CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The swag in Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders' step comes from experience. Before the rookie even landed an NFL contract, he believed he could change a franchise. And when you asked him why, he acted like you were new guy in the room.
"We went from Jackson State to Colorado and changed two programs back-to-back, so you don't think I can come to an NFL franchise and change a program again?" Sanders said during the NFL combine. "It's history. We done it again. It's always going to repeat itself."
The beat kept playing during Sanders' first NFL home start, and no, not the song he danced to while overhauling college programs next his father, Deion. When Sanders suffered his first pro loss against the 49ers on Sunday, he met the other cyclical story unfolding at Huntington Bank Field this week.
We call it November in Berea.
Welcome to the Browns quarterback club, Shedeur. Your initiation is complete. You completed 16 for 25 passes for 149 yards and a touchdown in the swirling wind, and you committed zero turnovers. Your defense played well, too. But somehow, your team still lost, 26-8.
Confused yet? So were the 41 club members before you. From Tim Couch through today, the Browns have spent almost 30 years searching for a competent quarterback. Some people say they've never found one, but I'm not sure how we'd know.
Because the Browns can't build around players like Sanders, either. Look no further than Sunday's game for the proof.
Where to start. The Browns committed (at least) three crippling faux pas during the competitive portion of Sunday's game, and Sanders played no part in any.
They started early. With 10:22 left in the first quarter, Cleveland's special teams allowed a 66-yard punt return to 49ers return man Skyy Moore, who entered Sunday as one of 13 NFL players to have at least 10 yards per punt return. The Browns began the week as one of nine teams to allow 13 or more yards per punt return this year. And our eyes fit the stats this week.
The 49ers scored six plays after Moore's return, but Cleveland handed them the chance. And this would become a theme.
Skip ahead two quarters, when the Browns faced 4th-and-1 from its own 33-yard line, and Cleveland lined Sanders up as a running back. Huh? I know. Most teams let quarterbacks snap the ball in short yardage situations, and many convert with quarterback sneaks.
But the Browns like using tight ends to push the pile. So they moved rookie tight end Harold Fannin Jr. to quarterback on this play. And with the play clock winding down, due in part to a late substitution - hurry, hurry, hurry - Fannin dropped the snap. The play fell apart. The 49ers scored nine plays later.
But Cleveland gave them the chance.
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, Browns punt returner Gage Larvadain shared one more scoring chance late. We're talking fourth quarter,13:35 to play. The Browns trail 17-8, but they just forced a San Fran punt. Larvadain ranges underneath and - I've got it, I've got it - he drops the football. The 49ers score six plays later. But Cleveland, well, you get the point.
Sanders, on the other hand? He's still learning. One loss won't shake his confidence he thinks he can change this franchise.
He's speaking from experience, but so are the miserable fans who witnessed history repeat itself again on Sunday.