Sports

Deion Sanders was an offensive coordinator at Trinity Christian in Cedar Hill, Texas. He was then the head coach at FCS Jackson State, an HBCU in Jackson, Mississippi, before taking on the same role at Colorado.

He was Shedeur Sanders' coach during all three of those stops. 

Sunday in Las Vegas, Deion, also a Pro Football Hall of Famer, was finally able to just be dad.

"That's the first time I've ever watched him play without me on the sideline," Deion told reporters at his Colorado news conference Tuesday, two days removed from his son Shedeur leading the Cleveland Browns to a 24-10 win over the Raiders.

"I've never seen him play without me coaching him, so that was strange. But it was good, and it was healthy. Cause I was just in straight dad mode. I wasn't in coach mode and I loved that, that I was able to see him gain the first victory."

His first victory was a historic one. 

Shedeur, whom the Browns famously selected in the fifth round of this year's NFL Draft, became the first Cleveland quarterback since 1995 to win his first career start. The Browns had previously lost 17 of those games in a row.

With fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel sidelined by a concussion, Shedeur completed 11-of-20 passes for 209 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception. While Myles Garrett and the Cleveland defense terrorized a struggling Raiders offensive line, Shedeur ended a 15-game drought without a 50-yard completion from a Browns quarterback. He did so while escaping a blitz and hurling a 52-yard pass to wideout Isaiah Bond that set up the second of running back Quinshon Judkins' two first-quarter rushing touchdowns.

Shedeur also dumped off a pass to running back Dylan Sampson, who raced 66 yards to the end zone in the fourth quarter to make it a 24-3 game.

Deion was watching it all go down from the box of Raiders owner Mark Davis, whom Deion thanked in an Instagram post Tuesday and then again hours later in his news conference.

"I'm thankful for ... the owner of the opposing team to allow the dad of the quarterback of the opposing team to sit in his box. How many times did that happen?" Deion said. "That is unbelievable, man. So I'm so thankful and appreciative for that opportunity and that moment."

A reporter asked Deion Tuesday if he was a nervous wreck while watching Sunday's game in Vegas.

"No, no, no," Deion said before pausing.

He added while looking up: "Thank you, Lord," Deion said, drawing laughter from reporters and then quietly chuckling himself. "You know where I was going with that. Thank you, Lord."

That's a message Deion has repeatedonsocial media the past couple days.

Shedeur is set to start the Browns' Week 13 game against the San Francisco 49ers, a team Deion won NFL Defensive Player of the Year and a Super Bowl with during the 1994 season.

Shedeur has been on a mission to create his own NFL legacy, though. He took his first step over the weekend with his dad watching.

No idea in the NFL is foolproof, but “draft the Heisman-winning quarterback from the winningest college football program of the century” sure seems like it would be a safe bet. Not so, as the Carolina Panthers are learning.

Bryce Young, the No. 1 pick of the 2023 NFL Draft, is slowly but relentlessly playing himself out of a starting job. The Panthers are currently 6-6 after Monday night’s loss to San Francisco, mathematically in the playoff hunt but not fooling anyone.

That game provided a perfect microcosm of Young’s struggles and limitations. The 49ers’ Brock Purdy threw interceptions on three straight possessions, with two coming in San Francisco territory and one in the red zone for Carolina, and yet Young was only able to convert them into three points. Young threw for just 169 yards on 18-of-29 attempts, with two interceptions and just one highlight-worthy touchdown:

That dynamic — one good moment in a sea of ugly ones — has characterized Young’s 2025 season. With the exception of last week’s game against the Falcons, where he threw for 448 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions, his entire season has been an underwhelming one. He’s surpassed 200 yards passing just twice on the season. Four times, he’s thrown more interceptions than touchdowns. He ranks near the bottom of all season-long starters in most major statistical categories — completion percentage, yardage, passer rating, QB rating.

The problem, of course, is that this isn’t exactly out of character for Young on the professional level. Over 41 games, he’s just 12-27 as a starter and has struggled against every team that’s not Atlanta.

Young’s woes are all the more apparent now that Carolina has added some significant key pieces, including rookie wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan and newly acquired running back Rico Dowdle. The Panthers defense ranks in the middle of the pack in major stats like yardage and points allowed … which is significant given the fact that Carolina ranked dead last in both categories in 2024. As the rest of the team builds, the quarterback is stuck in the same middling spot as last year, and the year before that.

Young’s postgame press conference Monday night hit the same familiar themes over and over again — lack of execution, flush it after 24 hours, and so on. What else can you say, really, about yet another underwhelming performance?

“Next week we're going to be 0-0,” he said. “We don't have the luxury to think about the big picture thing with us. That's not a good recipe for this league. Everyone demands our attention.”

Young may not be focusing on the bigger picture, but the Panthers now must. The key date for Young’s Carolina future is May 1, 2026. By then, the Panthers must decide whether to offer Young a fifth-year option on his rookie deal. Also of note: that date will come after the 2026 NFL Draft, when the Panthers will have the opportunity to draft a quarterback for the future.

At six wins now, with the Rams, Seahawks and Bucs twice still to come on their schedule, the Panthers are likely to fall in the upper middle of the first round — too low to get one of the top potential quarterback prospects, but not so far to be out of the hunt entirely.

Young has five games left to make his case for an extension. He was a costly selection — the Panthers traded away a raft of picks to the Bears to move up and grab him — but he could end up being more costly if Carolina stays with him going forward.