The Browns got the ball first and marched right down the field for a touchdown. Buffalo followed suit on their first drive. It looked like it would be a back-and-forth shootout, but Cleveland made some
first half mistakes: a tipped pass for an interception, and a botched field goal attempt to end the half. Worst of all, Quinshon Judkins suffered a serious injury that could extend well into 2026.
In the second half, Cleveland stayed with things, chipping away and even having a chance to go-ahead mid-way through the fourth quarter. The Browns’ offense couldn’t get that one final drive to put them back ahead, though, as the pressure started getting to Shedeur Sanders and Buffalo held on 23-20. Let’s get to the full game recap.
1st Quarter – Browns vs. Bills
The Browns received the opening kickoff, and then QB Shedeur Sanders began the game with a 6-yard swing pass to RB Quinshon Judkins. Judkins continued getting the rock, as he had the next two carries to move the chains. A first down pass to TE Harold Fannin was then followed by a reverse to WR Isaiah Bond which went for 21 yards, down to the Bills’ 23 yard line. A completion to WR Jerry Jeudy, and another run by Judkins, moved the chains again, down to the 13 yard line. A playaction fake by Sanders led to Fannin slipping out late out of the backfield for a 13-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
The Browns then gave a dose of special teams medicine to another team for once, as K Andre Szmyt’s kickoff bounced in the field of play and then went to the end zone for a touchback to begin the drive at the 20 yard line. It didn’t matter. The Bills sliced through the defense with ease on the ground, much like the Titans and Bears have. After crossing midfield, Cook broke free and made several tacklers miss on his way to a 44-yard touchdown run to tie things up at 7-7.
The Browns looked to continue the momentum with a 39-yard run by Judkins, but it was brought back due to a holding penalty on C Luke Wypler. A couple plays later, facing a 3rd-and-12, Sanders faced the heat and floated a screen pass to RB Trayveon Williams, who sprung free for 18 yards and a first down. A jet sweep to WR Malachi Corley then went for 14 yards and another first down. A few plays later, on 2nd-and-13, Sanders tried to throw to Judkins releasing out of the backfield, but the ball was a tad behind him and bounced up into the air for an easy interception for S Jordan Poyer, who returned it to the Bills’ 39 yard line.
Buffalo then took their turn to quickly march right back into Cleveland territory, as the Browns’ defense showed zero threat in the opening quarter.
2nd Quarter – Browns vs. Bills
Buffalo began with a 2nd-and-5 at the Browns’ 23 yard line. Cleveland’s defense wasn’t any better to start the second quarter, as they continued to have their way, finishing the drive with RB Ty Johnson walking into the end zone untouched from 2 yards out to make it a 13-7 game (K Michael Badgley missed the extra point off the upright).
On offense, Sanders played a bit of Houdini on third down, ducking under a defender and his own lineman to scramble up the middle for 13 yards on 3rd-and-7 out toward midfield. A few plays later, on 3rd-and-2, the Browns ran a playaction fake, but Sanders faced a defender right in his face. He made a move to dodge the defender, and then took off for 16 yards and a first down. That was followed by a short pass to Judkins, which went for another 16 yards down to the 4 yard line. That’s where things stalled. A handoff to Judkins was stopped for no gain, and Sanders’ second down pass to TE Brenden Bates was grazed and incomplete. Sanders then left the field, coming off with blood all over his pinky finger. QB Dillon Gabriel entered, but was sacked for a loss of 2 yards. Cleveland sent Szmyt in for the 24-yard field goal to cut the Bills’ lead to 13-10 with 5:38 left in the half.
The Browns’ defense continued to be pathetic. Within a few minutes, even before the two-minute warning, Buffalo again marched right down the field and finished the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run by Cook. There are so many open, chunk plays for Buffalo with zero stops, that it’s hard for me to even spend time including all of them. This time, Badgley’s extra point was good to put the Bills up 20-10 with 2:23 left in the half.
Sanders returned for the Browns, as Badgley’s kickoff landed outside the landing zone, meaning Cleveland would begin at the 40 yard line. Cleveland ran the ball once for 4 yards to get to the two-minute warning.
Coming out of the two-minute warning, Sanders threw a swing pass to Judkins, but he was hit immediately by LB Matt Milano for a loss of 6 yards, as Judkins was down and writhing in pain after the play. CBS broke back in to show him being carted off, saying they would not show the replay of what was inferred to be a gruesome injury. The injury was to his right lower leg, and something that could keep him out for 2026.
Sanders’ third-down pass was incomplete, falling between two Browns as he tried to buy time. P Corey Bojorquez came on for his first punt of the day, with WR Mecole Hardman being pushed out of bounds at the 14 yard line with 1:36 to go in the half. Allen had a crazy play where he backpedaled and spun around to try to avoid pressure, but then he stumbled into the end zone but stretched the ball back just beyond the goal line. DE Myles Garrett was desperately trying to touch him down for the sack, but DT Mason Graham was a hair sooner to get credit for it. Buffalo then had to punt from their own 1 yard line with 0:17 left.
