Shedeur Sanders remaining on the board for the Browns to draft him in the fifth round became a major storyline during the draft and that was largely because there was a lot of talk during the pre-draft process about Sanders joining Cam Ward at the top of the draft.
Ward went first overall to the Titans after training with Sanders at points in that process and Sanders said on Wednesday that it was always fun to work with his fellow quarterback. Sanders said the two players have gone their “separate ways” since landing in the NFL because they’re focused on their jobs, but they’ll be back together when the Titans visit Cleveland on Sunday.
While some might see the matchup as a chance for Sanders to make the case that he should have gone off the board closer to Ward, the Browns starter said that his focus for this week won’t have any extra emphasis on the first overall pick.
“Nah, I think it’s nothing extra within myself,” Sanders said, via a transcript from the team. “It’s a lot of great quarterbacks, you know, week by week that we play against. So, I wouldn’t say this adds anything.”
Ward may have been selected well ahead of Sanders, but his rookie year has been no picnic and he’s won as many times in 12 starts as Sanders has won in his first two. That one win hasn’t earned Sanders much beyond this week’s start, so both players have plenty to strive for without making any individual bragging rights a big part of the equation.
The NFL will head into the final five weeks of the regular season with the fewest number of teams still in playoff contention since at least the 2002 season.
The Giants, who fell to 2-11 on Monday night, became the first team eliminated from postseason consideration in Week 12 and four teams joined them in Week 13. The 1-11 Titans, 2-10 Raiders, 2-10 Saints, and 3-9 Cardinals are also set to start making their plans for the 2026 season.
Per NBC Sports research, that is the most teams out at this point in the season since the divisional realignment that took place ahead of the 2002 season.
While all of those teams are out of the running, no teams have clinched a playoff spot at this point.
A handful of other teams should be joining that quintet soon. The 3-9 Jets, 3-9 Browns, 3-9 Commanders, 4-8 Falcons, and 4-8 Vikings are going to a lot of things to break in their favor to keep the playoff fires burning much longer.
The Commanders and Vikings play this week and the loser will have no remaining path to the playoffs. The Commanders will also be out if they win and the Eagles win while the Jets, Browns and Falcons are all out with a loss this week.
Punters don’t often receive personal fouls for unsportsmanlike conduct, but Logan Cooke of the Jaguars got one for his involvement in a post-play scrum during Sunday’s win over the Jaguars.
After the game, Titans running back Julius Chestnut alleged that Cooke “said he would kill me” during an interaction. On Monday, Jaguars head coach Liam Coen was asked about his reaction to that comment.
Coen said that his experience in the NFL has been that it was nothing out of the ordinary.
“I’ve probably heard that said, I mean, 100 times from players in games. So, whatever,” Coen said in a video conference with reporters.
Jaguars long snapper Ross Matiscik and Titans cornerback Kaiir Elam were also penalized for their roles in the altercation while Titans safety Mike Brown was ejected. Any NFL discipline for the affair will be doled out later this week.
Tempers flared in Tennessee on Sunday afternoon as the Titans and Jaguars combined for 23 penalties, including six personal fouls, for 184 yards. Titans safety Mike Brown was ejected for his role in a fight after a punt in the fourth quarter.
Brown went after Jaguars long snapper Ross Matiscik after Matiscik took a shot at Titans running back Julius Chestnut. Matiscik and Jaguars punter Logan Cooke were among the three other players whom officials penalized.
Chestnut said postgame that Cooke threatened him.
“He said he would kill me,” Chestnut said of his interaction with Cooke, via Nick Suss of The Tennessean. “That’s what he said. He came up to me and said he’d kill me. Never heard that one before. That was strange. Especially a punter, you know. It was strange.”
Logan’s frustration with Chestnut began with the punt before the fisticuffs when Chestnut blocked Cooke on a long return by Titans returner Chimere Dike. Cooke stopped Dike after a 47-yard return with 14:06 left in the fourth quarter.
Cooke was evaluated for a concussion and cleared, allowing Cooke and Chestnut to square off on the next punt. Chestnut was not penalized.
Rookie Shedeur Sanders will get a third start next week when the Browns play the Titans.
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski announced after Sunday’s 26-8 loss to San Francisco that Sanders will remain the starter.
Sanders completed 16 of 25 passes for 149 yards and a touchdown on Sunday. He missed one play in the fourth quarter when his foot appeared to get caught in the turf as he slid at the end of a scramble.
Sanders won his first career start, throwing for 209 yards with a touchdown and an interception in a 24-10 victory over the Raiders.
He is 31-of-61 for 405 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions in three appearances this season.
