Why Gennaro picked the Raiders: As you undoubtedly heard — from multiple sources, no less — Shedeur Sanders is making his first NFL start this Sunday. Naturally, it’s taking place in Vegas — you know, the self-titled “Entertainment Capital of the World”? This guy just oozes content, for better or worse. But can he play? Well, he struggled mightily in relief of Dillon Gabriel (concussion) last week, completing just four of his 16 passes for 47 yards (2.9 per attempt) with a bad interception. Cleveland’s porous offensive line didn’t do Sanders any favors, but neither did the young quarterback’s propensity to hold on to the football too long. To be fair, Sanders hadn’t taken any snaps with the first-team offense prior to that appearance, so a full week of practice reps with the 1s could markedly boost chemistry. Unfortunately, Sanders also needs to overcome the devastating history that afflicts one of the most QB-cursed teams in the sport. It’s been a generation since a Browns quarterback won his first career start. No, seriously: 30 years. I’m talkin’ Eric Zeier back in Week 9 of the 1995 season. Since then, Cleveland quarterbacks are 0-17 in this spot. And with the Browns’ battered O-line yielding the league’s second-worst pressure rate (42.5%), I’m afraid Sanders will suffer the wrath of Maxx Crosby. But Crosby isn’t the only game-wrecker in this matchup. With 11 sacks in his last four games, Myles Garrett is currently on pace to blow past the single-season record of 22.5 shared by Michael Strahan and T.J. Watt. Cleveland’s 6-foot-4, 272-pound force of nature has to be licking his chops looking at Las Vegas’ line, which just made Dallas’ destitute defense look positively ferocious. This feels like an ugly, turnover-filled toss-up. I’ll take the home team.
