Boos rained down on Dillon Gabriel and the Cleveland Browns offense on the first possession of the game after initially coming out to go for a fourth-and-one from their own 39. Not because they couldn't convert, no, they did that. But because the play was called back due to an illegal formation penalty. 

It was just the first of several different points throughout the game where Browns fans expressed their displeasure with Gabriel and company. It didn't much matter that Cleveland was in front of the Baltimore Ravens for most of Sunday evening. 

They broke a 3-3 tie, to take a 6-3 lead with about 8:47 to go in the second quarter and added to it throughout the rest of the first half. At halftime it had ballooned to 16-10, but the offense had failed to turn a muffed punt at the Baltimore six into a touchdown. In fact, the Browns only touchdown of the first half came via a Devin Bush pick-six about 40 seconds later. 

As Cleveland went to the half, Gabriel had completed 7-of-10 passes for 68 yards.  The moans and groans were the the sounds of a crowd that was tired of watching an inept offense week after week and were ready for something different. 

They got their wish. 

Boos turned into a chorus of cheers at the start of the third quarter as Sheduer Sanders jogged onto the field with the offense, poised to take over under center for the first time this season. Gabriel was evaluated for a concussion and never returned.

The cheers became even louder when Sanders completed the first pass of his career to Cedric Tillman for five yards near the right sideline. It was a short-lived euphoria. 

A holding penalty on the next play pushed the Browns back into second-and-15. Sanders got seven back on a completion to David Njoku over the middle, but punted two plays later. 

The next series was something out of a Kevin Stefanski nightmare. Facing third-and-10, Sanders stood in the pocket and took a massive hit from a Ravens blitzer, but the ball came out way wide of his intended target Jerry Jeudy and was intercepted by CB Nate Wiggins and returned to Cleveland's 16. 

Somehow, the defense erased the mistake, with a tipped interception by Carson Schwesinger, quite literally, one play later. 

Nothing came of it. The offense gained two yards then punted. That was the case for the next two drives as well, which went five plays, 28 yards, punt. Then, three plays, -15 yards, punt. 

Meanwhile, the Ravens climbed their way back into the game, tying it at 16 with 5:03 to play in the fourth quarter. After that aforementioned three-and-out, Baltimore pulled out the Mark Andrews wild cat on fourth-and-one, that he housed a keeper for 35 yards to take back the lead for the first time since its second series of the game. 

That set the stage perfectly for Sanders to have a moment in the closing minutes of the game. A 25-yard dart to Harold Fannin Jr. on the first play of the series was arguably his best throw of the day. As the Browns marched to the 25 he tossed a couple nice balls towards the end zone, including one that fellow rookie Gage Larvadain nearly snared along the sideline in tight covered.  

The drive ended with a turnover on downs, ending any hope for a magical moment thr fans were wishing for. The Browns had lost again, 23-16. And not much changed with the offense even with Sanders under center. 

In the second half, with Sanders starting, the Browns offense picked up only four first downs. They amassed 54 net yards. They didn't score once. 

Sanders was just four-for-16, for 47 yards and an interception. He ran for 16 yards in three carries, as well. 

For all the debates over Gabriel or Sanders that reached even a national stage over the last seven months, the latter's first appearance was massively unsatisfying. For all the questions about why he was buried on the Browns depth chart, we saw why on Sunday evening. 

That's not entirely his fault.

The circumstances weren't ideal. Entering the game halfway through without having taken any reps with the first team throughout the season. Because Gabriel is also a rookie, Stefanski and company have prioritize giving him all those opportunities at practice because he's the starter. 

Then again, the circumstances are rarely ever "perfect" for a player to play for the first time. 

With Gabriel in the protocol, Sanders may be in line for his first NFL start in Las Vegas next week. A week of preparation as the starter could go a long way in producing some better results.

Sunday night proved, however, that the Browns quarterback problem remains unanswered. They've got seven games to figure out where it's headed.