Cleveland Browns pick up key win in Week 16 despite loss to Buffalo Bills — and serious injury to RB Quinshon Judkins
A lot went wrong for the Browns in loss No. 12, but they did pick up one key win that’s worth noting this weekend.
The Cleveland Browns are 3-12 on the season following their Week 16 loss to the Buffalo Bills and have just two games left on the season to try to pass their win total from 2024.
A lot went wrong for Cleveland in their 23-20 loss to Buffalo. Cleveland lost RB Quinshon Judkins to a serious leg injury, and it will be without him for the last two games. The Browns had a chance to tie or take the lead late in the game with five minutes to go when the score was 23-20. A Bills sack on fourth down of Browns QB Shedeur Sanders all but ended the game.
Draft positioning is important coming out of NFL Week 16 for the Browns
Cleveland went into Week 16 holding the No. 4 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, and it’s now sitting at the No. 3 spot. While the Tennessee Titans and the Browns are 3-12 on the season, the Titans have a Week 14 win over Cleveland that is the tiebreaker.
Tennessee defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 16 for its third win. Cleveland is behind the New York Giants and Las Vegas Raiders in the draft order. The Giants and Raiders play in Week 17, so losing out could net the Browns a top-two pick.
The Browns held Josh Allen to 11-of-18 passing for 122 yards, and the defense played well enough for Cleveland to win this game. James Cook did the majority of the damage against the Browns with two touchdowns and 116 yards rushing. Sanders finished 20-of-28 passing for 157 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions.
A top-2 draft spot for the Browns is key coming out of this season
As the draft class looks, with how the college football season has played out, I believe this is a two-quarterback class in terms of franchise guys. While Sanders has shown some bright spots this season in tough conditions, it’s unlikely that a fifth-round pick is the franchise quarterback for Cleveland.
Therefore, the Browns need to be picking no later than No. 2 to ensure they can get either Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza or Oregon’s Dante Moore. Mendoza is expected to enter the draft, and while Moore has a more interesting decision, I expect he will declare.
The Browns have the two first-round picks, so not having to trade up to land a quarterback would be a nice win. If the Browns can trade this losing season for a franchise quarterback they’ve long wanted, that would be the perfect scenario.
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