Shedeur Sanders wins his 1st NFL start as Browns shut down Raiders

LAS VEGAS — Browns rookie Shedeur Sanders passed for 209 yards and a touchdown in his NFL starting debut, and Myles Garrett had three of Cleveland’s 10 sacks in a 24-10 victory over the Raiders on Sunday, the fifth straight loss for Las Vegas.

The Browns (3-8) ended a three-game skid while starting their 42nd quarterback since the franchise’s return in 1999. Sanders replaced fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel, who’s in the concussion protocol, and ended a 17-game losing streak by Cleveland QBs making their first start.

Sanders can thank the Browns’ ferocious defensive front, which was no match for the Raiders’ porous offensive line. Las Vegas has allowed 20 sacks over the past three weeks.

Garrett now has 18 sacks this season to break his franchise record of 16, set twice. With six games left, he needs five sacks to break the NFL record of 22 1/2 set by Michael Strahan in 2001 and T.J. Watt in 2021.

Garrett has 14 sacks over the past five games, the most in a five-game span since sacks became an official statistic in 1982. He also had two forced fumbles, four tackles for loss and six quarterback hits on Sunday.

Running back Quinshon Judkins scored two first-quarter touchdowns for Cleveland on direct snaps out of the wildcat formation.

Las Vegas (2-9), which has lost nine of 10, punted eight times, turned it over on downs twice and lost a fumble. The Raiders offense was booed frequently by the Allegiant Stadium crowd.

Geno Smith passed for 285 yards and a touchdown, though many of those yards came late with the Browns playing soft on defense. Maxx Crosby had a personal-high five tackles for loss.

Sanders’ presence brought a bit of juice to this mid-November battle of bottom-of-the-barrel teams. Deion Sanders, the Hall of Fame player and current Colorado coach, hugged his son before the game.

When asked by a CBS sideline reporter before the game what Browns fans should hope to see, Shedeur Sanders said, “I’m who they’ve been looking for.”

He showed that late in the first quarter, escaping a blitz to find Isaiah Bond for a 52-yard pass to the 2-yard line, drawing an I-can’t-believe-he-did-that look from Garrett on the sideline. That throw ended a 15-game drought without a 50-yard completion for Cleveland’s quarterback.

In the fourth quarter, Sanders dumped off a pass to running back Dylan Sampson, who turned it into a 66-yard TD.

The Browns ended a five-game losing streak to the Raiders. Their most recent victory was on Oct. 26, 2014, a 23-13 win at Cleveland.