Cam Ward vs Shedeur Sanders probably not a fair comparison Sunday | Football

It’s only natural that Cam Ward versus Shedeur Sanders will be the primary storyline Sunday when the Titans visit the Browns.

First of all, there are limited storylines in general because both Tennessee and Cleveland stink. The Titans (1-11) have lost seven straight games and are in the NFL cellar, while the Browns (3-9) have lost four of five contests and reside in the bottom of the AFC North.

Still, a rookie quarterback comparison is natural, especially considering Ward and Sanders trained together leading up to the NFL Draft earlier this year and because — up until just weeks before the draft — both players were considered by many as potential No. 1 overall selections.

Both the Titans and Browns interviewed Ward and Sanders.

Ward wound up getting selected No. 1 by the Titans, of course, while Sanders endured a spectacular free fall, tumbling to the fifth round before Cleveland chose him with the 144th overall pick.

In evaluating the numbers for the two rookies so far this season, we’ll cut Sanders some slack and toss out his relief appearance, as he was horrid against Baltimore on Nov. 16, completing just 4-of-16 passes for 47 yards while throwing an interception.

In his two starts since then — obviously a very small sample size — Sanders has completed 60 percent of his throws, averaging 179 passing yards per game while connecting for two touchdowns and one interception.

He’s averaging 8.0 yards per attempt (in the league’s top 10 over the past two weeks), has been sacked four times and has posted a solid quarterback rating of 90.8.

Digging a little deeper into the analytics, we see that Sanders has taken an eternity — 3.33 seconds — to throw the ball, that he has a decent pressure-to-sack ratio (18.2 percent), and that he has an unimpressive 54.1 percent PFF passing grade.

In looking at all 12 of Ward’s starts, he’s completed 59.7 percent of his throws, averaging 195 yards per game while connecting for seven touchdowns and six interceptions.

His 5.7 yards per attempt ranks near the bottom of the league, he’s been sacked an NFL-high 48 times (a frightening average of four per contest), and he owns a 75.2 quarterback rating that has him in the league basement.

On the analytics front, Ward’s time-to-throw figure of 2.94 is noticeably quicker than Sanders, but still too slow. His pressure-to-sack ratio (how often pressure turns into sacks) is the highest in the league at 27.1 percent, and his PFF passing grade of 55.1 is about the same as Sanders.

In a nutshell, some of Sanders’ numbers look a bit better than Ward’s, but the sample size for Sanders is still too small to make any kind of definitive statement.

But as we compare and contrast the two rookies in a head-to-head match-up Sunday, it has to be stated that the evaluation really won’t come on a level playing field.

Because Ward will be throwing against one of the league’s best defenses, while Sanders will be throwing against a personnel-depleted Titans lineup that — while better than Tennessee’s offense — is still near the bottom of the league in a number of categories.

Consider that Ward will be going up against a Browns defense that ranks second overall in yards allowed, third in passing yardage allowed, second in sacks (thanks in large part to Myles Garrett’s 19),14th in points allowed (22.5) and tied for 13th in interceptions (nine).

Cleveland’s defense is basically the only reason the Browns have been competitive at times this season, with an overall points differential of -76.

Then there are the Titans.

Tennessee will go into Sunday’s game ranked 24th in overall defense, 18th against the pass and 29th in average points allowed (29.6). The Titans have intercepted just five passes this season (26th in the NFL) and have compiled 30 sacks, basically one less per game than the Browns.

The Titans’ offense has offered little in the way of complementary football, but the defense still has to take its share of the blame for the team’s frighteningly large points differential of -158 (worst in the league).

All that to say, don’t be stunned — or ready to throw in the towel — if Sanders’ numbers are about as good, perhaps even a bit better, than Ward on Sunday at Huntington Bank Field.

It won’t necessarily be an indication of the overall progress of Ward or Sanders to date.

It’s more likely to reflect the fact that one rookie quarterback will be facing an elite defense, while the other is going against a defense that is, well, less than elite.