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Major Takeaways
- Sanders threw for 297 yards and two touchdowns in his first start of the season.
- Cleveland rallied from a slow start and forced overtime on a 51 yard field goal with eight seconds left.
- New Orleans won in overtime after Cleveland went for two and the win instead of the tie.
- Head coach Todd Monken praised Sanders but refused to name a starter for the Houston game.
Shedeur Sanders waited eight games for his first start of the season.
On Sunday in New Orleans, he nearly turned that long wait into a win.
Sanders completed 19 of 31 passes for 297 yards and two touchdowns.
Cleveland still fell 23 to 22 in overtime at the Caesars Superdome.
The loss stung for the Browns and their fans.
The performance still changed the conversation inside the quarterback room.
Shedeur Sanders in a Cleveland Browns uniform during the 2025 preseason, file photo. Photo: Erik Drost via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.
A Slow Start at the Caesars Superdome
Sanders got the call because Deshaun Watson was inactive on Sunday.
Watson missed two days of practice while in the concussion protocol.
He cleared the protocol on Saturday, one day before kickoff.
Sanders had taken every rep with the starters during the week.
The second year passer served as the backup for the first eight games.
A 2025 fifth round pick, he lost the camp competition to Watson.
Watson went 5 and 3 as the starter behind five winning drives.
His efficiency numbers still ranked near the bottom of the league.
Early on Sunday, Sanders looked like a backup shaking off rust.
He completed 5 of 8 passes for just 38 yards before halftime.
The first half ended tied at 3 to 3.
Two Cleveland trips inside the Saints 10 ended without a touchdown.
Sacks pushed the Browns backward at the worst possible moments.
Cleveland finished the day with nine penalties for 53 yards.
Shedeur Sanders Takes Over Late
The game turned when Sanders started attacking down the field.
He hit rookie Denzel Boston for 60 yards in the third quarter.
That drive ended with a field goal from Andre Szmyt.
Early in the fourth quarter, Cleveland still trailed 9 to 6.
Then Sanders found rookie KC Concepcion behind the defense.
The 64 yard touchdown gave Cleveland a 13 to 9 lead.
The score came with 5 minutes and 41 seconds left in regulation.
It was the first NFL touchdown catch of the rookie season for Concepcion.
Sanders threw two passes of at least 60 yards in one afternoon.
That doubled the total Watson produced across his first eight games.
Sanders said afterward that pressure brings out his best football.
“That’s when I feel the best, honestly.” Sanders said.
New Orleans answered with 58 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
Audric Estime scored on a 2 yard run for a 16 to 13 lead.
Estime had been cut by Cleveland only days before the game.
Sanders was not finished with the rally.
He took a hard hit from Chase Young and still found Jerry Jeudy.
The 30 yard completion moved Cleveland into Saints territory.
Szmyt then drilled a 51 yard field goal with eight seconds left.
His third field goal of the day forced overtime at 16 to 16.
Sanders talks with a coach during Browns training camp in July 2025, file photo. Photo: Erik Drost via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.
The Saints Finish It in Overtime
Tyler Shough opened overtime with the drive of his young career.
He led New Orleans 74 yards across 11 plays.
His 15 yard touchdown pass to Juwan Johnson made it 23 to 16.
Shough finished 21 of 35 for 265 yards and one touchdown.
He added 51 rushing yards and threw no interceptions.
Chris Olave caught seven passes for 98 yards for the Saints.
Sanders answered one more time for Cleveland.
Harold Fannin Jr. turned a short pass into a 39 yard touchdown.
The score came with about a minute left in overtime.
Cleveland chose the win instead of the tie.
Sanders rolled right under pressure from Carl Granderson on the try.
His pass for Boston fell incomplete, and Cleveland drew a holding call.
Granderson sacked Sanders twice during the afternoon.
Sanders took five sacks in all and never threw an interception.
New Orleans improved to 3 and 5 with its first home win.
Cleveland fell to 5 and 4 with a second straight loss.
Praise for Sanders and No Answer Yet
Head coach Todd Monken praised his young quarterback after the game.
“I’m really proud of him,” Monken said after the loss.
“He gave us a chance at the end,” Monken added.
Monken noted Sanders had barely practiced with the starters for weeks.
He still refused to name a starter for the next game.
“I’m not getting into quarterback,” Monken told reporters.
He pointed out that the game had ended only 30 minutes earlier.
Former Browns quarterback Robert Griffin III weighed in online.
“Shedeur Sanders should be a starting QB in the NFL,” Griffin wrote.
Former Pittsburgh coach Bill Cowher backed Sanders on television as well.
“He’s the future of your football team,” Cowher said.
Sanders himself kept the focus on the team.
“I control what I control,” Sanders said.
He added that he can fill any role the team asks of him.
Jerry Jeudy, left, walks with Sanders during Browns training camp, file photo. Photo: Erik Drost via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.
Why This Start Matters Beyond One Sunday
Black football fans have followed the Sanders story for years.
He began his college career at Jackson State in Mississippi.
His father Deion Sanders coached him there on an HBCU sideline.
That program drew national cameras to Black college football every week.
The school he left behind is still winning big games today.
On Saturday, Jackson State took over the SWAC East lead with a rout of Mississippi Valley State.
Sanders then carried that same spotlight to Colorado and the draft.
He slid to the fifth round and heard the doubts that followed.
Young Black quarterbacks still fight old labels about style and readiness.
Sunday offered a different kind of evidence for the whole league.
Sanders protected the football and made the biggest throws late.
He did it on the road, in a loud dome, with the game collapsing around him.
One start does not settle a career or a depth chart.
It does prove the moment was never too big for him.
What Comes Next for Cleveland
Cleveland now hosts the Houston Texans before a bye week.
Watson has cleared the protocol, so the choice is a coaching decision.
Monken can return to the veteran who opened the season.
Or he can ride the young passer who just threw for 297 yards.
Either way, the locker room saw what Sanders did on Sunday.
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