Shedeur Sanders was unhappy with how he played in the Browns’ 31-3 loss to the Bears on Sunday. The rookie quarterback was even less happy after watching the film of his three-interception game.
“I just got to play better,” the quarterback said Wednesday, via Chris Easterling of beaconjournal.com. “Yeah. I just cannot make those costly turnovers and have the expectation to win.”
It was the worst of Sanders’ four starts as he completed 18 of 35 passes for 177 yards with three interceptions, while taking five sacks.
“I just got to get more completions,” Sanders said. “I got to get more completions and even whenever we’re down or anything I can’t press. I just got to remain having those mental notes to myself. Just work within the game and just keep driving the ball. Get first downs.”
Sanders has averaged 224.8 passing yards, which was helped by his 364 yards against the Titans in Week 14. He had only two touchdowns in his first three starts.
“Kept playing,” Sanders said. “Kept playing. That’s progress. Of course, it’s not the result we want to do, and I definitely take that to heart because I understand when I play winning football and when I don’t. So it’s kind of understanding that, evaluating that and just moving forward.”
Browns Clips
While Bills head coach Sean McDermott mentioned several injured players during his Wednesday press conference, he did not note two key offensive players who weren’t able to practice to start the week.
Tight end Dalton Kincaid (knee) and left tackle Dion Dawkins (illness) did not participate in what was a walk-through practice, according to Buffalo’s Wednesday injury report.
Kincaid has been dealing with a knee injury since last month, though he was able to return for the Dec. 7 game against Cincinnati. He also played last Sunday’s game against the Patriots with three full practices leading up to the contest.
In 10 games this season, Kincaid has 36 receptions for 523 yards with five touchdowns.
Kicker Matt Prater (right quad) and defensive tackle Jordan Phillips (ankle) were also listed as non-participants.
Cornerback Christian Benford (toe), linebacker Terrel Bernard (elbow), and receiver Mecole Hardman (calf) were all listed as limited.
Cornerback Taron Johnson (quad) and defensive tackle DaQuan Jones (calf) were listed as full.
With the Dolphins apparently moving on from quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, the next question becomes where his career will continue.
Plenty of teams will be looking for quarterbacks in the offseason. Tagovailoa has shown that he can operate an offense at a high level, when the play that’s called is there. When the play that’s called is stymied by the defense, things often go haywire.
Former Dolphins cornerback Xavien Howard, who spent the early part of the season with the Colts before retiring, said after the Colts blew out the Dolphins in Week 1 that, if the first read is taken away, Tua slips into “panic mode.”
Whatever the label, he freezes. As the defender approaches, he doesn’t throw the ball away. He lacks the agility and speed to run away from the pressure and make something happen, like Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, and/or Lamar Jackson. The play just disintegrates.
And while the Dolphins have tried, in vain, to coach him toward a solution for a play that goes sideways, another coach may think that he can do what neither Brian Flores nor Mike McDaniel have been able to accomplish in six NFL seasons.
It all comes down to the options available for the teams that will be looking for a veteran quarterback. Those teams currently include, in our assessment, the Jets (he’s 7-0 against them), Steelers, Browns, Raiders, Vikings, Falcons, and Cardinals.
If the Dolphins cut Tua, he can sign with another team for the veteran minimum, like the Steelers did last year with Wilson. It’ll be a low-risk, high-reward option for a team that believes it can get more out of Tua than the Dolphins did.
And if enough teams are interested, perhaps a trade becomes possible. Even if the Dolphins would have to pay a lot of the money Tua is owed next year.
It’s not a crazy thought, even if it won’t be easy to get him to bail on a bad play before the bad play becomes a sack or a fumble or an interception. Given the good things he has shown he can do — good enough to get a $53.1 million per year contract — some team will be willing to give Tua a try.
Cornerback Christian Benford did not play in last Sunday’s win over the Dolphins, but the Bills hope to have him back for this week’s game in Cleveland.
Benford sat out with the toe injury that landed him on last Thursday’s injury report. Benford was limited in that practice and he was out on Friday before being listed as questionable. Head coach Sean McDermott told reporters on Wednesday that Benford is slated to practice in some capacity later in the day.
Defensive tackle Jordan Phillips (ankle) and kicker Matt Prater (quad) will not practice. The Bills have already said that Prater will miss Sunday’s game.
Wide receiver Mecole Hardman (calf) is expected to practice for the first time since going on injured reserve in mid-November. His return will open a 21-day return window for the veteran.
Browns linebacker Devin Bush was found not guilty of assault and harassment charges on Tuesday, according to TribLive.
Bush was arrested and charged in May after a dispute with his girlfriend over mashed potatoes in the couple’s Pittsburgh-area home. Shkurte Leka, 27, accused Bush of assaulting her and taking her car keys after she started videoing the argument on her iPhone.
Per the newspaper, Leka testified Bush chased her through the home and pinned her to a massage table as he tried to wrestle the cellphone from her. She had cuts and abrasions on her right wrist and a toe.
Bush admitted smashing the cell phone but denied injuring his girlfriend.
Bush ranks second on the Browns with 93 tackles.
The Bills have found their replacement for kicker Matt Prater.
Prater will not play against the Browns this week because of a quad injury and the team announced on Tuesday that they have signed Michael Badgley to the practice squad.
