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NFL, American Football Herren, USA Buffalo Bills at Cleveland Browns Dec 21, 2025 Cleveland, Ohio, USA Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen 17 and Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders 12 meet following a game against the Cleveland Browns at Huntington Bank Field. Cleveland Huntington Bank Field Ohio USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xScottxGalvinx 20251221_rtc_bk4_0250
Dec 22, 2025, 1:30 PM CUT
Key Takeaways as the Browns Come Close to Spoiling Bills’ Party in Game Week 16
The Sunday Night Football game between the Cleveland Browns and the Buffalo Bills was certainly a tighter one than the fans would’ve thought.
Although Kevin Stefanski’s team gave a tough fight to the Buffalo side, Josh Allen and company registered their 11th win of the season, defeating them by 23-20. Let’s look at some of the important takeaways from the game.
The Cleveland Browns’ run defense is still a problem
HC Kevin Stefanski spoke about how dangerous the Bills’ running back James Cook really was. Well, his concerns turned into reality, as the 26-year-old star ran for 117 yards and also scored 2 touchdowns. Defensive tackle Maliek Collins’ absence didn’t help Cleveland either.
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Considering the Bills have the best rushing offense in the league, it's no surprise all three of their touchdowns were rushing scores.
A horrible special teams mistake cost Cleveland the game
It’s hard to believe that before the end of the first half, the Browns could’ve gotten the lead over the Bills. Corey Bojorquez and Andre Szmyt got a golden opportunity to convert the field goal and make it a one-score game.
However, when the snap came back, Bojorquez failed to hold the ball down for Szmyt to score a 48-yard field goal. In the end, he recovered his own fumble and threw the ball out of bounds to keep the score 20-10 in the Bills' favour.
Although the special team mistakes aren’t a new thing for Cleveland, the way it happened was just bizarre.
The Browns’ passing game failed miserably
Looking at both teams’ records, it was surprising to see the Browns starting well and even taking the lead. Their rushing game was decent, with rookie Harold Fannin Jr. scoring a touchdown, and Raheim Sanders rushing for 42 yards. Not only that, Shedeur himself rushed for 49 yards.
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CLEVELAND, OH - DECEMBER 07: Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders 12 leaves the field following the National Football League game between the Tennessee Titans and Cleveland Browns on December 7, 2025, at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland, OH. Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire NFL, American Football Herren, USA DEC 07 Titans at Browns EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon251207108
However, after he suffered a short-term finger injury, the Browns’ passing offense took a huge hit. QB Dillon Gabriel got sacked near the end zone and had to settle for a field goal. To be fair to him, things didn’t change much even after Sanders returned to the pitch.
Sanders conceded heavy sacks in the final quarter. He had a pretty average game, scoring only 1 touchdown for 157 passing yards. The costly interceptions and takeover has been hampering his overall game, conceding 5 in the last two games.
Written by
Kalp Thaker
Edited by
Siddharth Shirwadkar