Cleveland Browns offense sees the passing game come alive in Week 14 vs Titans

The Cleveland Browns’ offense had one of their most exciting games of the season against the Titans, even though the offense was one-dimensional. It was just exciting to see the passing game come alive, en route to the Browns having 412 yards of offense. Numbers you like to see include being 6-of-14 (42.9%) on third down, and 3-of-3 (100%) in the red zone. Not included in the stats, though, is the Browns going 0-of-2 on two-point conversions.

Below, we analyze the snap counts and stats on offense for the Cleveland Browns’ Week 14 game against the Tennessee Titans.

Quarterback

• Before the game, I kept harping that for as many small positives as I’ve seen from Shedeur Sanders so far, in order for him to have a shot at the starting quarterback job in 2026, he needed to let loose and go above and beyond the expectations for a typical rookie quarterback. Yes, I know it was against the Titans, another relatively weak pass defense, but I saw great progress from Sanders this week. That doesn’t mean we’re ready to anoint him, but that was the step he needed to take for this week. As a result, he’s officially been named the starter for the final four games.
• This wasn’t just about garbage time — Sanders was making some excellent throws. You can also see that by virtue of him pushing the ball downfield often, a lot of those swing passes or short dumpoffs then end up working out for positive yardage too. Sanders showed some nice escapability and willingness to pull the trigger along with those great throws. Sure, I still think he’s taking a bit too long on some plays, but he is still a rookie and deserves some slack.
• Sanders received his best PFF grade of the season, grading out to a 76.2, third-highest on offense. Also, remember that Sanders had this performance despite 3 members of his offensive line being injured.

Running Back

• This was Quinshon Judkins’ worst game of the season, with the highlight being the burst he showed on his 58-yard screen pass that nearly went for a touchdown. The holes just weren’t there, he graded poorly in his two pass blocking snaps, and he had a mental gaffe on the final two-point conversion attempt. Judkins graded out to a 48.8 by PFF.
• Dylan Sampson helped spark the Browns on some routes over the middle toward the end of the game, to give them a shot at quickly moving down the field. He did, however, also have a fumble that helped set up a score for Tennessee.

Wide Receiver

• It wasn’t a lot of catches, but finally, we had a game that seemed mistake-free for Jerry Jeudy, with that degree of explosiveness when he beats his man off the line, as he went for a long touchdown reception. It’s about damn time. Maybe he needs a quarterback he believes in, even though that shouldn’t be an excuse.
• The rest of the wide receivers were still low on catches, although Sanders still gave some downfield shots for Cedric Tillman, Isaiah Bond, and Gage Larvadain. These guys know that there is a fair shot they’ll be targeted downfield once or twice a game.
• Jeudy was the Browns’ fourth-highest graded player on offense, grading out to a 69.3 by PFF.

Tight End

• What a game for Harold Fannin, who is just a beast. He went over the 100-yard mark this week and was the Browns’ second-highest graded player by PFF, grading out to an 88.8. Actually, all of the PFF rankings I mentioned so far can probably be bumped up by one spot, since the top guy was David Njoku (89.1), but he only had 6 snaps before exiting with a knee injury on his touchdown grab.

Offensive Line

• Sadly, the Browns have lost Ethan Pocic into next season with an Achilles’ injury. Not to pour salt in the wound, but PFF graded him as having a rough game (45.3), along with his replacement Luke Wypler (37.2).
• KT Leveston showed some stability, grading out to a 65.4. The rest of the line had a rough go of things, although Teven Jenkins was solid in pass protection along with everyone else. It was the run blocking that really suffered.