Badgley appeared in seven games for the Colts this season. He was 10-of-11 on field goals and 18-of-21 on extra points for Indianapolis, but was cut after missing an extra point in their Week 13 loss to the Texans.
Prater signed with the Bills after Tyler Bass was injured before the start of the season. He’s 18-of-20 on field goals and 43-of-46 on extra points.
The Bills also announced that they have released cornerback M.J. Devonshire from the practice squad.
The Browns signed wide receiver Jamari Thrash back to the active roster, the team announced Monday. The Browns waived offensive guard Garrett Dellinger in a corresponding move.
The Browns cut Thrash on Saturday to sign Dellinger to the active roster.
Thrash, a fifth-round pick in 2024, has appeared in nine games this season. He has recorded 10 receptions for 107 yards.
Dellinger made his NFL debut in Sunday’s loss to the Bears, playing 29 offensive snaps and one on special teams. He is a rookie out of LSU, whom the Ravens selected in the seventh round.
The Browns fell to 3-11 with Sunday’s 31-3 loss to the Bears and they are now 6-25 since the start of the 2024 season.
Kevin Stefanski has been the head coach for all of those games and that turnaround from his 37-30 mark over his first four years in Cleveland has led to some chatter about whether he could be dismissed come the end of the season. Stefanski was asked during a Monday video conference if he has had any conversations with ownership about his job security.
“I don’t get into those type of things,” Stefanski said. “My focus, our football team’s focus, is solely on the Buffalo Bills. Obviously watching the tape today, that’s our focus. That’s all we really care about.”
Paul Brown and Blanton Collier are the only men in Browns history to coach more games than the 98 that Stefanski has coached for the team. He will be in line to pass Collier for second place if he returns for the 2026 season, but it remains to be seen if that will happen.
During Sunday’s loss to the Bears, Browns defensive end Myles Garrett was shown on the game broadcast in the second half trying to loosen up his hip.
But in pursuit of the single-season sack record, Garrett never left the field for an extended period to get examined during the 31-3 loss.
He confirmed after the game that he suffered a hip injury, but there was never a question of him getting sidelined.
“I’m going to play through pretty much anything,” Garrett said, via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. “Tweaked my hip or something in that area, so I was feeling that for the rest of the game. But like I said, we’re just going to keep, continuing to push through because we’ve still got something to play for.
“As long as there’s games on the schedule, I’m going to go out there and try to win.”
Garrett recorded 1.5 sacks on Caleb Williams on Sunday, giving him a total of 21.5 so far in 2025 with three games to go. He’s now just one sack away from tying the record first set by Michael Strahan and tied by T.J. Watt.
Even as the Browns have reached 11 losses in another poor season, Garrett noted he’ll do his best to keep the team’s effort high.
“You’re taking one game at a time,” Garrett said. “You don’t look at the record, look at the man beside you. It could be his last game. It could be his last game in the NFL, last game here. Could be your last game. Don’t go out with a whimper. Don’t go gently into the night. You keep on fighting and you want to be remembered for your very last play, your very last game, and you want to go out on the best note possible because that’s your legacy with your team, with your family, and for you personally.
“When you lay your head down at night, you want to be proud of something. So go make yourself proud, go make your family proud, go make your team proud.”
Garrett and the Browns will face the Bills, Steelers, and Bengals to finish the season.
The Bears entered Week 15 with a record of 9-4.
The Browns were 3-10.
In a performance fit for both teams’ records, Chicago had little trouble taking care of Cleveland for a 31-3 victory.
The Bears’ defense made it particularly tough for rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders, picking him off three times. With little run game to speak of, the Browns did not reach 200 yards of offense until there was a minute left in the fourth quarter. And then they lost that mark when Sanders took two late sacks, finishing with 192 total yards.
Offensively, Chicago took an early 14-0 lead that seemed insurmountable — because it was. D’Andre Swift rushed for a 6-yard touchdown midway through the first quarter. Caleb Williams followed that with a 3-yard touchdown pass to DJ Moore late in the period.
With frigid conditions in Chicago, Bears kicker Cairo Santos missed a 35-yard field goal wide right to keep the score 14-0 at halftime.
While Andre Szmyt connected on a 50-yard field goal to make the score 14-3 early in the third quarter, the Browns weren’t able to do much else.
Moore’s 22-yard touchdown after a Sanders pick made the score 21-3. Swift added a 17-yard TD late in the third quarter and Santos nailed a 41-yard field goal to close out the scoring.
Williams finished the contest 17-of-28 for 242 yards with two touchdowns. Swift had 18 carries for 98 yards with a pair of TDs.
Sanders ended the game 18-of-35 for 177 yards with no touchdowns and three interceptions.
Notably, Browns defensive end Myles Garrett got even closer to the single-season sack record. He brought down Williams 1.5 times in the game, giving him 21.5 sacks on the season — 1.0 sacks off of the record shared by Michael Strahan and T.J. Watt.
The Bears now have 10 wins for the first time since 2018 — Matt Nagy’s first year as the club’s head coach. Chicago will host Green Bay next Saturday night for a game with huge postseason implications.
At 3-11, the Browns are playing out the string. They will host Buffalo next Sunday afternoon for a battle of Lake Erie.
