Josh Allen schools Shedeur Sanders, 4 other things to know about Bills vs. Browns

Following a crushing loss to the Texans on a Thursday night at Houston, the Buffalo Bills fell to 7-4 this season—meaning Sean McDermott’s club had already dropped as many games as they did a season ago.

There were some that felt that the reigning AFC East champions, already trailing the New England Patriots in the division standings, could be headed for a disappointing finish.

Apparently, those people weren’t paying attention to the league in general, which has been highly unpredictable in 2025. Regardless, the Bills bounced back with wins over the Steelers and Bengals, but trailed the Patriots at Foxborough last Sunday, 21-0, with less than six minutes to play in the second quarter.

Josh Allen and the Buffalo offense rallied for five touchdowns (all by James Cook and Dawson Knox) and outscored New England, 35-10, the rest of the way for a four-point victory. The 10-4 Bills trail the 11-3 Patriots by one game with three weeks to go. A Buffalo win on Sunday coupled with either a Texans’ loss on Sunday or a Colts’ loss on Monday night and the Bills clinch a seventh straight playoff berth.

Dec 14, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bears defensive tackle Gervon Dexter Sr. (99) sacks Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) | Matt Marton-Imagn Images

The 3-11 Cleveland Browns have no postseason aspirations and are coming off a 31-3 loss to the Bears at Chicago. Kevin Stefanski’s team totaled 192 yards of offense. The Browns ran for 50 yards, and rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders was sacked five times and threw three interceptions. Now he faces an awakening pass Buffalo pass rush. So is team capable of making the Bills squirm on Sunday afternoon at Cleveland?

Bills vs. Browns history

This will mark on the third time that McDermott and Allen will battle the Browns. Back in 2019, Cleveland came up with a 19-16 home victory against a Bills’ team that would reach the playoffs. That also marks the last time the Bills made the trip to Cleveland.

As for the clubs’ most recent encounter, Allen and company posted a 31-23 home victory in 2022 at Ford Field at Detroit in a game that was relocated to the Motor City due to a snowstorm.

Bills’ Defense should feast

A season ago, the Bills finished third in the league with 32 takeaways. That total has dropped to 18 in 14 outings this season, but McDermott’s team has forced five turnovers during their current three-game winning streak. Two of those takeaways were returned for touchdowns by cornerback Christian Benford.

If the Browns have any hope of keeping pace with the Bills, the league’s 29th-ranked running game, averaging only 92.4 yards per game, must exploit a Buffalo defense giving up 143.1 yards per game on the ground. Last week, the Patriots gashed McDermott’s club for a whopping 246 yards on just 25 carries.

Everyone keeping eye on Browns’ DE Myles Garrett

Buffalo’s offensive unit has scored 49 offensive touchdowns in 14 games, almost perfectly balanced between rushing TDs (24) and scores through the air (25). They have needed all of those scores, especially the last two weeks. The Bills have won four games this season in which they allowed 31-plus points.

The first overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft has been relentless. Cleveland’s Myles Garrett has racked up 21.5 sacks this season, one QB trap short of tying the official NFL record (22.5) co-owned by Michael Strahan (2001) and T.J. Watt (2021). Meanwhile, the Browns’ offense has scores just 23 touchdowns.

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