The votes are officially in, and QB Shedeur Sanders has been named the Pepsi Zero Sugar NFL Rookie of the Week for Week 14.
He was one of six nominees – alongside teammate TE Harold Fannin Jr. – for this week's award and marks the first time this season he has won the award.
In the Browns' 31-29 loss to the Titans, Sanders completed 23 of 42 passing attempts for 364 yards with three touchdowns. He also added a team-high 29 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown.
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. His three passing touchdowns were also the most in a game his career, and he became the first Browns player to throw for at least 300 yards and have at least three touchdown passes and one rushing touchdown in a game.
Sanders has started three consecutive games, beginning in Week 12. Over those three starts, he has completed 50 of 87 passing attempts for 722 passing yards and five touchdowns. Sanders has also completed at least one pass for 50-plus yards in each of his first three NFL starts.
In four games played, Sanders has also thrown three interceptions and been sacked eight times. However, since Sanders has stepped into the starting role, head coach Kevin Stefanski has noticed areas of improvement in specific focus areas of Sanders' game, particularly in his footwork and pocket presence.
"I've been really impressed by his work ethic. And that's going back to since the moment he got here," Stefanski said on Dec. 8. "He's still very early into his career, and he would tell you the same. You want to have constant improvement in everything you're doing. There's moments in these games that come up that are hard to replicate in practice. You can talk through them on tape, you can talk through them in a walk through, and then you get the rep in a game, and that's the most valuable learning tool you can have. And I think he will only take all of that and use that to his development moving forward."
