CHICAGO — Shedeur Sanders threw three interceptions in Sunday’s 31-3 loss to the Bears that dropped the Browns to 3-11, and wasn’t able to build on his 364-yard, four-touchdown performance from the week before.
But Sanders will still get three more chance to prove to the Browns that he can be their franchise quarterback and that they don’t need to take Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza or any of the top quarterbacks in the NFL draft.
In losing their third straight game, the Browns likely moved up again from No. 4 in NFL draft order with a clear shot at one of the top quarterbacks in the 2026 class, but Sanders wasn’t able to convince them with this clunker of a performance that they can stop looking around.
In his fourth career start, he took a step back, going 18 of 35 for 177 yards with no touchdowns and three interceptions en route to a horrible 30.3 rating.
Two of the interceptions were his fault, and one of them was squarely on the shoulders of receiver Jerry Jeudy, who had the ball ripped out of his hands by cornerback Jaylon Johnson at about the Bears’ 1 yard line after Sanders threw him a perfect pass.
Had Jeudy hung onto the ball and taken a step or two into the end zone, the Browns would’ve closed the gap to 21-10, and been back in the game with 5:47 left in the third quarter and plenty of time to play.
Instead, the Bears converted the pick into a touchdown, just like the previous one on the drive before. That one was his fault, as was his third pick, an ill-advised throw to tight end Harold Fannin Jr. that was picked off by C.J. Gardner-Johnson.
The Bears converted the third one into a field goal for the 31-3 command with 7:30 left in the game.
The Bears (10-4) headed into the game No. 1 in the NFL with 18 interceptions, and No. 1 in the league with 27 takeaways overall. They improved to 9-0 this season when takimg the ball away two times or more.
Sanders, who slipped to 1-3, was also playing behind a makeshift line with a new starting center in Luke Wypler, who made his second career start.
Sanders also had backups at right guard in Teven Jenkins and right tackle in K.T. Leveston. By the fourth quarter, Jenkins was lost for the game to a shoulder injury. As it was, Sanders was operating behind the ninth starting line combination for the Browns this season.
He was also without starting tight end David Njoku, and receiver Cedric Tillman was active but played sparingly and had no targets.
It was a tall order for any quarterback in the frigid conditions in Chicago — gametime temperature was 8 degrees with a minus-1 windchill — let alone a rookie.
Sanders made a few of his trademark explosive plays — including passes of 42 and 47 yards to receiver Isaiah Bond — but he made far too many mistakes, and his ball placement was inconsistent, which is unusual for him.
On the pass to Jeudy that was ripped out of his hands, his elite accuracy was on display, but there were far too few of those plays. The Browns managed just one first down in the first half, and nine overall.
By the time he threw his third interception, Sanders was pressing and trying to get the Browns back in the game. On the afternoon, he was sacked five times and hit a total of 15.
It won’t look pretty in the film room, and Sanders will have to work hard to correct his mistakes this week with the 10-4 Bills coming to town next Sunday.
Sanders also explained that the playcard fell out of his wristband before the Browns third drive, and had to be replaced.
In addition to Sanders’ poor outing, Myles Garrett fell short again of setting the NFL single season sack record. He notched 1 1/2 sacks for a total of 21.5, and need 1.5 to set the record, which he wants to come in a victory.
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams was 17 of 28 passing for 242 yards and two touchdowns. His passer rating was 112.5.
Sanders’ 1st INT, Caleb Williams big TD, and Sanders’ 2nd pick
Sanders threw his first interception of the game on the first play of a third-quarter drive on a pass intended on the left for Harold Fannin Jr., but the Bears had changed the coverage on the play, and linebacker D’Marco Jackson easily picked off the pass.
Bears QB Caleb Williams wasted no time cashing in, throwing what amounted to a Hail Mary pass into the back of the end zone, with D.J. Moore leaping amid traffic to come down with the ball. Grant Delpit and Tyson Campbell were both back there with a chance to knock it down.
