The 3-12 Cleveland Browns have the 31st-ranked offense in the NFL, scoring just 16.4 points per game, which is barely an improvement from last season when the Browns had the 32nd-ranked offense in the NFL. Things have been marginally better of late with Shedeur Sanders taking over at quarterback and offensive coordinator Tommy Rees taking over play-calling duties prior to the New York Jets game on November 9th.
The Browns may be just 1-6 since Rees started calling plays, but the offense has scored at least 20 points in four of those seven games. Prior to Rees taking over, the Browns scored at least 20 points just once in the first eight games.
He has done an admirable job, though the future is up in the air with head coach Kevin Stefanski potentially being on the hot seat with the Browns staring at potentially going 3-14 for a second consecutive year.
Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot recently wrote an article about Sanders’ final two games and how he has a chance to solidify his status within this organization and prove himself to the coaching staff against Pittsburgh. She noted that if he is able to do so, it might make sense to keep Rees around for him in 2026, even if Stefanski is fired.
“If Sanders makes enough strides with this staff, including quarterbacks coach Bill Musgrave, to prove he can be the starter in 2026, the Browns will take that into strong consideration when deciding how to proceed after the season. They might not want Sanders to start over with all new coaches, although there might be a world in which they’d try to keep Rees as offensive coordinator even if they make a change at head coach,” Cabot wrote.
Many fans have pointed fingers at Stefanski for how he has handled Sanders throughout the year, but he relinquished his play-calling duties before Sanders took over as the starter. The backlash he got was probably overblown because starting a fifth-round rookie behind a questionable offensive line against a gauntlet of playoff teams to begin the year would not have been a great idea.
A lot of signs are pointing to the Browns giving Sanders at least next season to see if he can be the answer at quarterback, and if he proves not to be the guy, this team can go try to find its quarterback in 2027’s draft.
Certainly, the final two games will dictate a lot because Sanders has thrown five picks over the last two games, so we’ll see if he can clean things up on Sunday and make a lasting impression on the decision-makers.
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