Dawgs By Nature
Winning in the NFL, especially against a division rival, can cover up a lot of issues for a team.
Take the Cleveland Browns, for example, who pulled off a somewhat surprising (but not really) victory on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The win was Cleveland’s sixth in the past seven home games against Pittsburgh, and had the bonus of denying the Steelers, who seemed more interested in stopping Myles Garrett than actually winning, a chance at clinching the division title.
Victory Mondays are always fun, of course, especially for a fanbase that has experienced so few of them these past two seasons. But it also came with a cost, one that the Browns will not have to pay for a few months, but that will define the trajectory of the franchise.
With the win, the Browns have eliminated themselves from the possibility of having the No. 1 overall selection in the 2026 NFL Draft. Cleveland is currently sitting at No. 6 and saw their chances of selecting in the Top 5 fall from 88 percent to 55 percent with the victory, depending on how the final weekend of the season plays out.
No one in the locker room is going to be upset about the team’s draft position, but the front office needs to have a big-picture view, and that view reveals that the quarterback position is far from settled.
After putting up 10 points in the first quarter against the Steelers, the Browns could only manage three points over the final three quarters. They had all of two first downs and 42 yards of offense in the second half.
That continues the season-long stretch of poor offensive play by the Browns, where starting quarterbacks Joe Flacco, Dillon Gabriel, and Shedeur Sanders have combined to post the lowest QBR in the league at 24.7, according to ESPN.
Despite some post-game proclamations that Sanders has “taken another step toward the 2026 quarterback job,” it is difficult to look at the numbers and think the Browns see it the same way.
Sanders has now made six starts and has a Total EPA of minus-52.02 (ranking No. 70), an EPA/Play of minus-0.23 (No. 58), and a Pass/EPA of minus-60.54 (No. 71), according to Sumer Sports. Those numbers are all worse than what Gabriel put up in his six starts.
That also points back to what we wrote a month ago about how simply being slightly better, or in reality just as bad, as the previous guy is not a ringing endorsement to name someone the answer at the quarterback position.
There is also still no tangible evidence that Sanders can take over the role in 2026, even after a full training camp of precious first-team practice reps. But that is where the Browns find themselves at the moment, with what appear to be two paths to take in the offseason:
