The evaluation process of Shedeur Sanders and the state of the Cleveland Browns at quarterback could be murkier for the final two games of the season.
Sanders will be without one of his prime weapons with rookie running back Quinshon Judkins slated to have surgery this week after suffering a dislocated right ankle and broken fibula late in the second quarter of Sunday's 23-20 loss to the Buffalo Bills.
The second-round pick is second among rookies in rushing with 827 yards and he finished 2 yards shy of 1,000 yards from scrimmage.
Sanders is already playing behind a makeshift offensive line. Two of the regular starters are on injured reserve and another was inactive for the third straight game. Now he'll be without Judkins, who had 13 touches (eight rushes, five receptions) for 51 yards when he was injured.
The run game did show some depth in the loss. Raheim Sanders had 42 yards on 11 carries and Trayveon Williams added 17 yards on three attempts.
“I thought they both had really good moments. Rocket (Sanders) had a couple hard yards in there where he ran between the tackles, kept his legs moving," coach Kevin Stefanski said. "Trayveon made some plays in the pass game as well. So, we’re counting on those guys, and we’ll be counting on them this week as well.”
What the depth chart will look like for Sunday's game against Pittsburgh remains to be seen. Dylan Sampson was inactive for a second straight week due to a hand injury and could factor into the mix.
Sanders was the leading rusher against the Bills with 49 yards as the Browns rushed for a season-high 160 yards with the 5.16 yards per carry being their second-highest average in a game this season.
The other positive for Sanders is that he slid after big gains on scrambles instead of taking unnecessary hits.
“We talked during the week about, we thought there may be some moments that he’ll be able to tuck it and go, and I thought he did a nice job early," Stefanski said. "There was the one where (he was) kind of bouncing around the pocket, had two hands on the ball, then went forward and made a huge play. Another time, they were playing man and everything kind of flushed out in front of them – went vertical, made a huge play. So those are very, very real yards.
"It’s a tough dynamic for a defense to have to defend the quarterback when he tucks it and can go. So that’s all part of his game. Obviously, then you want to make sure that your quarterback’s being smart at the end of those runs to make sure that he’s taking care of himself as well.”
Sanders completed 20 of 29 passes for 157 yards and a touchdown, but also threw two costly and avoidable interceptions that led to 10 Buffalo points. It was also another lousy day for the receivers, who were held to five catches for 23 yards.
Sanders' challenge will be even greater this week facing a Pittsburgh defense that held the Browns to no touchdowns in the first meeting along with getting seven sacks against Dillon Gabriel.
The Browns bounced back on third down, converting eight of 14 against Buffalo after going 4 of 14 at Chicago.
Run defense. Buffalo's James Cook rushed for 117 yards and averaged 7.3 yards per carry. The Browns have allowed 141.1 yards per game on the ground the past eight games, sixth-highest in the league along with 11 touchdowns and nine runs of 20 yards or more.
Center Luke Wypler did a solid job in run blocking and allowed only two quarterback pressures.
Safety Grant Delpit had two missed tackles, including being the last person to have a shot at Cook on his 44-yard touchdown run.
A decision of if QB Deshaun Watson will be added to the roster must be made by Wednesday since he is near the end of his three-week roster exemption. ... TE David Njoku (knee) and CB Denzel Ward (calf) were inactive for the second straight game.
12 — The number of seasons the Browns have had at least 12 losses since their return in 1999. They had only one (1990) from 1946 through 1995.
22 — Sacks for Myles Garrett. He needs one to surpass Michael Strahan and T.J. Watt for the NFL single-season record.
The Browns look to snap a seven-game losing streak in AFC North games when they host the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. The Steelers, who are looking to wrap up the division, have won their last three, including a 29-24 victory at Detroit. Pittsburgh won the first meeting 23-9 on Oct. 12.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
Cleveland Browns running back Quinshon Judkins (10) is carted off the field with an injury against the Buffalo Bills during the first half of an NFL football game in Cleveland, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) throws to tight end Harold Fannin Jr. (44) during the first half of an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills in Cleveland, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) is tackled by Buffalo Bills safety Jordan Poyer during the first half of an NFL football game in Cleveland, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/David Richard)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The funding lapse for the Department of Homeland Security will likely stretch into next week as the House contemplates passing a Senate plan it had previously rejected to fund the bulk of the agency, but not its immigration enforcement operations.
