Browns' decision to bench Shedeur Sanders on crucial play 'coaching failure,' ex-NFL star says

Fox Sports analyst Robert Griffin III gave his take on the Cleveland Browns' questionable two-point conversion play, where Shedeur Sanders was sidelined with the game on the line in Week 14.

When Shedeur Sanders found fellow rookie Harold Fannin Jr. for the touchdown in Cleveland on Sunday to make it a 31-29 ball game, Browns fans were ecstatic, knowing a successful two-point conversation meant a tie game. 

Sanders, who started the last three games for the Browns in his rookie season, showcased his late-game savvy and kept his team in the contest up until the final play. 

But confusion, and bewilderment for some, was the reaction when Sanders wasn't seen under center on the two-point try. It was rookie running back Quinshon Judkins, who was in the wildcat formation as he does on occasion this season. 

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Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) watches from the sidelines late in the fourth quarter against the Tennessee Titans at Huntington Bank Field on Dec. 7, 2025. (Ken Blaze/Imagn Images)

The play ended up going unsuccessful, and the Browns fell to the Tennessee Titans with lots of what-if responses from experts and fans alike. 

Robert Griffin III, the FOX Sports analyst and former NFL quarterback who spent the 2016 season in Cleveland, has been vocal about how the Browns have treated Sanders since taking him in the fifth round. After seeing head coach Kevin Stefanski's decision to go with Judkins in the wildcat over Sanders, he believed it was pure "coaching failure" on his part. 

"You have to be in touch with what’s going on in the game, and the young man that gave you the best chance to win the game should’ve been on the field in the most crucial point of