Week 10 has the Browns sitting in a strange middle ground: not falling apart, not climbing, just hanging around while the rest of the league decides what to make of them.
Cleveland is 5-4 after back-to-back losses, and the latest batch of NFL power rankings reflects that uneasy status. The Browns’ overall ranking slipped just 0.7 spots week to week to 16.7, a small dip that still leaves them in the same general neighborhood across the major outlets. With a four-game home stretch ahead, plus a bye mixed in, the next stretch of the schedule looms as a crucial chance to steady things.
The biggest storyline around Cleveland right now is at quarterback, where the Browns appear ready to go back to Deshaun Watson after Shedeur Sanders handled the last game. CBS Sports kept Cleveland at No. 17 and pointed to Watson as the starter for the time being, while noting that Sanders “did some good things in the loss to the Saints.” ESPN also held the Browns at No. 16 and focused on the Week 18 trip to Cincinnati as the most important game of the second half.
That Bengals matchup could wind up carrying real weight. ESPN noted that Cleveland and Cincinnati have not played yet this season, but both teams are in the AFC playoff picture, which gives the regular-season finale a chance to matter for tiebreakers, wild-card positioning or seeding. The Browns are 2-1 in the division, with home wins over the Steelers and Ravens, and Joe Burrow has a 4-6 record against Cleveland.
Other outlets were less forgiving. NFL.com dropped the Browns four spots to No. 19 and said the loss can be explained in part by Sanders starting for the concussed Watson, but also by the offense being too restrained until the final minutes.
The bigger concern, in that view, is the defense. NFL.com wrote that the unit is not the same without Maliek Collins, has trouble stopping the run and has not been winning 1-on-1 matchups, “not including Denzel Ward,” for a while.
The outlet called Cleveland a middling team that could sneak into the playoffs, but also one that feels more like a 9-8 club that falls short.
Sporting News kept the Browns at No. 16, down one spot, and took a more optimistic view of the approach under first-year coach Todd Monken. Even in defeat, it praised the team’s aggressiveness and said the passing game showing life with Sanders is encouraging. The outlet added that making the playoffs matters less than figuring out whether Sanders can be the franchise quarterback.
Yahoo Sports placed Cleveland at No. 18, down two spots, and reported that the Browns are going back to Watson at quarterback, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. That came after Sanders put together multiple clutch drives against the Saints and nearly led a road win in overtime. Yahoo noted Sanders’ 112.3 passer rating on Sunday, while Watson’s season rating is 91.2 and he has taken a league-high 33 sacks.
Monken did not reveal his decision Monday, but Yahoo said the Browns believe in quarterback wins, which means Watson is set to get his job back after missing last week because of concussion protocol. The piece also warned that if Watson struggles, the quarterback conversation will flare up again.
Monken praised Sanders after the game, saying, “He wasn’t perfect. I wasn’t perfect,” Monken said after the game, via USA Today.
“But for a guy that really hasn’t taken snaps with the ones in 10 weeks ... to come in there and continue to battle - really, really proud of him.”
Bleacher Report kept Cleveland at No. 16 and called the team’s current situation what it looks like on the surface: the Browns’ first losing streak of 2026, and maybe a quarterback controversy too. It noted that Watson had cleared concussion protocol but was still held out Sunday in favor of Sanders, who threw for 297 yards and two touchdowns while adding 28 rushing yards.
After the game, Monken praised Sanders but declined to discuss the quarterback decision in detail, saying, “How long has it been? 30 minutes since the game ended?
I’m not getting into quarterback,” he said. “If we want to talk about Shedeur, we can talk about Shedeur.”
USA Today moved Cleveland up one spot to No. 15 and emphasized the schedule ahead. With the Bengals and Steelers set to battle each other, the Browns need to make the most of the stretch in front of them, no matter who is under center.
The outlet pointed out that none of those upcoming games will require Cleveland to leave the city before Dec. 20.
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Browns Rebuilt Offensive Line Already Feels Like The Same Old Problem
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In the overtime loss to the New Orleans Saints, those issues showed up in the kind of moments that tend to linger. A failed fourth-and-goal run, a lost-yardage play after a long pass and a holding penalty that stalled a late drive all underscored how much the Browns still have to sort out up front. For a unit that was supposed to represent a fresh start, the bigger question now is whether the fixes are real or just a new version of an old problem. [Read more 🡒]