 of his tries and make some inaccurate throws that will leave Browns fans scratching their heads.

Sanders’ showing on Sunday will only further solidify that passing accuracy at the collegiate level doesn’t always immediately translate to the pros. It will also confirm that he has a lot of room for improvement in that area of his game. But for a guy that’s hardly received any first-team reps, he has a right to display some growing pains.

3. He’ll turn the ball over more than once

Sanders’ struggles to throw accurate passes will have a trickle-down effect in the sense that it will impact more than the number of incomplete passes he throws. It will also lead to him turning the ball over on more than one occasion throughout the entire contest.

The prediction? He will tally two interceptions against the Raiders. While the play of Las Vegas’ defensive unit has been unpredictable this season, it employs multiple players with multiple picks on the season in Kyu Blu Kelly and Isaiah Pola-Mao. They will each come up with one interception against Sanders.

Turnovers will be an interesting storyline to watch when it comes to Sanders. The Browns reportedly don’t think he is turnover-prone, and they seem to believe his habit of taking sacks is a larger issue.

“The Browns believe that Sanders is not turnover-prone despite problems with that last Sunday against the Ravens,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote. “The bigger issue is his tendency to take sacks. If he can curb that issue, the Browns think he has the arm talent to make plays. They will try to scheme up some throws and plays to protect him in that area. As for Gabriel, I’d be surprised if he doesn’t resume starting duties upon his return. Perhaps Sanders can change that Sunday with his performance, though.”

We’ll see if Sanders can protect the ball on Sunday.

4. He will indeed get sacked quite a bit

The Browns’ apparent concern about Sanders’ tendency to get sacked will be more than justified following his play on Sunday. In limited action in his season debut, he got sacked twice, and he will consistently get brought down by the Raiders’ defensive unit this weekend.

By the time the clock runs out and the game is over, Sanders will have been sacked five times. He will take enough of a beating that Cleveland’s offense will shift to being particularly run-heavy in the second half out of concern for the rookie.

Of course, the quarterback alone can’t always be blamed when it comes to sacks, but if Sanders wants to get to a point where he’s a consistent starter at the highest level, he’ll have to find ways to avoid being frequently tackled for loss.

5. He’ll still lead the Browns to a win

There will be a lot of ups and downs to Sanders’ debut as a starting quarterback, but he’ll still ultimately do enough to lead the Browns to just their third win of the season on Sunday.

He will finish with 200 passing yards and one passing touchdown to go along with 25 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown. Moreover, with him spearheading the offense, the Browns will score 20 points as a team.

That point total will be enough to best a Raiders squad that has been sputtering on the offensive side of the ball in recent weeks. Las Vegas has scored just 23 points across its last two games combined, and it will muster just 10 more on Sunday.

Would the Browns still win on Sunday win despite all of Sanders’ growing pains if they played a premier team? Probably not, but against the Raiders, he will be able to somewhat get away with his mistakes.