CLEVELAND — Well, at least All-Pro defensive end Myles Garrett is chasing the NFL’s single-season sack record and rookie Shedeur Sanders is making a case for himself as a viable starting quarterback.
Those are about the only reasons to give a bleep about the Browns in the final four games this season.
“This is setting us up for the rest of the year and next year. How we choose to handle these games is defining not only our team but us as men,” Garrett said.
Cleveland Browns eliminated from playoff contention
As an organization, the Browns have perfected kicking their fans in the teeth.
The Browns were officially eliminated from playoff contention on Dec. 7 with a 31-29 loss to the abysmal Tennessee Titans on the heels of a Dec. 6 news dump to national NFL insiders about keeping quarterback Deshaun Watson on the roster next year with an eye toward him serving as a bridge starter.
Oh, yay!
Since their rebirth, the Cleveland Browns have 19 seasons with double-digit losses
No. 19 is beloved in Cleveland because Browns legend Bernie Kosar wore it, but now the franchise has given the number a negative connotation. By falling to 3-10, the Browns have reached double-digit losses for the 19th time since the team’s expansion era began in 1999.
The Browns are 6-24 in their last 30 games after finishing the 2024 season with a record of 3-14.
People must be rushing to pay thousands of dollars for seats in Brook Park!
This past offseason, Browns owner Jimmy Haslam’s public messaging indicated a desire to retain coach Kevin Stefanski and general manager Andrew Berry beyond this season. During training camp, Haslam said “we got to do better than three” wins in 2025.
Is the end near for the Cleveland Browns regime led by coach Kevin Stefanski and GM Andrew Berry?
Guess what? The Browns are in legitimate danger of failing to win more than three games for the second consecutive season, and they have lost to some pathetic opponents this year. They have fallen to the 2-11 Titans, 3-10 New York Jets, 4-9 Cincinnati Bengals and 5-8 Minnesota Vikings.
These results are great for draft positioning AND tormenting a miserable fan base!
Even the staunchest Stefanski and Berry supporters — there cannot be many of them left — should concede this has the look and feel of a regime on a death march.
The Titans entered Week 14 with one win and interim Mike McCoy at the helm, but the guys from the frozen tundra of Tennessee beat the Browns in the snow at Huntington Bank Field and looked better prepared.
The Browns forgot to defend the run, as evidenced by Tony Pollard rushing for 161 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries (6.4 average).
The Browns knew the Titans were awful, yet good on special teams and would go after punts, and they still allowed a blocked punt, which led to Joey Slye’s 41-yard field goal with 6:17 left to play and what wound up being the decisive points.
Sanders made some crucial mistakes. He threw an easily avoidable interception late in the third quarter and fumbled a snap on a squandered two-point attempt after he rushed for a 7-yard touchdown with 4:27 remaining.
But Sanders also bounced back to orchestrate an 80-yard scoring drive capped by his 7-yard TD pass to rookie tight end Harold Fannin Jr. with 1:03 left.
The Browns trailed 31-29 in crunch time, and their young QB had a hot hand. Time to let him cook with the game on the line, right? No, not at all because Stefanski and offensive coordinator Tommy Rees combined to get too cute with their two-point play.
Rookie running back Quinshon Judkins took a direct snap, like he has on several occasions this season, but this time he looked to hand the ball to rookie wide receiver Gage Larvadain. However, the handoff never happened. Judkins and Larvadain were not on the same page, and what was supposed to develop into a trick-play pass never materialized. Judkins eventually threw in desperation and under pressure. The ball fell incomplete.
A brilliant strategy!
Shedeur Sanders stats in Browns vs. Titans
A fifth-round draft pick (No. 144 overall), Sanders finished with the best statistical production in his three regular-season NFL starts. He went 23-of-42 passing (54.8%) for 364 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. He had a passer rating of 97.7. He also rushed for a TD and took two sacks.
In all Browns games since 1960, Sanders became the first Cleveland player to throw for at least 300 yards and record at least three TD passes and one rushing TD in a single outing.
The No. 1 overall pick in 2017, Garrett tallied four tackles, with three for loss, one sack and one pass defensed. He has 20 sacks this season.
Garrett needs three sacks in the final four games to break the official single-season record of 22.5 shared by Hall of Famer Michael Strahan (2001) and Pittsburgh Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt (2021). Garrett needs 3.5 sacks to surpass the unofficial record of 23 held by legendary defensive end Al “Bubba” Baker (1978). Sacks were not counted as an official NFL stat until 1982.
There are no signs the Browns will rally around the concept of attempting to save Stefanski’s job with games remaining at the Chicago Bears (9-4), against the Buffalo Bills (9-4) and Pittsburgh Steelers (7-6) and at the Bengals (4-9).
What’s more believable is the defense being motivated to help Garrett set the sack record.
“It’s about winning and losing, but guys love individual awards, especially when it’s making history, so we’re excited for him,” Browns safety Grant Delpit said. “I know he’s going to be rushing his ass off.
“It’s an individual accomplishment. But, of course, nothing in this team sport is [purely individual]. You can’t win by yourself. You can’t break records by yourself.”
Sanders has important phases of his audition on the horizon.
Would you rather have him or Watson (complete with baggage and a twice-ruptured Achilles tendon) as the bridge starter to the quarterback the Browns will likely draft in the first round in April?
And is everyone certain Sanders can’t be more than a bridge starter?
Garrett and Sanders aside, the Browns haven’t given fans compelling reasons to watch until the end of another disastrous season. No one should fault the fans who have stopped caring.
The Browns deserve the blame yet again.
Nate Ulrich is the sports columnist of the Akron Beacon Journal and a sports features writer. Nate can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.