Shedeur Sanders gave the Browns enough juice to make it interesting, but Cleveland still came up short in a 23-22 overtime loss to the Saints inside Caesars Superdome.
The finish had all the familiar Browns ingredients: a late rally, a chance to steal it, and then one last gut punch. Harold Fannin’s 39-yard catch-and-run touchdown put Cleveland in position to win, but Tytus Howard was flagged for holding as Sanders rolled out on the two-point try. Sanders then threw toward the front pylon, and the pass fell incomplete.
That came after Sanders had already dragged Cleveland back into the game. He finished with 297 passing yards, with 272 of them coming in the second half and overtime.
His biggest throw came on the final drive of regulation, when he took a heavy shot to the ribs from Saints pass rusher Chase Young and still delivered a 30-yard completion to Jerry Jeudy. That set up Andre Szmyt’s 51-yard field goal, which tied the game at 16-16 and forced overtime.
For long stretches, though, this looked like the same exhausting Browns script. Cleveland opened with a first half that went nowhere fast, running 30 plays for just 80 yards. Sanders had only 25 passing yards before halftime, and the offense never found a rhythm early.
Still, there were flashes that showed exactly why this version of the Browns can be so maddening. After the slow start, Sanders uncorked a 60-yard bomb to Denzel Boston that helped set up a field goal, then later hit KC Concepcion for a 64-yard touchdown to put Cleveland ahead with 5:21 left in regulation.
The Browns also had to survive because of their defense and some timely takeaways. Coming into Week 9 with 10 takeaways, Cleveland added two more forced fumbles to keep the game from slipping away. Carson Schwesinger punched the ball loose from rookie wide receiver Jordyn Tyson near the goal line in the second quarter, and later Adin Huntington jarred it free from Saints returner Barion Brown for a second straight turnover.
Even with all that, the game stayed stuck in a low-scoring grind. It was 6-6 after three quarters, tied for the second-lowest-scoring game of the season entering the fourth quarter through nine weeks.
Aggressive calls didn’t pay off for Todd Monken, either. Cleveland passed on a chance to take a 6-3 lead in the first half on the goal line and got stuffed after Sanders bumped into pulling right guard Austin Barber as he tried to hand off to Quinshon Judkins.
Then, in the fourth quarter, a failed fourth-down try gave the Saints the ball and eventually led to a go-ahead field goal with under six minutes left. The Browns came into Week 9 converting fourth downs at 36%, which ranked 27th in football.
There was at least some good news on the injury front. Barber and Concepcion both left shaken up, but each returned shortly after. Concepcion initially couldn’t put weight on his right ankle, then came back for Cleveland’s next offensive series and later played a key role in the late scoring flurry.
In Other News...
Browns Have A New Reason To Watch The Rams Closely
The Browns quarterback situation is already complicated enough after Deshaun Watsons concussion, but there is another reason the front office has had to keep one eye on the West Coast. Cleveland is tied for the AFCs last playoff seed after nine weeks, and with the offense in flux, every bit of future draft capital matters a little more than it did a month ago.
Los Angeles has been dealing with a wave of injuries, including a setback for Puka Nacua, and that could push the Rams toward adding help at receiver before the trade deadline. Cleveland has a particular interest in how aggressive they get, because the Rams currently hold the 18th overall pick in the 2027 draft, a selection that is slated to land with the Browns. If Los Angeles starts chasing reinforcements, the ripple effects could reach far beyond this season. [Read more 🡒]
Browns Quarterback Uncertainty Just Got More Frustrating
After the loss to New Orleans, the Browns are back in the familiar spot of waiting on a quarterback call, and this one carries even more weight with Houston up next. Todd Monken said the decision is still open, leaving the current starter and the backup both in the mix as Cleveland tries to steady itself after another uneven showing.
The uncertainty lands at a rough time for a team already dealing with broader performance issues, especially on defense, and it only adds to the frustration around a quarterback situation that has lingered too long. For a Browns roster trying to find some traction, the next move under center now feels like part of a much bigger search for answers. [Read more 🡒]
Browns Defense Flashed Again But One Late Problem Wont Go Away
The Browns defense kept doing what it has done all season, showing up with a disruptive front and enough depth to survive another game without Maliek Collins. Cleveland leaned on a rotation that included Myles Garrett, Cameron Thomas, and a busy group of linebackers and defensive backs, and the snap counts reflected a unit that had to keep grinding through the afternoon against the Saints.
What stood out again, though, was the same late-game issue that has followed this defense at times: the closing stretch still gets messy. Even with individual production up front and solid work from the cornerbacks, the Browns could not fully put the final stamp on the game the way they would have liked, leaving one familiar problem hanging over an otherwise encouraging defensive performance. [Read more 🡒]