It is Week 13, and the Cleveland Browns up 2.3 spots this week for a ranking of 26.7. The defense continues to get respect, especially with Myles Garrett’s historic season, but the victory for Shedeur Sanders in his first career start is what elevated the team’s ranking. If the Browns can pull off another win against the 49ers, even with their sub-.500 record, they could be the type of non-playoff team that starts surging up the rankings despite not being in the playoff hunt. But let’s not get too
ahead of ourselves.
Here is a summary of how the Cleveland Browns are viewed across mainstream media outlets in NFL Power Rankings heading into Week 13 of the 2025 NFL season.
CBS Sports – No. 28 (up 3 spots)
They made the right decision to start Shedeur Sanders this week. He earned that right by beating the Raiders.
ESPN – No. 28 (up 1 spot)
Thanksgiving game memory: Almost outlasting the Lions and running back Barry Sanders
The Browns are 0-3 on Thanksgiving in the Super Bowl era and haven’t played on the holiday since 1989. The last time that happened, they lost to the Lions 13-10 as Sanders ran for 145 yards amid an Offensive Rookie of the Year season. It was a blip in what ended up being a deep playoff run to the AFC Championship Game, where the Browns lost to the Broncos.
NFL.com – No. 27 (up 2 spots)
Shedeur Sanders became the first Browns rookie QB to win his first start in forever, and it apparently was enough to earn him a second start in Week 13. Beyond that, who knows? But for now, it’s a formula Kevin Stefanski wants to see a little more of. Stefanski kept the guardrails on for most of Sunday’s game, but even in an uneven performance, Sanders’ best magic seemed to happen out of structure. He might never be a perfect system QB, and his fit in Cleveland remains open to debate; still, his effort against the Raiders was a hair more fruitful than a typical Dillon Gabriel showing. Of course, having Myles Garrett and a defense capable of racking up 10 sacks can cover for some QB shortcomings. This team’s best chance of winning down the stretch remains, undoubtedly, with the D.
Sporting News – No. 27 (up 4 spots)
The Browns got their desired spark from Shedeur Sanders in a most winnable game against the Raiders, taking advantage of their defensive domination with Myles Garrett to make the offensive job much more relaxed for the rookie to shine.
Yahoo Sports – No. 26 (up 2 spots)
Shedeur Sanders deserves credit for making major strides from his first game to his second. Not to move the goal posts, but it happened against the putrid Raiders. It was still a promising first start and the Browns are making the right call giving him another start in Week 13 vs. the 49ers.
Bleacher Report – No. 27 (up 4 spots)
We’re not going to overreact to the Cleveland Browns going 1-0 with Shedeur Sanders as their starter, though plenty of folks will probably do just that in the coming days. Sanders looked mostly comfortable in his first start and had a couple of truly impressive throws. Though it all came against a suspect Las Vegas Raiders defense, he did enough to make going back to Dillon Gabriel, when healthy, anything but an easy choice. The rest of Cleveland’s season is all about finding if there’s a viable starting QB on the roster—and whether Myles Garrett can pick up the five sacks needed to break the single-season record.
USA Today – No. 24 (no change)
If DE Myles Garrett merely averages one sack per game the rest of the way, he’ll finish with 24. Give him some more leads to play with, Shedeur.
Listed below is a summary table of where teams in the AFC North are ranked this week.
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|
|
|
|
|
Bengals
|
Browns
|
Ravens
|
Steelers
|
|
| CBS Sports |
27
|
28
|
12
|
19
|
| ESPN |
25
|
28
|
17
|
18
|
| NFL.com |
25
|
27
|
13
|
16
|
| Sporting News |
26
|
27
|
18
|
16
|
| Yahoo Sports |
24
|
26
|
10
|
19
|
| Bleacher Report |
24
|
27
|
12
|
18
|
| USA Today |
23
|
24
|
10
|
18
|
| Average |
24.9
(down 0.2) |
26.7
(up 2.3) |
13.1
(down 1.0) |
17.7
(down 1.7) |
What do you think of the Browns’ ranking this week?
