Browns OC supports Shedeur Sanders despite bad showing against Bears

It would be an understatement to say that Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders had a rough day in the office against the Chicago Bears.

After completing just 51.4% of his passes for 177 yards and three interceptions in the 31-3 loss to the Bears in Week 15, there came the doubters of Sanders, striking him with criticism on his play. Not everyone felt the same way about his performance.

Browns offensive coordinator Tommy Rees spoke about Sanders' play against Chicago and found some positives in the performance.

"Just felt there was a real improvement in seeing coverage (on long passes to Isaiah Bond). Evaded rush well, was able to extend. There's always positives to draw on. Little things within a game."

Browns OC Tommy Rees on Shedeur Sanders in CHI: 'Just felt there was a real improvement in seeing coverage (on long passes to Isaiah Bond). Evaded rush well, was able to extend. There's always positives to draw on. Little things within a game.'
— Tony Grossi (@TonyGrossi) December 18, 2025

This is a minor setback in what has been a decent beginning to a career for the fifth-round pick out of Colorado. Sanders, for the season, has completed 52.2% of his passes for 946 yards and five touchdowns and six interceptions on the year.

The young quarterback had been showing significant progress over the last few weeks and had his best game against the Tennessee Titans, scoring four total touchdowns. Sanders faced off against a Chicago Bears defense that has created an NFL-high 30 turnovers this season.

Fans have to keep in mind that Sanders was dealing with an offensive line that nearly had backups in every position, and even saw one of the backups filling in, Teven Jenkins, get knocked out of the game with an injury. There was also the case of Jerry Jeudy essentially dropping a ball that bounced into the hands of a Bears defender.

Sanders shouldn't get a complete pass for the performance, as he still has to be more accurate with the football and avoid forcing the ball for turnovers. The reality is, though, that he did not get a lot of help from the supporting cast.

One great thing from this game, though, is the maturity that Sanders continues to show with no finger-pointing or anything like that. He is just focused on improving and finding a way to win the starting quarterback job in 2026.

Sanders still has three more games this season to get there and has a lot of work to do for that to happen. He at least looks like he is trending in the right direction with his mindset, though some work is needed on his production as a player.