There was no resolution Thursday to the standoff, now in its 48th day, after both chambers met for just a few minutes in pro forma sessions. Nonetheless, the Republican leadership and President Donald Trump have coalesced around a plan to fully fund DHS as part of a two-step process. The agreement puts the congressional leaders on the same page for ending the impasse after they had pursued separate paths that resulted in Congress leaving Washington last week for its spring recess without a fix.
During the brief sessions, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., put aside the House plan to fund the entire department for 60 days. Then the House met briefly without taking up the bipartisan Senate plan that had been worked out with Democrats, though Thune is looking toward eventual passage.
“I don’t know the particulars around what the House will do with it,” Thune told reporters. “My assumption is, at some point, hopefully, they’ll move it.”
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Thune, announced Wednesday that they would return to the Senate measure, which funds most of DHS with the exception of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Border Patrol. Republicans will try later to fund those agencies through party-line spending legislation that could take months to finish.
Neither outcome is guaranteed, and the strategy could potentially still face opposition from the GOP’s own ranks even though Trump has given his support.
Johnson’s embrace of the two-track plan marks a sharp reversal from less than a week ago, when he derided it as a “joke” and said he was “quite convinced that it can’t be that every Senate Republican read the language of this bill.”
He now appears to be on board. But securing support from his own conference could prove more difficult after a sizable group of House Republicans blasted the Senate-passed bill last week.
House Republicans were expected to hold a conference call later Thursday to discuss the next steps.
Thune pointed to a “number of conversations” when he was asked how the Republican leadership and Trump aligned to move ahead after their apparent divisions a week earlier.
“The thing that some people want to do, we can’t do,” said Thune. “And so you have to figure out what’s in the realm of the possible. And you have to just continue to define reality for people.”
Democrats in both chambers were aligned last week with the Senate funding plan passed with bipartisan support. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York on Wednesday blamed Republicans for not acting more quickly.
“Republican divisions derailed a bipartisan agreement, making American families pay the price for their dysfunction,” Schumer said.
Even with the progress, the most conservative lawmakers are likely to seek full funding for all of Trump’s immigration and deportation operations.
“Let’s make this simple: caving to Democrats and not paying CBP and ICE is agreeing to defund Law Enforcement and leaving our borders wide open again,” Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., posted on X. “If that’s the vote, I’m a NO.”
Meanwhile, the budget package that Trump wants prepared for later this year is expected to fund ICE and Border Patrol through the remainder of Trump’s term, as a way to try to ensure those agencies are no longer at risk from Democrats objecting to his immigration enforcement agenda. Trump said he wants that legislation on his desk by June 1.
Thune acknowledged the potential hurdles to that route, such as efforts to expand the scope of the bill. He said the goal is to keep it “as narrow and focused as possible” to speed passage.
“We need to kind of move with haste,” he said. “It’s probably not a likely magnet for all these other issues.”
The vast majority of DHS employees have reported to work during the shutdown, but many thousands have gone without pay. As more Transportation Security Administration agents called out from work, there was increasing frustration for air travelers confronted by long waits at some airport security lines. Those bottlenecks appeared to be clearing this week as agents began receiving backpay after Trump signed an executive order.
AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., speaks to reporters outside the chamber after passing a measure by unanimous consent that would fund most of the Department of Homeland Security, if the House agrees, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., gestures as he speaks to reporters outside the chamber after passing a a measure by unanimous consent that would fund most of the Department of Homeland Security if the House agrees, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Sen. Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., speaks during a news conference after a policy luncheon on Capitol Hill,Tuesday, March 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
Sen. Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., speaks during a news conference after a policy luncheon on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, March 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill, Friday, March 27, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
