Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders. Sam Greene-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

Shedeur Sanders leads first NFL game-winning drive as Browns walk off Bengals

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated Jan 4, 2026 4:17 PM ET

On the same day that Myles Garrett broke the NFL single-season sack record, Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders led the first game-winning drive of his NFL career against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday afternoon.

Cincinnati went up 18-17 on a go-ahead TD with 1:29 to go, but a failed two-point conversion gave Cleveland the opportunity to win with a field goal.

The biggest play of the drive came on third-and-10 from the Browns' own 29-yard-line, as Sanders completed a 13-yard pass to Isaiah Bond that kept the drive alive. Sanders then completed an 11-yard pass to Jerry Jeudy to get the Browns into Cincinnati territory.

After running down the clock, the Browns won on a 49-yard walk-off field goal from Andre Szmyt. The win gives Cleveland (5-12) back-to-back wins for the first time this season and flipped the script from the two teams' Week 1 contest, where Cincinnati took home a 17-16 win.

Browns win on the last-second field goal! pic.twitter.com/cRVWDBDEYz
— NFL (@NFL) January 4, 2026

Win gives Shedeur Sanders something to build on

Sanders had a very pedestrian outing on Sunday afternoon, competing 11-of-22 passes for 111 yards and zero touchdowns. But the rookie QB took care of the football and helped lead his team down the field on the final drive when it mattered most, and that's something positive for Sanders and the Browns to build on this offseason.

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

More must-reads: