Shedeur Sanders Calls Out Critics Who Want to See Him 'Fail,' 'It Ain't Gonna Happen'

Shedeur Sanders struggled in his NFL debut last week, but he responded well in his first start on Sunday.

Sanders earned the starting nod against the Las Vegas Raiders with typical starter Dillon Gabriel still in concussion protocol. He made the most of the opportunity after last week's outing, throwing for 209 yards, a touchdown and an interception on 11-of-20 passing in a 24-10 win.

▶️  Full Browns-Raiders Recap

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The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Browns, though they still have virtually no chance of making the postseason at 3-8.

After the game, Sanders let fans know that he's here to stay.

"A lot of people wanted to see me fail," he told reporters. "It ain't gonna happen."

He added that he wasn't stressed coming into the game because of the work he put in.

"This is the first time I never had stress," he said. "I did the work. I did everything I was supposed to do."

As for what it meant to beat the Raiders, a team that was linked to him coming into the draft, Sanders said he wasn't making it out to be more than it was.

"I was a fifth round pick," he said. "I got skipped by everybody at least five times."

Sanders has had an interesting few months since leaving Colorado.

After a tremendous collegiate career, he was widely anticipated to be a first-round draft pick, but ended up sliding all the way to the fifth round. There were a handful of theories as to why Sanders fell so much in the draft, but he ultimately had to put it behind him and focus on the season ahead.

He began the year fourth on the Browns' depth chart before moving up to the backup spot following trades that sent quarterbacks Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett elsewhere.

Sanders finally made his debut last week after Gabriel's concussion, but it was a rough first outing. He threw for 47 yards and an interception on 4-of-16 passing, though it was his first time getting snaps with the first team, head coach Kevin Stefanski revealed after the game.

Though Sanders still has much to prove before he's a regular starter in the NFL, he showed flashes of what he's capable on Sunday, and he'll look to continue that kind of play whenever he gets his chance.