After the game, Sanders told teammates he put the loss on his shoulders. He also said his lack of familiarity with the Browns’ starting pass catchers made it challenging.
“I don’t think I played good. I don’t think I played good at all,” he told reporters. “I’m going to give [the Ravens] their props. They were a good football team. But I know this. I know the only way is up for sure.”
The Ravens defense heard the cheer that Sanders got when he entered the game. They paid it little attention. Outside linebacker Dre’Mont Jones said Smith brought the defense together to relay the message that everything was the same.
“You want to go out there and just kill,” Jones said of the message. “It gave us zero extra momentum. The momentum was already there.”
Sanders was widely expected to be a first-round pick. The Ravens were reportedly considering drafting him in the fifth round, but Sanders made it clear he didn’t want to back up Lamar Jackson.
Sanders’ calculation was that he would have an easier time becoming a starter in Cleveland. He wasn’t wrong. The Ravens defense just didn’t make him look “right” in his debut either.
“As a defense, a rookie should never be able to do crazy things on a defense, especially with the amount of guys we have here,” Smith said.
“That’s just how I look at it, with all due respect to him. I think he’s a great player; I think he’s going to be a great player. Got a lot of respect for his family as well, and Gabriel as well. [But] at the end of the day, they’re rookies.”