Cam Ward and Titans visit Shedeur Sanders and Browns in a matchup of rookie QBs

By Canadian Press on December 4, 2025.

Tennessee (1-11) at Cleveland (3-9)

Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, Fox.

BetMGM NFL Odds: Browns by 3 1/2.

Against the spread: Titans 5-7; Browns 5-7.

Series record: Browns lead 37-32.

Last meeting: Browns beat Titans 27-3 on Sept. 24, 2023, in Cleveland.

Last week: Titans lost to Jaguars 25-3; Browns lost to 49ers 26-8.

Titans offense: overall (32), rush (31), pass (30), scoring (32).

Titans defense: overall (24), rush (22), pass (T-19), scoring (29).

Browns offense: overall (31), rush (27), pass (31), scoring (29).

Browns defense: overall (2), rush (10), pass (3), scoring (14).

Turnover differential: Titans minus-6; Browns even.

Titans player to watch

QB Cam Ward. The No. 1 overall pick has strung together four straight games without being intercepted. He has fumbled four times. Ward has thrown for 2,351 yards with seven touchdowns and six interceptions.

Browns player to watch

QB Shedeur Sanders will make his third NFL start. The fifth-round pick has shown steady improvement since being forced into action during the second half of the Nov. 16 game against Baltimore. He is the first Browns rookie quarterback with a passer rating of at least 85 in each of his first two starts.

Key matchup

Myles Garrett against the Titans offensive line. The Browns pass rusher leads the NFL with 19 sacks and 28 tackles for loss. Garett could set the league record with rookie Cam Ward the most-sacked quarterback in the league. Ward has been sacked fewer than three times in a game only twice all season. Garrett had 3 1/2 sacks the most recent time these teams met.

Key injuries

Titans: Center Lloyd Cushenberry, who missed last week with a foot injury, did not practice Wednesday. S Kendall Brooks is practicing as part of the concussion protocol after missing the past three games, and DT Shy Tuttle practiced after missing last week with a concussion. WR/KR Chimere Dike was limited Wednesday with an injured quadricep muscle.

Browns: Guard Wyatt Teller is out because of a calf injury. OT Jack Conklin (concussion) and RB Dylan Sampson (calf) are questionable.

Series notes

The Browns lead the series between these old AFC Central franchises and even have a 20-14 record when visiting the Titans. But Tennessee is 18-17 when visiting Cleveland and 6-3 at Huntington Bank Field. The Browns have won two straight with coach Kevin Stefanski. Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz once held that role in his first of two coaching stints with Tennessee.

Stats and stuff

The Titans have lost seven straight overall and are 1-4 on the road. This is the Titans’ first road trip since Oct. 26. … Ward can match Vince Young’s franchise record for most starts in a season by a rookie quarterback Sunday. Young started 13 games in 2006. … The Titans had three sacks last week, their fifth time in the past six games with at least three sacks. The Titans have 21 sacks since Week 7, tied for the fourth most in the NFL in that span. … Three-time Pro Bowl DT Jeffery Simmons leads the Titans with 6 1/2 sacks. … Rookie Chimere Dike leads the NFL averaging 21.2 yards on punt returns, the highest punt return average in a season in the Super Bowl era among qualifying players. Dike also leads the NFL with 1,921 all-purpose yards, including a league-high 1,282 yards on kickoff returns. … The Browns have a league-high 109 catches by their rookies this season. The Titans rank second with 97 by their rookies. … Browns QB Shedeur Sanders completed 64% of his passes for 149 yards and a TD pass last week. … Browns rookie RB Quinshon Judkins had a team-high 109 yards from scrimmage last week. He leads rookies with 758 yards rushing and is tied for most rushing TDs with seven. … TE Harold Fannin Jr. ranks fourth among rookies with 51 catches and fifth with 505 yards receiving. … Garrett passed Mark Gastineau’s 18 1/2 sacks for the second-most sacks in the first 12 games of a season since 1982 and passed J.J. Watt’s 27 tackles for loss for the most TFLs in the first 12 games of a season since 2000. Garrett has a sack in six straight games, the longest active streak. … LB Carson Schwesinger leads rookies with 99 tackles and 10 tackles for loss.

Fantasy tip

Browns rookie TE Harold Fannin has at least 40 receiving yards in four of the past five games, including two touchdowns.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

The Associated Press