CLEVELAND — Shedeur Sanders wasn’t that concerned about what the Baltimore Ravens did or didn’t do against the Green Bay Packers. That was even if the result of their game was going to impact the Browns’ quarterback’s own game some 14 hours or so later.
“I watched like one drive and then I went to sleep,” Sanders said after the Browns’ 13-6 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. “Yeah, I’d be going to sleep early nowadays. I feel like I be running out of time.”
If Sanders didn’t know what the Ravens had done when he went to bed Saturday night, he knew when he woke up Sunday. That’s where he saw a missed call from his former training camp teammate Tyler Huntley, who had quarterbacked Baltimore in the win over the Packers.
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The Ravens needed the Browns to beat Pittsburgh in order to keep their AFC North title hopes alive, which now comes down to the Week 18 meeting between the Steelers and Ravens in Pittsburgh. That, however, wasn’t the only reason for the phone call.
“I’m like, ‘Dang, bro. Why are you still up?,'” Sanders said. “And he was like, ‘Bro, I’m excited, bro.’ He was excited. They just got to win and he was definitely words of encouragement and stuff for me. But that’s just how he is.
“He’s not just doing that just because it gives them a chance now. I think the overall person he is and the time that we have spent together, he did nothing but speak life into me and I truly appreciate him for that.”
Sanders and Huntley spent 20 days as teammates during training camp, from Aug. 4-24. At the time, the former was just a rookie fifth-round pick the Browns hoped to develop, while the latter was just a camp body necessitated by multiple quarterback injuries.
Four months later, Sanders and Huntley had found a way to reconnect their path in an indirect manner. The former is in the midst of a season-ending audition to be QB1 for the Browns going into the offseason, while the latter was called upon to try and help save the Ravens’ season.
Sanders believes the positivity the two connected over in August has led to the moments both found themselves enjoying on Sunday.
“I think because I always smiling and he always smiling,” Sanders said of what connected the two originally. “I think that’s what it is. And then we just talked and just had a conversation about God and why he feels like he was sent here just to give me the words of encouragement to keep me going and understand his story and understand how things panned out for him also. So he always told me be ready and anytime I talk to him, he always positive. People with the same vibe usually like get along with each other.”
The irony is that Sanders’ path to starting against the Steelers started with an off-the-bench performance against the Ravens in Week 11. That half of football, necessitated because of a concussion to Dillon Gabriel, led to what will ultimately be seven starts, including the season finale against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Start No. 6, against the Steelers, couldn’t have started much better, with Sanders leading the Browns to a 10-0 first-quarter lead. He finish 17-of-23 passing for 186 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions, good for a 75.6 passer rating.
“I would say overall I’m able to see the field and the game slow down for sure,” Sanders said. “I think the main thing is I just like throwing the ball. I just like throwing the ball a lot. And in some situations, you can’t just throw your dog a bone sometimes. You’ve got to be able to know when it’s calculated risk, but I feel like our players are better than their player, so I just gave my guy a chance and we just ain’t come down with it and that’s just how I go.”
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Shedeur Sanders heeds Tyler Huntley’s ‘words of encouragement’ before win
Reporting by Chris Easterling, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