That made it 21-3 Bears with 8:39 left in the third.
But the Bears, who were 8-0 this season heading in when they have two takeaways, had another interception in them on the next drive.
Sanders found Isaiah Bond for the second time in the second quarter on an explosive play — this time a 47-yarder to go with the 42-yarder from the second quarter — to the Chicago 25.
Three plays later, Sanders placed a deep ball to the right perfectly in the hands of Jerry Jeudy near the right goal-line, and cornerback Jaylon Johnson ripped it out of his hands for the interception with 5:47 left in the third quarter.
It was a beautiful pass that could’ve narrowed the gap to 21-10. Instead, the Bears cashed in again, scoring on a 17-yard touchdown run by D’Andre Swift to make it 28-3 with 46 seconds left in the third.
Williams limps to the sideline just before halftime
Williams limped to the sideline after injuring his lower leg or calf on the Bears’ final play of the first half. Two Browns defenders converged on him on the desperation multiple-lateral play, and he came up in pain.
But he came out of the locker room ready to go with the Bears leading 14-0.
In the first half, Sanders went 4 of 10 for 54 yards with 0 TDs and 0 INTs for a 57.9 rating and was sacked twice. Most of those yards came on 42-yard pass to Isaiah Bond, but the drive went nowhere when Sanders was sacked on third down.
The Browns managed only one first down in the first half, on that Bond explosive play.
Williams went 12 of 18 in the first half for 190 yards with one touchdown and 0 INT for a 120.1 rating.
Bears blow a chance to go up 17-0; Myles Garrett’s 21st sack
The Bears blew a chance to extend their lead to 17-0 when Cairo Santos pushed a 35-yard field goal attempt wide right. The missed kick followed a 9-yard sack by Garrett for his 21st of the season.
It put him just 1 1/2 away from setting the single-season sack record of 22.5.
The Bears also got a little lucky on the ensuing drive when Sanders was sacked for a 9-yard loss and lost the football. But officials ruled that Sanders’ progress had been stopped, and the Browns maintained possession. They punted on the next play, and the defense forced a three-and-out.
Bears double their lead to 14-0
The Bears doubled their lead to 14-0 with 1:29 left in the first quarter after Sanders’ 10-yard scramble for a first down was changed to a 9-yard run via replay assist. The Browns punted instead, and Chicago cashed in with a 7-play, 80-yard drive that ended with a 3-yard TD pass from Williams to D.J. Moore.
Key plays on the drive were passes of 24 and 40 yards to tight end Colston Loveland and Luther Burden III.
On the touchdown, Williams found Moore singled up with Myles Harden on the left side of the end zone on a crossing route. The Browns were without defensive back Denzel Ward, who sat out the game with a calf injury.
But they didn’t get any sympathy from the Bears, who lost their leading receiver Rome Odunze to an aggravation of his foot injury in pre-game warmups. He was initially active, but ruled out minutes before kickoff.
Bears take a 7-0 lead
The Browns got off to a slow start thanks to a 52-yard return by the Bears on the opening kickoff that started them at the Browns 47. The defense held on that one, forcing a three-and-out and a punt from near midfield.
But the Browns weren’t so fortunate the second time the Bears started in their territory after the Bears downed that punt at the 1. It survived a Browns challenge, and the Browns bungled the backed-up situation with two penalties: a false start and 12-men on the field. They punted from their 7, with Corey Bojorquez booting it from out of the end zone. Devin Duvernay returned it 18 yards to start Chicago at the Browns’ 42.
This time, the Bears cashed in on their excellent field position, scoring on a 6-yard run by D’Andre Swift to make it 7-0 with 7:35 left in the first quarter.
Special teams have been a liability all season, and it was no different on Sunday. The 52-yard kickoff return set the tone for what proved to be a disastrous first quarter for the Browns.
Next
The Browns host the Bills on Sunday at 1 p.m.
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