As the pocket collapsed with two Titans defenders closing in on QB Shedeur Sanders, he looked toward the end zone and saw TE Harold Fannin Jr. creating some space from Titans S Xavier Woods. Sanders threw the ball in Fannin's direction, and Fannin jumped to catch the ball with Woods in tight protection.
Fannin held onto the ball and came down in the end zone for the score with less than two minutes left in the fourth quarter in Week 14. The touchdown was Sanders' third passing touchdown of the game, and Fannin's first receiving touchdown of the day.
Both Fannin and Sanders were officially nominated for the Pepsi Zero Sugar NFL Rookie of the Week for Week 14.
Sanders completed 23 of 42 passing attempts for 364 yards with three touchdowns and one rushing score in the Browns' 31-29 loss to the Titans. He surpassed 300 yards for the first time in his NFL career, as well as scored his first career rushing touchdown. His 364 passing yards tied for the third-most by a Browns rookie in a game and his three touchdown passes tied for the second most.
"I think he did well," DE Myles Garrett said on Dec. 7. "I think he looked good. He came up big when we needed him to. There's going to be some ups and downs for anyone, especially a rookie. But he went in there and he looked composed, he escaped out of some sacks, broke the pocket, made some big-time plays. And just looking for him to continue to grow, looking for that clock to speed up a little bit, but it looks more and more at ease each week."
Fannin recorded eight receptions for 114 yards and one touchdown in the 31-29 loss to the Titans. He joined Ozzie Newsome as the only rookie tight ends in Browns history to record 100-yards receiving in a game. Fannin is leading the team with 59 receptions this season, tied for the fourth-most by a Browns rookie. He is also tied for the team lead with four receiving touchdowns this season.
"I love Harold. I love the way he works," RB Dylan Sampson said on Nov. 24. "He's just one of those people that I say he's just good at football. Like, I can't explain it. He's also one of the youngest people in this class along with me so it's fun to kind of have guys like that around you on your team. […] Harold is always fighting, regardless of the score, regardless of the game. So, it's a testament to him and just his mindset and how he attacks the various roles that they are asking him to do on this offense at a very young age."
Fannin and Sanders were nominated alongside Broncos RB RJ Harvey, Saints RB Devin Neal, Seahawks S Nick Emmanwori and Titans S Kevin Winston. Fans can vote for one of the six nominated players here and on the NFL Mobile app through Thursday at 11 a.m. ET to determine who will bring home the Rookie of the Week championship belt for Week 14.
After the regular season, six players will be nominated for NFL Rookie of the Year honors. Fans can vote for the winner here throughout the month of January.
