Sign up for the daily Saints Newsletter by clicking here.

The New Orleans Saints come back to the Superdome Sunday to entertain the AFC's Cleveland Browns. It's the first of a pair of back-to-back home games in the Dome. Kickoff is set for Noon.

Here are three things you need to know about Cleveland's offense ahead of Sunday's game

#1: Sanders, not Watson at QB

The Browns' starting quarterback, Deshaun Watson is out for this weekend. Watson has been placed in concussion protocol after complaining of dizziness earlier this week. That's over 18-hundred yards of passing gone from the Cleveland offense. Watson has tossed 7-touchdowns and three interceptions while being sacked 33-times.

In his stead, Shedeur Sanders steps in. Sanders came out of Colorado two seasons ago drafted late in 2025. He made his rookie debut in Week 11 last year against the Baltimore Ravens after fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel suffered a concussion. He finished the year with a 3–4 record in seven starts, a 56.6% completion percentage, 1,400 passing yards, seven passing touchdowns, 10 interceptions, and one rushing touchdown. Sanders had the worst NFL passer rating of those with a minimum 200 pass attempts.

The head coaching duties in 2026 were taken over by Todd Monken, leading to Watson being named the starter for this season.

This season Sanders has thrown three passes, mostly in mop-up duty, completing all three for 2-yards.

#2: Another Good TE Comes to New Orleans

Already this season, the Saints have faced some solid tight ends and have had trouble with them. This Sunday they get to see another. Second-year tight end Harold Fannin Jr paces the team in receptions, hauling in 35-catches in 51-targets for 411-yards and three touchdowns. Wide receiver Denzel Boston settles in behind Fannin with 26-catches on his 53-targets for 409-yards and another three TD's. Though wide out KC Concepcion Jr has 33-receptions in his 49-targets for 352-yards, he has yet to get into the end zone.

#3: Rushing Attack not Impressive

With Watson out, the Browns not only lose their starting passer, they have lost their 2nd best rusher. He's rushed 51-times for 217-yards on the year.

Quinshon Judkins anchors a vanilla ground game. The second-year running back has toted the ball 101-times for 342-yards and three touchdowns. Nobody else in the running back room comes close to 100-yards rushing on the year.

Much of that can be attributed to a major overhaul that was done in the offseason to the Browns' offensive line that has not panned out as planned. Cleveland added players to the O-line like Tytus Howard, Zion Johnson, Elgton Jenkins, and rookie left tackle Spencer Fano hoping to improve both the run game and passing game. However, pass-protection consistency, as witnessed by the 33-times starting QB Watson has been sacked, and the offense's red-zone efficiency, which ranks near the bottom of the league, have remained a struggle.

Saints Mailbag