It was all good for the Cleveland Browns just a week ago. On Sunday, though, misery returned to the franchise, as the Browns lost to the San Francisco 49ers 26-8. It was the second start of rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders' career, and things got more challenging for him, including on his own sideline. Heading into the fourth quarter, CBS cameras captured Sanders and wide receiver Jerry Jeudy in a heated argument.
The rookie quarterback was looking at the tablet with some offensive linemen, when Jeudy came over clapping and expressing something to Sanders about a play that happened in the game. While it’s unclear what the receiver was saying, the rookie quarterback clearly disagreed, as he stood up, pointing at the tablet and matching Jeudy’s demonstrative energy. The two clearly weren’t on the same page, and center Ethan Pocic eventually directed Jeudy away.
Jerry Jeudy and Shedeur Sanders had an animated conversation during the game today 👀👀👀 pic.twitter.com/GMdvXfzdtl
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) November 30, 2025
Shedeur Sanders and Jerry Jeudy have heated exchange in Browns loss
Of course, this drew a ton of reactions. Many Browns fans quickly criticized Jeudy for what they felt was showing up a rookie quarterback. While that would always be considered a bad thing to do, fans weren’t giving Jeudy any grace since he has underwhelmed this season. The receiver finished the game with three receptions for 26 yards, and was slightly overthrown by Sanders on the first series of the game. While the sideline clip will be viewed millions of times, and dissected, exchanges like that are par for the course in sports, especially for losing teams like the Browns.
Sanders, who is just a rookie, didn’t back down to Jeudy. That’s not surprising to anyone who followed the quarterback throughout his well-documented college career. Sanders is comfortable being challenged by his receivers, and equally comfortable challenging them right back. There were numerous instances of that taking place during his time in college, and while it may look dramatic from the outside looking in, it’s often a necessary for teams to find success.
Cleveland is searching for that success, but has a ways to go. Following the game, Sanders talked about the time it’s going to take for the offense to consistently find that success. While he didn’t mention the sideline moment with Jeudy, he did say in his postgame comments that it’s going to take time to get on the same page with Jeudy, while emphasizing his desire to get the wideout the ball.
The two will hopefully improve their connection in the next week, as Cleveland will play the Tennessee Titans. Head coach Kevin Stefanski has already said Sanders will have his third start next week, so hopefully he and Jeudy can find the same page.