How Shedeur Sanders outplayed No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward in Sunday's loss

While the Browns weren’t able to get the job done on Sunday against the Tennessee Titans, the performance shown by quarterback Shedeur Sanders was certainly impressive in comparison to the Titans number one overall pick, quarterback Cam Ward.

The biggest question in the 2025 NFL Draft was what pick Sanders would ultimately be selected, and who would be the first team to decide they wanted to bring Sanders into their quarterback room. A full offseason of speculation had many fans believing Sanders would be drafted in the first round, possibly even the first or second quarterback taken off the board.

Miami Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward, now with the Tennessee Titans, was taken first overall which at the time seemed like the right pick to make, while Sanders fell all the way to the fifth round and was passed on by every team until Cleveland took a flier on him.

After Sunday’s game between Ward and Sanders, their first meeting in their young NFL careers, it’s no doubt that Sanders has proven that he most definitely could have been a first round draft pick with his incredible performance in Cleveland’s 31-29 loss to Tennessee.

Sanders finished the game 23/42 passing, throwing for 364 yards with four total touchdowns, three through the air and one rushing touchdown in their comeback effort. This performance is Sanders first four touchdown game since his Colorado debut on September 2, 2023, and by far his best game since becoming the starter for the Cleveland Browns.

While Titans quarterback Cam Ward has started all of Tennessee's games so far this season, Ward has only thrown for more than one touchdown in one game, which was Sunday’s win over Cleveland. Ward also has yet to eclipse 300 passing yards, and only having four more total touchdowns over Sanders in the thirteen total games Ward has played compared to Sanders’ four games as a starter.

Through four games, Sanders has 769 yards passing to go along with his 51 yards rushing and six total touchdowns, with his three total interceptions not necessarily hurting his performances with Cleveland’s lackluster receiving corps. As previously mentioned, Ward has ten total touchdowns through his complete thirteen games; Sanders would likely have a similar total had he started more games for the Browns this year.

Both Cleveland and Tennessee have bottom tier offenses in the league, but both rookie quarterbacks have done what they can in their starts to make the best out of their situations. It's safe to say that Cleveland may have gotten a quarterback worth trusting heading into next season, and with four games left to play, Sanders will look to build on his 2025 rookie campaign.

Cleveland will look to bounce back next week on the road as they face off against the red-hot Chicago Bears at Soldier Field, with kickoff set for 1:00 p.m.