The rookie from Colorado made his much anticipated first regular season appearance in relief of Dillon Gabriel, stepping in at halftime and immediately embracing what he called “the opportunity” he’s been waiting on. “First and foremost, I want to thank God for giving me the chance to get out there,”Shedeur Sanders said. “That’s all you could ask for…to get your feet wet…to experience how it feels.” He found out he was entering “right at halftime,” saying the moment he was told, “It’s time for me to step up.”
He admitted the performance wasn’t what he expected of himself. “I don’t think I played good. I don’t think I played good at all,” he said, pointing to timing issues with the first-team receivers. “I think that was my first ball to him all year…it was just rough overall.” Still, he didn’t hide his excitement about finally being back in live competition. “It’s the first time I got hit since my last game at Colorado,” he said. “Just having that feeling back is good…I know I’m made for it.”
Despite the struggles, Sanders believed the final drive was going to be the one. “I think every throw is going to be complete until it’s not,” he said. He talked up Gage as “a dog,” and when asked about the interception, he refused to overthink it. “I don’t think too much in that. I just take what come with it.” He said the biggest adjustment was the speed and the difference in how top-tier receivers get into and out of routes. “Playing quarterback is extremely hard,” he said. “I like knowing every detail about my receivers…what they’re good at, what they’re not good at.”
Then Sanders revealed something rare for a rookie quarterback, an awareness of how his popularity can unintentionally create pressure for the teammate he replaced. “I’m extremely thankful…seeing all them 12 jerseys out there,” he said. But he quickly shifted tone. “When Dillon out there playing…I appreciate the fans, I appreciate everybody, but…I’m a good person overall. So I don’t really like him not feeling comfortable, confident, you know, when he gets out there.”
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He didn’t blame the fans, but he made it clear the dynamic made him uneasy. “It puts everything in a tough spot, you know, and it’s not helping the team,” he said. Then came the line that revealed the weight of the moment: “That could be taken as, okay, I’m being a distraction even though I ain’t doing nothing. I’m not doing nothing.”
The gratitude remained ashe said he “definitely felt” the crowd lift when he entered, but so did the discomfort. Sanders wasn’t just reacting to a loss. He was reacting to the energy in the building, the jerseys, the expectation that arrives the moment his helmet goes on. For a player making his first regular season appearance, it was a striking level of emotional maturity.
He finished the night taking full responsibility. “Losing isn’t something I’m comfortable with at all,” he said. “I just got to take this one…I don’t like the feeling.” He acknowledged that the loss happened with him on the field, and he didn’t run from it. “I know offensively if I’m able to get out there and have a opportunity, I know that I’ll be able to take everything to a different level,” he said. And then he drove home the standard he expects to set, “the feeling of losing, that ain’t nothing we going to get comfortable with like on my watch, for sure.”
Even with the disappointment, Sanders held firm to who he believes he is as a quarterback. “I’m still me. That’ll never go anywhere.”
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