Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders will make his NFL debut as the starting QB on Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders after going 4-for-16 for 47 passing yards and an interception in the game. second half of a 27-20 loss to the Baltimore Ravens last Sunday.
Sanders will be the 18th different starting QB to debut for the Browns since 1999 (when the franchise returned to Cleveland) – and the previous 17 all lost.
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Will Sunday’s game in Las Vegas have a different outcome for Sanders and the Browns?
Cleveland opened as 3-point underdogs against the Raiders at BetMGMand the line moved to Vegas -4 after rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel was ruled out and Sanders was named the starter. The majority of bets on several sports betting sites are on the Browns. The game total, which started at 37.5, fell to 36.
Sanders’ passing yardage prop is currently 163.5 yards at PariMGMlowest among NFL Week 12 starting QBs, and lowest for any starting QB this season outside of Justin Fields of the New York Jets. He’s up a few meters from his opening score of 159.5 a few days ago.
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Yahoo Sports surveyed several bettors, all of whom agreed that Sanders currently ranks 32nd among NFL starting QBs. With a full week of start rehearsals for the first time in his careerall eyes will be on how Sanders looks against a ranking Raiders defense 14th in DVOA17th in yards allowed and 24th in points allowed.
“He hasn’t shown anything that would put him above the 32nd QB,” said Joey Feazel, head NFL trader at Caesars Sportsbook. “I don’t think Dillon Gabriel is that good, and it took Gabriel getting a concussion to get Sanders in.”
In other words, several bettors agreed that current Minnesota Vikings starting quarterback JJ McCarthy would be worth 2.5-3 points more against the spread than Sanders.
“Ultimately, he has to demonstrate that he is a competent backup in the NFL, not a starter,” Thomas Gable, director of sports betting at the Borgata in Atlantic City, told Yahoo Sports. “If he can show that, that’s a huge step forward in a week. I don’t have high expectations for him. Against the Raiders defense, it’s not like he’s going against one of the heavyweights in the league.”
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Another veteran bettor was a bit more pessimistic, noting that he “expected 10 points or less” from Sanders in his Browns debut.
Either way, there’s a lot more interest in a 2-8 Browns team facing a 2-8 Raiders team than there was a week ago. What happens in Vegas will ripple throughout the NFL.
