Shedeur Sanders may not have intended his pre-game smiling laughter about the New Orleans Saints' defense to mean anything about the Saints in particular. But that's definitely not how the Saints' defense took it.
Unfortunately for the Cleveland Browns quarterback, after the Saints beat the Browns 23-22 in overtime on Sunday, the Saints' interpretation is probably all that matters.
In a game where the Saints sacked Sanders five times while hitting him 10 times overall, it sure seemed like New Orleans' defense was playing with an uncanny edge. As defensive end Carl Granderson described it in the postgame, that edge apparently had everything to do with Sanders appearing to laugh about what he's seen from the Saints' defense on film.
Granderson and the
other Saints' defense clearly did not take too kindly to this when they saw the clip during the week:
Carl Granderson: “I think it’s disrespectful to laugh at our defense.”
— Matthew Paras (@Matthew_Paras) November 8, 2026
For what it's worth, Sanders' smiling laughter seemed more about his perception of reporters taking things he says out of context, as he explained on Sunday. So, he just chose to smile. Based on the Saints' reaction to this approach, though, I would probably advise him not to give them free bulletin-board material by laughing at the same time you're asked about their defense. To Sanders' credit, he still responded well to all this pressure, going 19-of-31 for 297 yards with two touchdown passes.
Here's that laughing clip, for reference:
"Yeah I seen a lot, when I smile just know that means something. I'm maturing, you know what I'm saying, I'm maturing, I could have gave that a decent answer but now I'm just gonna smile when it's some questions," - Shedeur Sanders on if he's studied the Saints defense. pic.twitter.com/IwiL3TE6u1
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) November 4, 2026
Here's some free advice to all NFL starting quarterbacks, including Sanders. When you're talking about the other team's defense, either keep your body language as stoic and neutral as possible or be effusive with your compliments and praise. Do anything else, and you're liable to provide some extra motivation for guys.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Saints defender tells off Shedeur Sanders for laughing with 9 words
