Shedeur Sanders will make his first start of 2026 for the Cleveland Browns as they head to New Orleans looking to keep their season on track after an embarrassing loss on the road in Pittsburgh a week ago. 

The game feels like a critical moment in a season that can venture off in two very different directions based on the result. The good news is that the Saints are a struggling football team at 2-5 this season, with a defense that seems to get torched by just about every opponent it faces. 

That could be just what the doctor ordered to help Sanders get comfortable in his first start since late last season. But the Browns will need more than just a solid outing from their young QB to win this game.

Here are three stats that could define whether or not Cleveland improves to 6-3. 

The Browns and Saints are the 31st and 32nd ranked teams respectively, in terms of points scored in the first quarter this season. Cleveland has scored just 13 points in the opening stanza through eight games, while New Orleans has only scored six.

While there's a joke in there about skipping out on the first quarter of this matchup on Sunday and not missing anything, there is something to be said for the team that potentially starts fastest having a leg up in this game. That feels especially true for the Browns as the visitors in one of the toughest road environments in the league. 

Sunday's matchup pairs two of the NFL's worst running teams against each other, but also two of the league's worst teams in terms of stopping the run. 

The Browns have recorded 11 rushes of 12-plus yards this season, which ranks 24th in the league, while the Saints lag well behind with only seven such run plays this season, that figure ranks 31st overall. 

On the opposite side of the ball, Cleveland has yielded the most run plays of 12 or more yards to their opponents this season with 23. Nine of those have come over the last two weeks alone in matchups with the Titans and Steelers. 

As for New Orleans, which boasts the league's 29th ranks run defense overall in terms of yards allowed per game and yards per attempt allowed, it has surrendered 15 rushes of 12-plus yards to its opponents this season. That figure is tied for 15th overall. 

The Superdome is hands down one of the best home-field advantages in the NFL and for a team like the Browns that has struggled quite a bit with procedural penalties this year, Sunday could be a recipe for disaster on offense. 

Cleveland is second overall in offensive penalties accepted against them, 15 of those are false starts – tied for the fourth most in the league this year – and another five are delay of games – also a top five figure. 

As Todd Monken would say, penalties are one of the most obvious cases of 'Browns hurting Browns' and in many instances, the penalties have stalled drives or killed their momentum. Against a Saints team that has its fair share of struggles, it's things like penalties and mental mistakes that can level the playing field and perhaps cost Cleveland a win.