Shedeur Sanders completed passes of 60, 58 and 31 yards Sunday as the Browns lost 31-29 to Cam Ward and Tennessee to drop to 3-10 in the standings.
Sanders won over the hometown crowd, however, with his touch on downfield throws, completing 12-42 for 364 yards and three touchdowns, intercepted once.
He had Browns fans on their feet with a seven-play, 80-yard drive in the final two minutes, connecting with tight end Harold Fannin on a seven-yard touchdown pass to get them within two. A halfback option pass by Quinshon Judkins for the two-point conversion fell incomplete, ending the comeback bid.
On Monday, head coach Kevin Stefanski named Sanders the starter for the rest of the year. "He has constantly and consistently gotten better in each one of these games and how he's approached this game," Stefanski said.
"He's been working very hard, so I feel good about where his development is heading. He knows there are always going to be plays that he can be better and those type of things. But he's very intentional about getting better each and every game he's out there."
No matter who is at quarterback, the Browns just aren't any good
That leaves third-round draft pick and former Oregon star Dillon Gabriel on the bench, even though he's recovered from the concussion he suffered in November. Though they each won one game as starter while the team went 2-7 since trading away Joe Flacco, the offense has had more life with Sanders taking the snaps.
He's shown himself to be a better downfield passer, throwing for 769 yards and five touchdowns, although their pass rating is nearly identical, 80.9 to 80.8.
That leaves the Ducks with two established starting quarterbacks in the NFL. While Justin Herbert and Bo Nix are battling for playoff spots, Marcus Mariota came on in relief for the 3-10 Commanders, who lost 31-0 to Minnesota.