The evaluation process of Shedeur Sanders and the state of the Cleveland Browns at quarterback could be murkier for the final two games of the season.
Sanders will be without one of his prime weapons with rookie running back Quinshon Judkins slated to have surgery this week after suffering a dislocated right ankle and broken fibula late in the second quarter of Sunday's 23-20 loss to the Buffalo Bills
.The second-round pick is second among rookies
in rushing with 827 yards and he finished 2 yards shy of 1,000 yards from scrimmage.
Sanders is already playing behind a makeshift offensive line. Two of the regular starters are on injured reserve and another was inactive for the third straight game. Now he'll be without Judkins, who had 13 touches (eight rushes, five receptions) for 51 yards when he was injured.
The run game did show some depth in the loss. Raheim Sanders had 42 yards on 11 carries and Trayveon Williams added 17 yards on three attempts.
“I thought they both had really good moments. Rocket (Sanders) had a couple hard yards in there where he ran between the tackles, kept his legs moving," coach Kevin Stefanski said. "Trayveon made some plays in the pass game as well. So, we’re counting on those guys, and we’ll be counting on them this week as well.”
What the depth chart will look like for Sunday's game against Pittsburgh remains to be seen. Dylan Sampson was inactive for a second straight week due to a hand injury and could factor into the mix.
Sanders was the leading rusher against the Bills with 49 yards as the Browns rushed for a season-high 160 yards with the 5.16 yards per carry being their second-highest average in a game this season.
The other positive for Sanders is that he slid after big gains on scrambles instead of taking unnecessary hits.
“We talked during the week about, we thought there may be some moments that he’ll be able to tuck it and go, and I thought he did a nice job early," Stefanski said. "There was the one where (he was) kind of bouncing around the pocket, had two hands on the ball, then went forward and made a huge play. Another time, they were playing man and everything kind of flushed out in front of them – went vertical, made a huge play. So those are very, very real yards.
"It’s a tough dynamic for a defense to have to defend the quarterback when he tucks it and can go. So that’s all part of his game. Obviously, then you want to make sure that your quarterback’s being smart at the end of those runs to make sure that he’s taking care of himself as well.”
Sanders completed 20 of 29 passes for 157 yards and a touchdown, but also threw two costly and avoidable interceptions that led to 10 Buffalo points. It was also another lousy day for the receivers, who were held to five catches for 23 yards.
Sanders' challenge will be even greater this week facing a Pittsburgh defense that held the Browns to no touchdowns in the first meeting along with getting seven sacks against Dillon Gabriel.
The Browns bounced back on third down, converting eight of 14 against Buffalo after going 4 of 14 at Chicago.
Run defense. Buffalo's James Cook rushed for 117 yards and averaged 7.3 yards per carry. The Browns have allowed 141.1 yards per game on the ground the past eight games, sixth-highest in the league along with 11 touchdowns and nine runs of 20 yards or more.
Center Luke Wypler did a solid job in run blocking and allowed only two quarterback pressures.
Safety Grant Delpit had two missed tackles, including being the last person to have a shot at Cook on his 44-yard touchdown run.
A decision of if QB Deshaun Watson will be added to the roster must be made by Wednesday since he is near the end of his three-week roster exemption. ... TE David Njoku (knee) and CB Denzel Ward (calf) were inactive for the second straight game.
12 — The number of seasons the Browns have had at least 12 losses since their return in 1999. They had only one (1990) from 1946 through 1995.
22 — Sacks for Myles Garrett. He needs one to surpass Michael Strahan and T.J. Watt for the NFL single-season record.
The Browns look to snap a seven-game losing streak in AFC North games when they host the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. The Steelers, who are looking to wrap up the division, have won their last three, including a 29-24 victory at Detroit. Pittsburgh won the first meeting 23-9 on Oct. 12.
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