CLEVELAND, Ohio — Browns rookie Shedeur Sanders drops back to pass on third-and-8, and you can see him hunting the big play. With 1:58 remaining in Sunday’s first quarter against the Titans, Sanders points at tight end David Njoku to adjust his route as Sanders extends the play (which started at Tennessee’s 25-yard-line. The quarterback spins away from one Titans defender (at the 33-yard line), side steps another and, and, and … he throws the ball out of bounds. Bummer. No highlight. No Instagram impressions. Nobody even noticed this play that spotlighted Sanders’ growth (and spotted the Browns an easier field goal) last week. “… He threw the ball away and we got points out of that,” coach Kevin Stefanski said Wednesday. “I think that’s good progress for a young quarterback. “You have to know that it’s a fine line of, ‘I’m trying to make a play for my football team’ and ‘I’m also going to be smart here because I have points.’ You learn that from playing. You learn that from being in these games. And I think he’s making progress there.” Sanders completed 23 of 42 passes Sunday for 364 yards, and three touchdowns during his third career start. He also tallied five throwaways, which ties his career high dating back to college. And if you liked watching Sanders scramble around like a superstar on Sunday, then you must also like (OK, appreciate) the safest, most boring play he can make. Can’t have one without the other. Like many backfield creators before him, Sanders entered the NFL with a sack problem. According to Pro Football Focus, the fifth-round rookie led college football in quarterback-faulted sacks, pressures and hurries last season, which, to be fair, was connected to Colorado’s unbalanced offense. And only two quarterbacks logged more drop-backs last season than Sanders, who threw more to account for the nation’s second-worst rushing attack. Despite the passing volume, however, Sanders ranked 22nd in throwaways. Only 3% of Sanders’ drop-backs resul

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Browns rookie Shedeur Sanders drops back to pass on third-and-8, and you can see him hunting the big play.

With 1:58 remaining in Sunday’s first quarter against the Titans, Sanders points at tight end David Njoku to adjust his route as Sanders extends the play (which started at Tennessee’s 25-yard-line). The quarterback spins away from one Titans defender (at the 33-yard line), side steps another and, and, and … he throws the ball out of bounds.

Bummer. No highlight. No Instagram impressions. Nobody even noticed this play that spotlighted Sanders’ growth (and spotted the Browns an easier field goal) last week.

“… He threw the ball away and we got points out of that,” coach Kevin Stefanski said Wednesday. “I think that’s good progress for a young quarterback.

“You have to know that it’s a fine line of, ‘I’m trying to make a play for my football team’ and ‘I’m also going to be smart here because I have points.’ You learn that from playing. You learn that from being in these games. And I think he’s making progress there.”

Sanders completed 23 of 42 passes Sunday for 364 yards, and three touchdowns during his third career start. He also tallied five throwaways, which ties his career high dating back to college. And if you liked watching Sanders scramble around like a superstar on Sunday, then you must also like (OK, appreciate) the safest, most boring play he can make.

Can’t have one without the other.

Like many backfield creators before him, Sanders entered the NFL with a sack problem. According to Pro Football Focus, the fifth-round rookie led college football in quarterback-faulted pressures (44) hurries (21) and sacks (17) last season, which, to be fair, was connected to Colorado’s unbalanced offense. Only two quarterbacks logged more drop-backs last season than Sanders, who threw more to account for the nation’s second-worst rushing attack.

Despite the passing volume, however, Sanders ranked 22nd in throwaways. Only 3% of his drop-backs resulted in football’s most boring outcome, and I know this can be a selling point.

Sanders is smooth enough to extend plays, brave enough to eat hits, fun as heck to watch the whole time. Through four NFL appearances, he ranks tied for tenth among qualified quarterbacks in PFF’s pressure-to-sack percentage, which measures how well quarterbacks avoid sacks under duress. He’s already completed more deep passes (20-plus yards downfield) than any Browns quarterback this season.

When he’s cooking, you can’t look away.

But when he uses too much spice, like he did during Sunday’s third quarter, you shield your eyes.

On second-and-20 with 1:57 left in the third, Sanders dropped back with a three-point lead. He drifted right, ducked a defender, and set his feet. But this time, he forced a throw into double coverage over the middle. The Titans intercepted him and returned the ball to Cleveland’s 38-yard line. They took the lead two plays later.

“Sometimes you get in situations where you gotta understand the play’s over, and I’m improving in that,” Sanders said Wednesday. “I had a little slip up last week for sure when knowing the play’s over.

“… In those situations, sometimes it’s just like, I want to win so bad, I want to make something happen whenever we’re stagnant and stuff like that. So just learning, like from the (loss against San Francisco) when I took a sack that got us out of field goal position. I learned from that, and I was like, ‘OK, knowing where we are in the field’, understanding, like, ‘OK, I tried my first thing, it don’t work, get it out’. So, then I won’t negatively affect the team.”

You can hear the internal conflict in Sanders’ words. The more he holds the ball, the more opportunity he gives receivers to run open. And let’s be honest, the Browns don’t produce many big plays on their own time.

But the more he cuts bait on a broken play, the more he preserves the chance to create a good one, and the lower he pushes the odds for catastrophe. Let’s be honest: the Browns produce enough of those on their own.

But Sanders is helping them cut back. Eight percent of his drop-backs have been throwaways this season (up from three last year), and I know this doesn’t sound like a selling point. But even the best hunter knows when he doesn’t have the shot. Even the most decorated chef cooks boring ol’ vegetables sometimes. And even the most exciting quarterbacks throw the ball out of bounds.

Among last year’s top 10 in the mundane: Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (second) Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (sixth), Bills quarterback Josh Allen (seventh) and Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (eighth).

No highlights. No Instagram impressions. Just a list of the league’s best and most responsible quarterbacks.

Can’t have one without the other.

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