Browns' Shedeur Sanders getting blasted by fans for goofy 4th-and-26 decision originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Let's get this out of the way first. To be fair to Shedeur Sanders, the game was for all intents and purposes over.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe San Francisco 49ers were going to handily beat the Cleveland Browns no matter what happened on the play in question. That had long since been decided based on the way Sanders and all the other players on the field had performed for the entirety of the contest on Sunday.
But Sanders is still catching a lot of heat for how he handled a late-game situation with a big deficit.
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The Browns faced a fourth-and-26 (sounds about right for Cleveland's football team). They trailed 26-8. There was less than two minutes to play.
Sanders dropped back, looking for someone, anyone, down the field.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementEvidently, he didn't like what he saw. Sanders took off running instead, but he quickly realized there would be no 26-yard scamper.
Instead, he pretty much gave himself up after six yards.
This is how people feel about that:
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Of course, there's the obvious point that on a fourth down, it's better to chuck the ball down field and at least give a wide receiver a chance.
By the same token, in this spot, maybe it was best to stay out of harm's way, get off the field and prepare for next week.
It certainly was an underwhelming end to an underwhelming day for Sanders and the Browns, but because it's Shedeur, it's a play that's getting a whole lot of attention. That just comes with the territory.
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