CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Browns kicked off the 2025 preseason, and Shedeur Sanders mania is officially all the rage in Cleveland.
The Browns took down the Panthers in a 30-10 win, but Sanders very quickly became the story of the night.
The rookie QB put on a show, and his young pass catchers benefitted. Several young defenders also made the type of game-changing plays that the Browns defense will need to turn the ship around after a 3-14 season.
In all, it was a good first step for a team that’s looking for any kind of spark it can get its hands on after last season.
So let’s relive the action. Here are some of my real-time reactions from throughout the evening:
1st Half
*On the opening kickoff return, it’s Kaden Davis and Luke Floreia set to return. Floriea, a Kent State and Mentor High alum, has become a fan favorite. I would still expect him to be on the practice squad at this point with Davis and Gage Larvadain likely in front of him.
*The moment everyone has been waiting for: Sanders’ first series as a Brown. A nice throw was dropped by Diontae Johnson and he completed a nice third-down throw to Davis but it was a yard short for the first down. The Browns are resting most of their starters on offense, in an unsurprising move for a team that usually treats the final preseason game as a dress rehearsal.
*The Browns defense also primarily ran with backups — of course, rookies like Mason Graham or Carson Schwesinger are in line to start, but it’s good to get them experience in this one.
*The good news, however, is on their first drive they forced a three-and-out. Alex Wright got nice pressure off the edge, and split a sack with Sam Kamara taking down Bryce Young.
*Graham, the No. 5 overall pick was also getting double teamed early — to be expected considering his reputation alone as an interior rusher.
*On the second drive, Sanders recognized a five-man rush on third-and-9. He scrambled to his right for the first down on a play that showed great awareness of the Carolina DBs having their backs turned, and none of the panic that caused him to drive back in college.
*The bad on that same drive: Sanders did buckle to pressure on fourth-and-1 at the Carolina 26, and turned his back and ran before throwing incomplete to Floriea.
*More bad on the same drive: An attempted end around by Davis that lost the Browns 2 yards ... year six of the Kevin Stefanski regime and they still haven’t figured out a way to effectively run this.
*I didn’t have a veteran ejection on my BINGO card for this game, but here we have it: It’s safety Rayshawn Jenkins in the first quarter. His replacement in the game, Damontae Kazee, is who got beat as the Panthers scored their first touchdown.
*Nathaniel Watson with the hustle play of the game so far, recovering a muffed punt at the Carolina 10. Watson, Cleveland’s sixth-round pick in the 2024 draft, will provide depth at linebacker, but contributions like that on special teams will ensure he gets more meaningful snaps in year two.
*Sanders has a chance to show off the accuracy we’ve lauded him for since camp began on his first drive of the second quarter. He rolls out to the left and threads the needle to Davis, who’s falling towards the left sideline in the end zone.
*Facing third-and-8 from their own 8-yard line, Sanders doesn’t panic and comes up with a big throw over the middle to Larvadain for 19 yards. Sanders may not be perfect, but not many rookies can make that kind of throw either.
*His connection with Davis is evident once again for a 12-yard TD. Catches like that are why I would guess Davis has a chance to be the last receiver to make the 53-man roster on cutdown day.
2nd Half
*In the second half the Browns offense starts off a little shaky thanks to their old nemesis: Penalties. An illegal shift, a couple of false starts, and an ineligible man downfield. Those were the kinds of mistakes that plagued the Browns last year, en route to three wins.
*The Browns also struggled to get takeaways last season as a defense, but got a big one at 7:44 in the third quarter from safety Nik Needham at the Carolina 43.
*Sanders drove the Browns down and the drive ended with a shocker: An end around that actually worked by Larvadain that was good for the TD.
*Throughout camp Larvadain has developed a good chemistry with Sanders while both have been working with the reserves. Cleveland should be able to find a way to keep him around, even if it’s on the practice squad.
*By the end of the third quarter Sanders’ night had ended, with him undeniably the story of the game.
*In the game broadcast interview with Aditi Kinkhabwala once his night was over, I thought this answer from Sanders was especially noteworthy when she asked him about his thoughts on reps and where he is on the depth chart: "I honestly don’t know, and I don’t really care. Whenever it’s my turn, I just got to take advantage of it. I feel like today I did some good, some bad. And I know moving forward, I won’t make the same mistakes twice. So that’s not in my control. You know, regardless of whatever the situation, it’s not up to me. And it is what it is. I just gotta accept whatever everything comes with."
*It’s a good attitude to have, and I’m not surprised — Sanders has shown this no matter what has been thrown his way, whether it’s been getting drafted in the fifth round or getting limited reps in practice. He’s never publicly complained and handled it like a pro.
*But I can’t help but speculate the next 3 1/2 weeks among the fanbase (especially on X) are about to be ones for the ages. Since Sanders performed in this one, the clamoring for him to get more reps in practice is only going to keep coming.
*For me, this game solidified what I already thought: Sanders has shown me enough to want me to see him with the first-team offense. What does it look like with him throwing to Jerry Jeudy, Cedric Tillman, and David Njoku, with the first team line? We still don’t know, but he’s done enough right in my mind to warrant more opportunities and chances to build.
*Defensively, it was good to see Schwesinger lead the way with six tackles with reps more split up than they would be in a regular game. It was a solid debut for the linebacker, who keeps producing in the middle of the defense
*It was a quieter showing for Graham, largely because of those double teams. He ended with one tackle.
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