In Week 12, the Cleveland Browns rode a dominating defensive performance to a 24-10 win over the Las Vegas Raiders. Cleveland posted 10 sacks in the effort, and from the getgo, it was apparent that Geno Smith would be under siege. Eight different Browns registered a sack, and Myles Garrett tacked three more quarterback takedowns on to his season total, and set a Browns record with now 18 sacks on the year.
It was Cleveland’s first road win of the 2025 campaign, and in relatively stress-free fashion. That was a nice changeup from what had been occurring for much, if not most, of the year to this point.
One of the key talking points from Cleveland’s victory was how Shedeur Sanders was able to help steer the ship to a W in his first start. Sanders is the first rookie since 1995 to do that for the Browns in their first start (the prior 17 weren’t successful).
Sanders was not the driving force behind the Browns landing that win on Sunday, as the defense and special teams deserve their props. Still, Sanders did play fairly well and as of Monday, he’ll have another opportunity as QB 1 for Cleveland. Dillon Gabriel passed the league’s concussion protocol but Sanders will remain in there for the Browns in their Week 13 contest versus the San Francisco 49ers.
Sanders will need to respond in a big way vs. 49ers on Sunday
In his first NFL start, Sanders was not exceptional, but he made enough things happen to give the Browns a lift in spots and he gave the team some juice.
Granted, Sanders didn't have a Hall of Fame performance, and one can't necessarily proclaim as Cleveland's long term answer at quarterback from that game. He was 11-of-20 as a passer versus Las Vegas, with 209 yards through the air; he had one touchdown and one interception.
Sanders had a head-scratching interception early in the game, where he forced the pass, and it was a coachable moment. He also had a dangerous checkdown with a lot of air under it later in the game which just ended up leading to a loss of several yards.
Those things aside, there were positives to build on from Sanders' first start. He had a 52-yard completion on the run (most of which came from air yards) to Isaiah Bond, leading to Cleveland's second score of the game, which was an electrifying pass. Cleveland was not getting that sort of thing from Gabriel, whose biggest completion in 4.5 starts has been 26 yards.
Plus, even with the end result being a fumble by Jerry Jeudy in the open field, Sanders finding Jeudy from extending in the second quarter was a heck of a play Cleveland had been missing as well. It wasn't all air yards, but that would've been good for a 39-year gain.
Last but not least, even with the pass being a short dumpoff and Dylan Sampson running it for a 66-yard touchdown later in the game, Sanders' threat of throwing downfield likely had to some do with its success. The Raiders not being in great position to defend that pass with defenders being further back was something to keep in mind.
Moving to this coming Sunday's contest, clearly, the Browns are likely going to need Sanders to do more over the course of their next game. The 49ers are a club that is much more capable offensively than the Raiders, and in all likelihood, the Browns defense won't be nearly as dominant as it was in Vegas.
San Francisco has had ups and downs at points, somewhat due to injury, but they're an 8-4 group that's likely going to put pressure on Cleveland and points with Christian McCaffrey's skill set and their variety of formations.
Now, Brock Purdy is coming off a three-interception game in the Niners' 20-9 win over the Carolina Panthers on Monday, and he's missed much of the season thus far because of a toe injury. Purdy is still going to take a bit to get his footing and on the same page in the passing game, it appears.
However, Kyle Shanahan knows how to fully utilize McCaffrey, who is healthy and has 81 receptions this season, and George Kittle and Jauan Jennings are formidable third down and redzone targets with size. Point being, even with precipitation on the forecast likely keeping the scoring down some in Cleveland's upcoming game, Sanders and the Browns offense are going to need to have some better consistency over the course of that one.
Despite there likely being an especially run-heavy approach next up for Cleveland and Kevin Stefanski with Quinshon Judkins getting ample touches, it still would behoove the Browns to mix in some shots with Sanders to keep San Francisco honest. In those instances, the hope is productivity from Harold Fannin Jr. and other underneath targets could lead to a few looks for Sanders to take advantage, should the opportunities arise a few times.
Make no mistake, it's going to be much more of a true test for Sanders in Week 13 versus San Francisco. Even with conditions that are hardly going to be climate-controlled as they were in Sanders' first start, Cleveland's offense can't go dormant for elongated stretches.