The story of the night on Sunday for the Cleveland Browns against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, revolves around sacks.
It mainly concerns Myles Garrett’s successful pursuit of the NFL’s record for most sacks in a season. But before Garrett made his historic sack in the fourth quarter, Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders took one in embarrassing fashion in the second period.
While evading the Bengals’ pass rush on a 1st-and-10, Sanders lost his footing and fell to the ground. Bengals defensive tackle B.J. Hill was credited with a sack by simply touching Sanders, who lost 11 yards on that play.
Shedeur Sanders may never recover from this sack. pic.twitter.com/AlOr2FN1mx
— ThatsGoodSports (@BrandonPerna) January 4, 2026
That sack was barely the only lowlight for Sanders against the Bengals. He was sacked six times overall in the contest for a loss of 29 yards.
The former Colorado Buffaloes star signal-caller went 11-of-22 for 111 passing yards with zero touchdowns, and while he did not throw an interception, his fumble in the first quarter resulted in the Bengals’ first touchdown. Yet, the Browns survived Sanders’ subpar performance, as they recorded a 20-18 victory to cap off their 2025 season with a win and a 5-12 record.
Sanders, who made seven starts in his rookie season, did not help his case to be Cleveland’s QB1 in 2026 with his showing against the Bengals. He concluded his first year in the pros with 1,400 passing yards and 7 touchdowns against 10 interceptions in eight total appearances under center.
