The Cleveland Browns shocked the entire league with their 13-6 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers at Huntington Bank Field in Week 17. Head coach Kevin Stefanski was on the hot seat, but he can have some relief now. While quarterback Shedeur Sanders led his offense beautifully to continue their home win streak against the Black and Gold of the last three seasons, he wasn’t good enough to impress his coach.

“Proud of him. There’s always things he can clean up,” Stefanski said in the post-game conference. “We got a little unlucky on that first interception. We can certainly learn from the second one, and he will. But yeah, he continued to battle.”

Shedeur Sanders completed 17 of 23 passes (73.9% completion rate) for 186 passing yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Kevin Stefanski is totally right in his assessment. On the 1st & 10 play at Pittsburgh 46 with five minutes to go in the second quarter, the rookie released the ball just before the linebacker Alex Highsmith took him down.

While Browns’ right tackle KT Leveston held off Logan Lee, Lee raised his right hand, which slowed the ball as it wobbled a few yards in the air before linebacker Jack Sawyer caught it and returned it for 27 yards. While no one blamed Sanders for it, the second interception was entirely his mistake.

It was probably one of the worst interceptions of his football career, which even forced his father, Deion Sanders, to take off his hat and shake his head in disapproval in the VIP box.

At the 12:12 mark in the fourth quarter, on the 2nd & 5 play at Cleveland 49, the rookie searched for an open receiver after getting the snap. Linebacker Malik Harrison pressured him from the left, forcing Sanders to throw the ball in the air to receiver Jerry Jeudy. But the pass hung in the air long enough for safety Kyle Dugger to undercut the route for an easy interception.

Like his father, Sanders also had a look of disappointment on his face while sitting on the sidelines. So far, the quarterback has recorded ten interceptions this season.

However, he and his coach can find comfort in their victory.

Shedeur Sanders could change the tide in favor of Kevin Stefanski

Stefanski’s call for improvement came when the development of Shedeur Sanders is the only factor that might save his job. If the Browns’ management sees that the Colorado rookie has grown well under Stefanski, they might give him a longer run.

“If Kevin is a big part of Shedeur’s development and Shedeur is going to be the guy and they like this combo that they have, then I do think that these two games could possibly help Kevin,” Browns beat reporter Mary Kay Cabot said on the December 27 episode of the Orange and Brown Talk podcast.

She revealed that the duo is spending more time in Kevin Stefanski’s office watching film together.

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Now, the question is simple. Will the ownership view their developing relationship as valuable enough to maintain a sense of continuity? Only time will tell, but if Sanders shows rapid growth, Stefanski might be able to buy more time.

Sanders clinched his second NFL victory against the Steelers. But his 7-10 touchdown-interception ratio in seven games is scary. Yet, he has brought excitement to Cleveland.

The situation in the Browns’ camp is interesting. With questions swirling around personnel from the rookie quarterback to the head coach, the Browns’ victory provided temporary relief but solved none of the underlying uncertainty, leaving the front office with critical decisions that will define the franchise’s direction.