When the Raiders play the Browns in Week 12, they will face QB Shedeur Sanders, who is making his first regular season start.
While the Raiders have limited film on Sanders with the Browns – as he played the second half of Week 11 against the Ravens after QB Dillon Gabriel exited the game with a concussion – Raiders QB Geno Smith is familiar with Sanders on a personal level. Smith said that him and Sanders have known one another since Sanders was in high school. On Nov. 23, the two friends will start against one another and hope to lead their respective teams to a win.
“I’m happy for my guy, man,” Smith said. “[Shedeur Sanders is] a guy who I’ve been talking to for a long time and just happy to see him getting a shot. But unfortunately, it’s against us, but happy to see him get a shot.”
In Sanders’ first NFL start, he will face a Raiders’ defense coached by defensive coordinator Patrick Graham. DE Maxx Crosby spearheads the defense, leading the Raiders with six sacks and is third in the NFL with 14 tackles for loss. Graham said that Sanders needs to stay inside the pocket with a player like Crosby on the other side of the line of scrimmage.
Sanders’ first regular season action offered him a glimpse of what challenges can come if he doesn’t stay in the pocket, being sacked twice by the Ravens in Week 11. Graham and the Raiders’ defense will look to apply pressure and find their way into the backfield. While it will be Sanders’ first start, Graham identified qualities he has that could present an issue for Las Vegas.
“The thing that stood out to me, there are leadership traits,” Graham said. “Obviously, the lineage from his father, great player, so he has been around good football his whole life, knows football. Then, when you watch the tape that stands out, I mean, he can make the throws. There’s some throws, even last week, some throws in the preseason, that were pretty good.”
