Shannon Sharpe, Chad Johnson, advocate for Shedeur Sanders after not receiving game ball

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Shannon Sharpe, Chad Johnson, advocate for Shedeur Sanders after not receiving game ball

Autumn Hawkins, ClutchPoints · ClutchPoints

Tue, Nov 25, 2025 ·

3 min read

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The post Shannon Sharpe, Chad Johnson, advocate for Shedeur Sanders after not receiving game ball appeared first on ClutchPoints .

Shannon Sharpe and Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson are coming to the defense of Shedeur Sanders after Cleveland Browns ' head coach, Kevin Stefanski, did not give him the game ball after winning his first NFL game as a starting quarterback.

Sharpe and Johnson were outraged that Sanders, who became the first rookie quarterback to win his NFL debut start since Eric Zeier in 1995 and led the team to its first road win of the season, did not receive the game ball after his first win.

"So hold on. A guy making his first start. A guy that you didn't really want to start. A guy you didn't want in your organization. And that's all he get. 'Great job, Shadeur.' He don't get no game ball?" argued Sharpe on Night Cap as he watched a video of Stefanski congratulating Myles Garrett due to his three-sack performance following the Browns' 24-10 win against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, Nov. 23.

"They don't want him to succeed, you know that," claimed Ochocinco.

"We know what the play is," Sharpe responded. "The writing is on the wall. When the owner came out and said what he said about this not being my pick…we know what it is."

Despite not getting the game ball, both Sharpe and Ochocinco were proud of Sanders' performance.

"The odds are stacked against you," added Sharpe. "When the opportunity presents itself, he has to go out there and do what he did."

Sanders' father, Deion Sanders, also shared how proud he was of his son and gave him advice as he mentioned him passing for 209 yards and one touchdown during his Sunday performance.

"The check down was right there, when you get that right, it's over," Deion told Shedeur per by Well Off Media. "You played good. You gotta just look at the film and evaluate yourself on what went wrong. You did good, though. I'm proud of you. You're holding it down for the family."

In a post-game interview per ESPN, Stefanski shared what are the next steps for Sanders.

"The No. 1 job of a quarterback is to win," Stefanski said. "So, excited to get that first win under his belt. And the next thing is improvement, and that's what young players do. Certainly, young quarterbacks do. You get one game better, and that's just from working at it. So, that'll be our focus."

Sanders also had a lot to say following Sunday's game about those who doubted him until he was able to make his big break.

"Being a backup and everything, sometimes you have to compromise your personality and change the way you do things, to never step on anybody's toes," Sanders said. "The fact that I got an opportunity, and I was able to show the organization, show everybody who I really am, it's truly exciting.

"A lot of people wanted to see me fail, and it ain't going to happen," Sanders added. "It ain't going to happen."

Up until Sunday's game, Sanders has been the backup quarterback to Dillon Gabriel , who suffered a concussion during the Browns' Week 11 game against the Baltimore Ravens . He has now been cleared to play following his concussion for right now, Sanders has the QB1 spot. Stefanski announced on Monday, Nov. 24, that Sanders will start as quarterback in Sunday's home game Nov. 30, against the San Francisco 49ers .

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