It’s been quite the season for the Cleveland Browns in 2025. While they started the season with Joe Flacco, rookie Dillon Gabriel, and Shedeur Sanders in the quarterback room, there was no telling how long each one would play, with many fans expecting all three to see the field at some point this season.
Following a concussion to Gabriel in Week 11, Sanders finally took the field to make those thoughts a reality. While Gabriel was able to win one of the six games he started, Sanders broke a streak that has plagued Browns rookie signal callers with his win in his first NFL start in Week 12. With emotions high after the win, what did the victory do to the Browns’ playoff chances?
Can the Cleveland Browns Still Make the Playoffs?
Despite limited work with the starters this season, Sanders looked cool, calm, and collected in his first NFL start for the Browns. While he only completed 11 of 20 passes, he threw for 209 yards and a touchdown. He manipulated the pocket to avoid the tough sacks he took a week ago against the Baltimore Ravens in the second half of the Browns’ Week 11 loss.
With the 24-10 win over the Las Vegas Raiders, Sanders became the first Browns quarterback to win his first start, snapping an 0-17 streak dating back to 1995 when Eric Zeier led the Browns to a 29-26 overtime win against the Cincinnati Bengals in his first start. Sanders also became the 42nd signal-caller to start for Cleveland since 1999.
THAT’S A DUB pic.twitter.com/Nvd054aybc
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) November 24, 2025
While the outing gave Browns fans hope, it may have been more due to the dominant defense Cleveland has, rather than Sanders’ contributions. The rookie had a -0.21 expected points added per dropback and a 22.7% success rate. Even with the win, the Browns dropped to the 32nd-ranked offense in PFSN’s Offense Impact metric with a score of 52.7 for the season.
What did the win do for the Browns’ playoff chances, though? Coming into Week 12, Cleveland had a 0.1% chance of making the playoffs and no chance of winning the AFC North, according to PFSN’s NFL Playoff Predictor. The win doesn’t change much, as the chances of the Browns going on a run and making the playoffs with this roster are borderline unfathomable. However, they did see their chances of winning the AFC North jump from 0 to 0.1%
The bigger damage comes to their chances of securing the number one overall pick. Heading into Week 12, the Browns had a 14% chance of getting the first overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, the second-highest percentage behind the Tennessee Titans at 30.7%. With the win, the Browns’ chances plummet to just 3.9%.
