BEREA, Ohio \u2014 Shedeur Sanders plans to rebound from his three-interception Bears game Sunday against the 10-4 Bills, but knows that their second-ranked pass defense will try to confuse him, rattle him and pick him off some more. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just excited that I\u2019m able to get everybody\u2019s best,\u201d Sanders said Wednesday. \u201cThat makes me feel proud that I have that. I\u2019m just getting in the league and my feet settled and everything. So I get excited knowing I\u2019m able to face those challenges because you\u2019ve got to understand this, this year right here, this is the worst it\u2019s going to be.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like this the foundation. This is where I\u2019m building from. This is where I\u2019m understanding different things. This is where everything\u2019s translating for me. So I\u2019m excited about it. I\u2019m extremely excited about it because I know we\u2019re going to get \u2018em. I know we\u2019re going to get \u2018em eventually.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sanders, who slipped to 1-3 after the 31-3 rout by the Bears, got some sage advice recently from former Browns quarterback Jameis Winston, who\u2019s gone 0-2 with the Giants over the past few weeks but threw for 366 yards in a loss to Detroit. <\/p>\n
\u201cI talked to Jameis a couple weeks ago, and then he went crazy,\u201d Sanders said. \u201cHe threw for some crazy yards, but he was like, \u2018nah bro, most important thing is to win.\u2019 And having that guidance, having that knowledge from a vet like him, it truly helped me understand a little bit more. I always knew, of course, winning, and that\u2019s the final goal. I\u2019m not really looking at the numbers. I\u2019m looking at the wins. So that achieves everything. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what everybody\u2019s in this league to do. So you\u2019ve just got to focus on that. The more plays you stack, the more completions you rack up, the better chance you have at winning. So have I been playing winning football lately? No, I don\u2019t think so. It\u2019s something I have self evaluated and I\u2019m going to apply to my game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked how he knows Winston, he said, \u201cI just know him.\u201d<\/p>\n
What did they connect over?<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re both people,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re both people. Jameis is not here right now, so I don\u2019t think it\u2019s respectful to speak on his behalf in the locker room full of other great teammates and other quarterbacks that\u2019s here that\u2019s helped giving me wisdom also. But that\u2019s just a person, that\u2019s just a thing that triggered me to just speak his name because that was a conversation we had at one point.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sanders heads into the Sunday\u2019s game No. 46 in the NFL with a 68.1 rating, and No. 48 with a 52.2 completion percentage. In Chicago, behind a makeshift offensive line, he went 18 of 35 for 177 yards with 0 touchdowns against three interceptions, although the second one was Jerry Jeudy\u2019s fault. His rating was a season-low 30.3, about 60 points below a quality NFL start. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve just got to play better,\u201d Sanders said. \u201cI just cannot make those costly turnovers and have the expectation to win.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sanders acknowledged that he can\u2019t force things when the Browns fall behind, which is what happened on his third interception in the fourth quarter, an ill-advised throw to Harold Fannin Jr. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve just got to get more completions,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve got to get more completions and even whenever we\u2019re down or anything I can\u2019t press. I just got to remain having those mental notes to myself. Just work within the game and just keep driving the ball. Get first downs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sanders is still developing trust and timing with Jeudy, who had a well-thrown would-be TD pass snatched out of his hands for an interception in the third quarter. Jeudy, who caught a 60-yard TD against the Titans the week before, finished with only 2 of 4 targets for 22 yards. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s always going to be a work in progress,\u201d Sanders said about relationships. \u201cAll relationships ain\u2019t always the best, but you still stick together through everything. So just because when we\u2019re well-connected and the next week we are a bit off, it don\u2019t mean that we didn\u2019t have progress. It\u2019s a lot of things in that game that there\u2019s positive things that we could take from that. When it comes to trust, when it comes to different things, learning, learning abilities and just different things that different tasks take forward when the game happens. Every moment, everything is extremely important on building our connection.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeudy, who\u2019s second on the team to Fannin with 40 receptions and 519 yards, and tied for third with two touchdown catches, says it\u2019s more than just getting his timing down with Sanders, who didn\u2019t get any reps with the starters until before his first start five weeks ago. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just more film and understanding what they\u2019re trying to get to overall,\u201d Jeudy said. \u201cThat\u2019s the biggest thing really. I don\u2019t think that\u2019s really a timing thing, it\u2019s just more understanding like, \u2018They\u2019re showing the Cover-1 look, but they dropped to Cover-2 the whole time. But it\u2019s little things like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
