The Cleveland Browns are now 3-8, fresh off of a comfortable 24-10 win in Las Vegas on Sunday.
Shedeur Sanders’ first NFL start wasn’t eye-popping, but he provided a spark on offense at times and made several throws that other 2025 Browns quarterbacks haven’t been willing — or able — to make. Sanders finished with 209 yards, a touchdown, and an interception while leading Cleveland to its first road win of the 2025 season. The start was promising enough for Sanders to earn the starting nod going forward, according to head coach Kevin Stefanski.
The remainder of the Browns’ season won’t be easy. Over the next month alone, they’ll face three teams with seven-or-more wins already (49ers, Bears, Bills), starting with San Francisco this Sunday. Continued growth from Cleveland’s rookie class over the last six games of the season would leave the rebuild in a fairly good place, though.
Let’s dive into how the Browns deployed some of those pieces during Sunday’s win over the Raiders.
The 100%ers
The Browns’ starting offensive line played the entirety of Sunday’s game, a rare occurrence this season. Sanders missed the 100% mark because of several wildcat snaps the Browns ran, but was the only quarterback to take a snap for Cleveland in Week 12.
Delpit and Hickman have been frequent members of this group in 2025, but Tyson Campbell makes his first appearance as a member of the Browns.
Offense
Harold Fannin Jr. leads the team in receptions and receiving yards this season, and in Week 12 he led all Browns skill players in snaps, playing 90% of the team’s offensive snaps against the Raiders. Fannin played nearly twice as many snaps as fellow tight end David Njoku (49%), still apparently limited by a knee injury that has consistently appeared on Cleveland’s injury report since Week 5.
In the Browns’ backfield, lead back Quinshon Judkins was partially limited (49% of the snaps) due to an in-game injury, and it was Dylan Sampson (37%) who was present most often when Judkins was not on the field. He played over twice as many snaps as Jerome Ford (16%), the second time in the last three games that Sampson has played more frequently.
The Browns continued to deploy a healthy mix of wide receivers on Sunday. All five active receivers played at least 25% of the Browns’ offensive snaps, with Jerry Jeudy (65%) and Cedric Tillman (53%) leading the way, as always. Isaiah Bond, who was the recipient of a 52-yard deep bomb from Sanders (the Browns’ longest passing play of the season), played 29% of the snaps, while Gage Larvadain and Malachi Corley each played a quarter of the offensive plays.
Defense
Defensive Rookie of the Year favorite Carson Schwesinger continues to be a stalwart on the Browns’ defense, playing 96% of the defensive snaps against the Raiders. Sunday was Schwesinger’s third consecutive game recording double-digit tackles, as he finished the day with 11 total to put his season total at 96 through 11 games. Alongside Schwesinger, Devin Bush played 76% of the defensive snaps on Sunday.
Myles Garrett, an obvious contender for an NFL Honors Award himself, played 76% of the snaps as well, recording three sacks in the process to improve his season total to 18. Isaiah McGuire was the next man up with Alex Wright out, playing 62% of the snaps, while Cam Thomas played 56% of the snaps at defensive end.
The top of Cleveland’s interior defensive line rotation remained the same as what the team has deployed essentially all season long, but among depth players, second-year defensive Mike Hall Jr. played a season-high 33 snaps. Hall continues to reacclimate himself in the wake of a knee injury he suffered in December.
Special teams
Donovan McMillon and Easton Mascarenas-Arnold led the way again for the Browns, playing 78% of Cleveland’s special teams snaps. Linebacker Mohamoud Diabate and safety Rayshawn Jenkins — who also played 42% of the Browns’ defensive snaps — saw 72% on special teams.
Defensive backs D’Angelo Ross and Christopher Edmonds played 66% and 62% of Cleveland’s special teams snaps, respectively, while Cam Thomas, Myles Harden, and Blake Whiteheart also played over 50%.
This article originally appeared on Browns Wire: Browns snap counts: Breakdown of personnel usage from win over Raiders
Reporting by Pat McGinnis, Browns Wire / Browns Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
