Todd Monken declines to say if Shedeur Sanders made a case for another start, but Deshaun Watson still has 5 4th-quarter game-winning drives: Mary Kay Cabot

NEW ORLEANS — Shedeur Sanders finally got to thrust his wrist in the air a few times late in the Browns’ 23-22 overtime loss to the Saints, but it might be premature for him to replace Deshaun Watson as QB1 after one explosive finish. Granted, Sanders gave Monken plenty to get excited about for down the road, but the Browns may have been able to put the game away early with some red zone touchdowns had Watson faced this 28th-ranked defense. As it was, the Browns stalled twice in the red zone, once after getting to the 1 and once after getting to the 3, and had only a 6-3 lead midway through the third quarter to show for it. ‘That’s not me’: Browns HC Todd Monken wasn’t going to play for a tie against SaintsDoes Todd Monken have a decision to make at quarterback? Browns postgame recap (Video)Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders’ superstar moment from loss to Saints is enough to keep him around — Jimmy WatkinsWith the Saints trying to give the game away with two turnovers and a missed 52-yard field goal in the first half, the victory was there for the taking. Besides, Watson, who sat out the game with a concussion despite being cleared from the protocol on Saturday, has pulled off five fourth-quarter game-winning drives this season, and has the Browns still in the playoff hunt thanks to his own late-game heroics. Next week, his former team, the Texans, are coming to town, and it’s a special game for Watson. Despite Sanders displaying the “it” factor and hitting several explosive plays, Monken declined to answer if Sanders had made a case to keep starting after his late-game rally. “I’m not even … How long has it been? 30 minutes since the game ended?” Monken said. “I’m not getting into quarterback. If we want to talk about Shedeur, we can talk about Shedeur.”Sanders, always respectful to Watson who’s mentored him since last season, also declined to answer if he earned the right to start again. “I think that’s a setup question, honestly,” Sanders said. The questioner said he didn’t mean it that way. “I control what I control,” Sanders said. “What I think in the grand scheme of things don’t really matter. Being a great teammate, being a great, whatever role I have on the team I could do, because you got to look at a bigger picture.”He acknowledged that he’s learned so much from Watson this season just by watching. “Just how he keeps same mentality throughout the game, how he don’t really get frustrated up and down, just stays the same,” Sanders said. “So it’s like a lot of things, and how Dillon (Gabriel) is, how in-depth he is and how he takes notes and Taylen (Green), how excited he is and the joy that he always has all the time and eager to learn.”He noted that he’s grateful for how it’s all played out this season. “You just can never view anything negative,” he said. “I’m alive. I’m breathing. Thank God. I can’t really complain about anything. I’ve got great family. I got a great team. I’m on the Browns. We’re winning; the majority of the time we are. Today we didn’t get it there though. But there’s nothing to complain about.”Sanders got out to a rocky start, completing just 5 of 8 attempts for 38 yards in the first half for a 74.0 rating, and a 3-3 tie. They stalled in the red zone the first time apparently because he turned the wrong way on his handoff to Quinshon Judkins, who was stopped for no gain on fourth and goal from the 1. Sanders appeared to bump into right guard Austin Barber on the miscue to botch the play. But he showed signs of life in the third quarter, scrambling 11 yards to convert a third down, and then hitting Denzel Boston down the right side on a stutter-and-go for a 60-yard pass to the Saints’ 3. Unfortunately for him, they went backwards thereafter, with Judkins losing 2 yards from the 3, and Sanders taking a 7-yard sack back to the 12. Under pressure, Sanders threw into the turf on third down, and the Browns were forced to settle for a field goal. But in the final 5:21 of the game and overtime, Sanders went 10 of 15 for 187 yards and two TDs for 149.1 rating. The TDs were a 64-yarder to KC Concepcion -- over former Browns cornerback Martin Emerson Jr. -- that made it 13-9, and a 39-yard catch and run by Fannin Jr. with 1:00 minute left in overtime. He also found Jerry Jeudy for 30 yards on third down to put Andre Szmyt in position for the game-tying 51-yard field goal with eight seconds left in regulation. Unfortunately for Sanders, he wasn’t able to complete the game-winning two-point pass to Denzel Boston after Fannin’s TD, getting flushed to the right by Carl Granderson and delivering a low strike to a tightly-covered Boston. But he finished with an excellent stat line of 19 of 31 for 297 yards with the two TDs and no INTs for a 114.6 rating. “I’m really proud of him and how hard he’s worked since I’ve been here,” Monken said. “He wasn’t perfect. I wasn’t perfect. But for a guy that really hasn’t taken snaps with the ones in what, 10 weeks … you’re basically running cards to come in there and to continue to battle, really, really proud of him.”He noted that Sanders has matured over their 10 months together, since they met in Monken’s office on the coach’s first day and Sanders bought him a horse’s head for his birthday.“I don’t mean that in a negative way that he was immature,” he said. “What I mean is in terms of his work ethic, in terms of his diligence, in terms of what he will say to the coaching staff and ask the questions, his feedback, those are all the right steps moving forward as any young player, especially a quarterback.”And even though it was mostly ragged for three quarters, Sanders nearly came from behind to win in in the end. “He gave us a chance at the end,” Monken said. “He really did. Made some plays, made some plays with his legs to extend plays and get us first downs. Heck, when we were in four-minute or close to four-minute, he got us a third-down conversion. Unfortunately we got the holding call, but I’m really proud of him, really proud of him.”Sanders, who went 3-4 in his seven starts last season, acknowledged that “I feel the best when a lot of pressure’s on.” He said more so than anything, he’s happy about the process.“I love to grind,” he said. “I know I have (the big plays) in me, so it’s not a surprise. It’s a surprise for everybody else, but for me it’s like, ‘oh, this is what I do.’ This is normal. So I always believe in myself and the whole team.” The Browns will undoubtedly want to see more of Sanders this season if they can, but they’re still in the playoff hunt at 5-4, and Watson is still likely the best quarterback to keep their playoff hopes alive going forward. The Browns do have decisions to make for the future, and Sanders demonstrated here that he might have a chance to be their man. But until they’re eliminated from playoff contention, they might want to stick with the veteran quarterback who got them to this point.