He rejected the notion that true chemistry with a quarterback comes only during games. <\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like it\u2019s an everyday thing,\u201d Jeudy said. \u201cIt\u2019s always something new, always things that you need to adjust throughout the week depending who we\u2019re playing and who we\u2019re going against. So having that communication and having that understanding with your quarterback\u2019s going to be helpful. It changes throughout the week. It\u2019s constantly talking, constantly communicating and constantly understanding where we want to get.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeudy noted that the communication must take place in the meeting room and throughout practice, and it\u2019s \u201cconstantly trying to pick each other\u2019s brain in seeing what we see out there and just learn from there. That\u2019s all you can really do basically.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Jeudy\u2019s had to pick his own spirits up this season, he\u2019s also talked to Sanders about overcoming his bad game from last week. <\/p>\n
\u201cJust tell him one game don\u2019t define who you are, it\u2019s part of football,\u201d he said. \u201cDon\u2019t let that dictate how you come out here and practice and trying to get better each and every week. Just keep being who you are and just stay focused and keep the main thing the main thing, for real.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sanders\u2019 ability to hit the explosive plays during his four starts has helped the offense, Jeudy said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt opens up the offense a lot more just having defenders not sitting on our route and not really understanding and not really trying to stop the underneath,\u201d he said. \u201cThey have to worry about the deep balls now. You\u2019ve just got to keep hitting on that and keep getting better at that.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Sanders noted that he must do more than hit the explosives. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got to be better, well-rounded all the way around,\u201d he said. \u201cWe can\u2019t just be a deep-ball thrower. We\u2019ve got to be able to complete the stuff when it\u2019s not there, when the deep ball is not there. So that\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to get better within my game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Is that stuff other stuff tougher for you?<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, it\u2019s not,\u201d Sanders said. \u201cThat stuff requires (being on the) same page. Deep balls, the margin of error you have for them and those reps, it\u2019s easier. But you\u2019ve just got to always be on the same page (on the other things). The Tennessee game, the dialogue me and Jerry have, the dialogue me and all the receivers have, when it\u2019s a different type of game, \u2018Hey get your eyes around a little quicker. We\u2019re going to have to get to these spots a little faster.\u2019 It\u2019s just playing on the same time, thinking the same thing. All of that stuff comes with understanding each other, and it\u2019s a tough thing we\u2019ve dealt with.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sanders might have right guard Wyatt Teller (limited on Wednesday with his calf injury) back this week, but right tackle Jack Conklin was still idle with his concussion. Regardless, Sanders knows teams will throw the house at him until he proves he can beat the pressure. The good thing is that he\u2019s been able to slip plenty of sacks with his elusiveness, but the Bears still took him down five times and hit him 15. <\/p>\n
\u201cMy whole career, I played under pressure, externally, on the field, off the field,\u201d Sanders said. \u201cThat stuff doesn\u2019t faze me. We\u2019ve just got to be able to make it translate. We\u2019ve all got to be on one accord. We\u2019ve all got to be more of a team when it comes to that. So it\u2019s just a work in progress and I\u2019m excited about that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bills coach Sean McDermott knows that Sanders is a big-play hunter, and that the Bills will have to be on point. This season, they\u2019re tied for sixth in the NFL, allowing 35 passes of 20-plus yards. They\u2019re first with only one of 40 yards or more, and 40 is their longest this season. Sanders had two of 40-plus just last Sunday in Chicago, with completions of 42 and 47 yards to Isaiah Bond.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood player, good young player, off to a great start,\u201d McDermott said. \u201cDangerous with the tool set that he brings to the table. And he\u2019s done a great job. I think their offense has actually ratcheted up since he\u2019s been under center. So that\u2019ll be a big challenge for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sanders, making just his fifth NFL start, will go head-to-head with reigning NFL MVP Josh Allen, who\u2019s in the conversation to defend his title. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a great player,\u201d Sanders said. \u201cHe\u2019s really good.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s what Sanders aspires to be on Sunday with the first of his three final chances to prove to the Browns he can be their guy.<\/p>\n