Sports

When Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel exited Sunday's game against the Ravens at halftime with a concussion, Cleveland led, 16-10. When Shedeur Sanders made his debut in the second half of the game, the Ravens outscored the Browns in the final two quarters, 13-0.

Along the way, Sanders completed four of 16 passes for 47 yards and an interception. His passer rating was 13.5.

It's no surprise. It was his first game. He was thrust into action against a solid defense with a surging team.

Making the performance even less surprising is the fact that, as coach Kevin Stefanski confirmed after the game, Sanders had a total of zero practice reps with the first-team offense. At any point this season.

“You’re always trying to get your starter ready to play and certainly, when your starter is a rookie, those are very valuable reps," Stefanski said when asked why Sanders hadn't gotten first-team practice reps. "When your backup is a rookie also, you do everything in your power to get our quarterbacks as many reps as possible. Post practice, after practice, extra meeting time. So that’s just part of how it goes. But the bottom line is we trust both of our players. We trust all of our players because of the work that they put in.”

Still, that's what happens when a team drafts two rookies and feels compelled to keep both of them. There's not much of a veteran presence, beyond Bailey Zappe. Kenny Pickett was traded. Joe Flacco was traded. The Browns have little choice but to trust unproven and inexperienced players.

If they hadn't handed Flacco to the Bengals, the Browns would have been able to hand him a six-point halftime lead against his long-time former team. And they may have gotten a win on Sunday.

This assumes they wanted one. This is an organization that, for the past decade, has continuously been building for a future that never comes to fruition. That's why they traded Pickett. That's why the traded Flacco. That's why they're hoping to eventually flip Gabriel or Sanders for something more than what they gave up to get them.

It's all part of stoking vague hopes for a brighter tomorrow at the expense of a dreary today. The only problem is that tomorrow for the Browns rarely ends up being anything more than blustery.

49ers quarterback Brock Purdy made a successful return to the lineup against the Cardinals on Sunday.

Purdy had been out since aggravating a toe injury in Week 4, but he didn't show many signs of rust while completing 19-of-26 passes for 200 yards and three touchdowns in a 41-22 win. The 49ers took a cautious approach with Purdy's return to minimize further issues with the injury and Purdy said after the game that his toe was not on his mind at all once he took the field.

"No, I didn't even think about it, honestly, in the game or anything," Purdy said, via 49ersWebzone.com. "At practice and everything, that's where I tested it all out. I'm like, at practice, rolling out, 'All right, do I feel it, do I not?' No, I don't, I feel great. And then come [game-time] when I warmed up and everything, I didn't even think about it. It felt great. Throughout the game and stuff, I was able to do everything — scramble, keepers, roll-outs, step up in the pocket. I played quarterback."

The 49ers went 5-3 with Mac Jones filling in for Purdy and that kept them afloat in the playoff race. With a home game against the Panthers and a road date with the Browns on tap before a Week 14 bye, the 49ers can solidify their place in the postseason mix with a healthy Purdy back in charge of the offense.

Broncos quarterback Bo Nix said last week that he blocks out any criticism that isn't delivered directly to his face, but there was no doubt that he needed to have a good game in Week 11.

The Broncos were hosting the Chiefs with a chance to take a commanding lead in the AFC West and a loss would have opened the door to more questions about Nix's ability to lead the team to the highest levels available to them. Nix made sure those questions would not be asked on Sunday.

Nix led three scoring drives in the fourth quarter, including game-tying and game-winning drives after the Chiefs took a three-point lead with 10 minutes left to play. Nix completed passes for three first downs to set up the game-winning Wil Lutz field goal and went 24-of-37 for 295 passing yards in the 22-19 win.

"He's the leader of this football team and we should all take something from what he did today, because we don't win that game without him," right tackle Mike McGlinchey said, via the team's website.

Nix has engineered five game-winning drives so far this season, which is one behind John Elway for the franchise record for a single season. That success in the biggest moments builds confidence across the roster and the Broncos will keep riding Nix as they try to keep growing their seven-game winning streak in the weeks to come.