Report Card Grades for Browns' NFL Week 9 Game vs. Saints

Shedeur Sanders nearly led the Browns to yet another hold-on-to-your-seat fourth-quarter victory, but the Browns came a two-point conversion short in a 23-22 overtime loss to the New Orleans Saints.

Sanders, who was starting the game for an injured Deshaun Watson, got to make his starting debut for the season.

Unfortunately, the offensive line did not get the memo to protect the second-year quarterback and the defensive front didn't hold up much better. The Browns lost the battle up front and the game in New Orleans.

With the team record falling to 5-4 and a critical get-back game at home against Houston, let's break this one down with player-by-player grades.

Browns fans wanting to see what Shedeur Sanders could do in a game this season got their wish against the Saints.

All in all, Sanders flashed some of the potential that made him an interesting prospect going into the draft. He also had moments that reminded us why he was a fifth-round pick.

The final stat line looks really good. 19-of-31, 297 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He looked better than Watson at pushing the ball downfield when it was there. That included three completions of 20 or more air yards in the second half that went for 154 yards and a touchdown, per Next Gen Stats .

The second half assessment has to be balanced with a tepid first half. Sanders didn't really test the secondary in the first half of the game and that played a role in the game being 3-3 at halftime.

Overall, Sanders did just enough to make Todd Monken's decision for Week 10 a little more interesting.

The Browns running back should send a fruit basket or something to Audric Estime. The Saints running back proved that the Browns run game dysfunction goes beyond the running back by posting 72 yards on 15 carries after getting cut by the Browns earlier this week.

Meanwhile, Judkins was held to 2.9 yards per carry on 15 carries. It remains nearly impossible to judge Judkins when the offensive line is not creating much movement.

Sampson told the same story as Judkins on the ground. His eight carries resulted in just 21 yards on the ground. Some bonus points for Sampson chipping in 27 receiving yards on three catches though.

Concepcion scored the first touchdown of his career and he picked a great time to do it. He took in a long ball from Sanders in the fourth quarter and outran the defense on a 64-yard play to give the Browns a 13-9 lead with just over five minutes left to play.

Monken noted after the game that he was dealing with an ankle injury, but it didn't seem to detract from another strong performance for the rookie.

Boston and Concepcion continue to give Browns fans reasons to be excited. Boston hauled in six of his seven targets for 98 yards. Most of which came on a 60-yard strike.

He continues to be the best big-play threat the team has.

This was another week where Jeudy was relatively quiet until the game was on the line. He hauled in the 30-yard reception that set up the 51-yard field goal that took the game to overtime.

Fannin just continues to be one of the most fun tight ends to watch in the league. He's been more involved as a run blocker, even if it isn't showing up in the box score.

However, it was the checkdown that he turned into a 39-yard touchdown on 3rd-and-7 in overtime to give the Browns a shot at winning that was the true highlight of the day for him. He stiff-armed a defender to get the first down before trucking another defender to rumble into the end zone.

It was a rough day for the rookie. He was flagged for holding on 3rd and 8 in the third quarter. He was also beaten routinely by Chase Young, most notably in a second-and-goal situation in the third quarter for a nine-yard loss.

Johnson didn't have the same struggles in pass protection. He did negate one of the only good run plays on the day with a holding penalty that brought back a 14-yard run.

Most of the pressure came from the edge, but Johnson was a reason the Browns couldn't run the ball so there's no high grade here either.

Jenkins mostly gets the same treatment as Johnson here. The interior wasn't the pass-blocking problem, but the Browns lack of a run game is killing them and the interior is part of the problem.

Barber's trend of looking human continued in Week 9. He was at fault for at least one sack and had a few other losses in pass protection.

He looked utterly lost on picking up the blitz on Kaden Elliss's sack that disrupted the first drive.

Much like Fano, Howard gave up far too many pressures to be considered a winner on the day. The veteran was beaten by Carl Granderson on the edge.

It doesn't help that he started the da y with a false start on the first drive and ended with a holding penalty on the two-point attempt that would have been catastrophic if the Browns actually converted it.

Nine games, still no sacks for Jared Verse. The edge-rusher doesn't just get graded on sacks, but it's hard to praise his run defense when the Browns gave up 160 yards on the ground and he has just two tackles.

He also chipped in a neutral zone infraction so there's just not a lot positive for Verse here.

Not much to celebrate for McGuire here either. He generated a few pressures, but couldn't get to the quarterback for most of the night. He chipped in three tackles, but it wasn't a banner day for the defensive line.

Williams' job is to come in a create some havoc as a rotational edge. He did that as the only edge-rusher to register a quarterback hit. He also batted a pass.

Graham made a few notable plays including a quarterback hit and he drew a holding penalty in overtime that put the Saints in a bad spot. Unfortunately, he also got washed down the line of scrimmage on more than one occasion against the run.

This is Graham's lowest-graded game that he played in all season.

Huntington gets some bonus points for forcing a fumble on a punt, giving the Browns an extra possession at the end of the second quarter.

Unfortunately, that doesn't make up for the fact that he was mostly a non-factor. He didn't have success rushing the quarterback and his run defense was part of the problem.

Hall was the exception on Sunday. While the rest of the defensive line was putting its worst performance on film, Hall was putting up a few good pass rush reps. He beat Cesar Ruiz with a quick swim move to get his second sack of the season.

Carson Schwesinger bounced back from a disappointing performance against Pittsburgh. He was all over the field on an afternoon where he didn't get much support from the defensive line.

He ended up with 15 tackles, but made several big plays to impact the game, including two quarterback sacks and two more quarterback hits. He also forced a Jordyn Tyson fumble inside the 10-yard line to keep the Saints out of the end zone.

Williams added another missed tackle to his ledger for the year. Tackling was an issue for the defense as whole, but he also pressured Shough on a blitz and wasn't a liability in coverage.

The Browns defense might not have been elite on Sunday, but Denzel Ward was. He played lockdown coverage all game and the Saints seemed to move Olave into the slot more to get away from him being matched up against the veteran.

Campbell was another story. He had some strong moments; the fumble recovery off Schlesinger's forced fumble was important. He also had seven tackles on the day.

However, he was beaten a few times in coverage and gave up some Olave's 98 yards.

Harden got the first sack of is career, coming untouched on a blitz inside the tackle. He followed it up with another sack in the fourth quarter.

He also tipped a pass away and was actually playing tight coverage on a 35-yard reception gave up to Olave.

Delpit was routinely beaten in coverage when targeted. He gave up inside leverage on multiple slants and wasn't much of a factor in the run game.

He did have one tackle for a loss, but it wasn't enough to outweigh his coverage lapses.

Hickman was forced to come in and clean up some things in the run game. That doesn't exactly give him a strong grade when he was making most of his nine tackles downfield.

It also doesn't help that he gave up the Saints longest pass play on the afternoon: A 52-yard explosive to Barion Brown.

McNeil-Warren continues to show that he needs a bigger role in the defense. He wasn't out of place in coverage and he happened to play the run more aggressively than his fellow safeties with no missed tackles.

The team put a lot of pressure on Szmyt to hit a 51-yarder to sent it overtime in the game's final seconds. He nailed it with plenty of distance to get to three-for-three on field goals.

Bojorquez was his usual self averaging 53.4 yards per punt, including one that was downed inside the 20.