He got the punt off, and WR Gage Larvadain only got a 3 yard return — however, a 15-yard facemask penalty on the kicking team put the ball at the Bills 30 yard line. With 0:06 left, Sanders threw the ball away to kill a few seconds so Szmyt could come on to try a 47-yard field goal. However, the snap was botched and Bojorquez couldn’t handle it in time, so he had to abort the play and throw it away to end the half.
3rd Quarter – Browns vs. Bills
The Bills received the ball to begin the second half, and Cleveland’s defense forced a three-and-out, which was their first stop period of the game. Then, Cleveland moved the chains once with RB Raheim Sanders bulldozing forward on a 3rd-and-1. On the next play, though, Sanders’ pass was tipped up at the line and then intercepted by DT DaQuon Jones at the Cleveland 25 yard line.
The defense came up with another three-and-out stop, but the Bills were already in field goal range and connected from 41 yards out to make it a 23-10 game.
Cleveland got some more strong runs from R. Sanders, and then the jet sweep to Corley worked again for 12 yards. A few plays alter, Cleveland was stuck in a 3rd-and-long, but a tripping penalty on the Bills’ defense gave Cleveland a gift of a first down. A few plays later, on 2nd-and-15, Sanders saw daylight again and ran for 14 yards up the middle to set up a 3rd-and-1. R. Sanders got it again on third down to convert. A few plays later, on 2nd-and-goal at the 1 yard line, Fannin got the handoff and pushed forward for the touchdown to make it a 23-17 game.
Buffalo got their first first down of the quarter with a playaction fake that was quickly flipped out to Cook for an easy 17 yards.
4th Quarter – Browns vs. Bills
Of note, to begin the fourth quarter, it was announced that the league changed the sack credit earlier so that 0.5 sack went to Garrett, putting him a full sack away from the record. A few plays later, on 3rd-and-4, Allen missed an open crosser coming to the left side, as it was too high. They decided to go for it on fourth down from the Browns’ 33 yard line, and Allen’s late pass over the middle was high and off target, leading to a turnover on downs.
Cleveland began their next drive with a 26-yard screen pass to Williams, and it was the most open screen pass that you might ever see in the NFL.
A couple plays alter, on 3rd-and-4 at the 34 yard line, Williams got the handoff from the gun and burst through the line for 11 yards and a first down. Facing 3rd-and-3 again a few plays later, Sanders tried the swing screen to Williams, but the block didn’t get out in front, leading to a loss of 7 yards. That halted the drive and forced Szmyt to come on from 41 yards out, which he hit to make it a 23-20 game.
The defense came up with another stop, this time with LB Carson Schwesinger darting in on 3rd-and-9 to sack Allen for a loss of 13 yards. Larvadain made a fair catch at the Browns’ 36 yard line with 7:05 to play.
The Browns tried to dial up the reverse from the first half to Bond again, and this time it was sniffed out for a loss of 1 yard. On second down, a short pass to Jeudy was hit got only a gain of 1 yard, quickly making it 3rd-and-10. On third down, a late release to WR Cedric Tillman gained 8 yards, setting up 4th-and-2 shy of midfield. Cleveland needed to go for it, and Sanders was sacked on the blind side for a turnover on downs, as LT Cam Robinson was beat.
Buffalo took over at the Browns 30 yard line with 5:02 to go. A playaction pass to TE Dawson Knox gained 9 yards. They moved the chains, and several plays later, the Bills faced another fourth down situation — 4th-and-1 at the 11 yard line. Instead of the field goal to go up by six, they went for it. Allen rolled out and bought time, and found Knox open in the back of the end zone. However, Knox dropped it on his dive, keeping hope alive the Browns with 2:47 to play.
Sanders kept the first play alive for Cleveland and found Corley late for an 11-yard completion. However, the food fortune went away on the next play, as the offensive line collapsed and Sanders was sacked for a loss of 8 yards. On 2nd-and-18, right before the two-minute warning, Sanders backpedaled and tried to throw the ball away while he was in the grasp. No one was there, so it was an intentional grounding back at the 1 yard line, turning things into a disastrous 3rd-and-32 from the 1 yard line at the two-minute warning.
After an incomplete pass, the Browns punted, since they still had two timeouts. Buffalo got the ball at the Browns’ 49 yard line with 1:38 remaining. After one run play, Allen passed the ball with a flip forward, setting up 3rd-and-1. On third down, Allen executed the quarterback sneak to seal the victory.
Quick Hitters
- QB Shedeur Sanders: 20-of-29 for 157 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT. 4 carries, 49 yards (12.3 YPC).
- TE Harold Fannin: 4 catches, 34 yards, 1 TD. 1 carry, 1 yard (1.0 YPC), 1 TD.
- DE Myles Garrett: 0.5 sack.
- After an awful first half, the Browns’ defense dug deep and found a way to stop the run in the second half. It helped Cleveland get back in the game, but it wasn’t enough to finish things off. Sanders had a decent game, showing that escapability again. It’s a shame that several of his passes are being tipped into the air; the broadcast speculated that that the Browns’ line being pushed back could play a role in that.
Next up, the Browns play their home finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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