If you looked at the final record of the Cleveland Browns this year, you’d probably want to look away pretty quickly. 5-12 is ugly. There is no way to sugarcoat a season where the team finishes last in the AFC North and looks historically stagnant on offense for long stretches. But honestly, if you actually dig into the cleveland browns player stats, you find one of the most bizarre statistical anomalies in modern NFL history.
How does a team with the worst scoring offense in the league (31st overall, averaging a measly 16.4 points per game) also house a guy who just broke the all-time NFL single-season sack record?
It shouldn't happen. It’s a paradox.
While the scoreboard usually told a depressing story for fans at Huntington Bank Field, the individual box scores were a chaotic mix of "Defensive Player of the Year" greatness and "Wait, who is playing quarterback?" confusion. We’re talking about a season where the defense allowed the fourth-fewest yards in the league but the offense turned the ball over so often it didn't even matter.
Myles Garrett and the Historic Defensive Surge
Let’s start with the only reason most people were still tuning in by December. Myles Garrett didn't just have a "good" year. He had the year.
Entering Week 18 against the Bengals, the pressure was on. He needed a big day to move past the 22.5 mark set by Michael Strahan and T.J. Watt. He didn't just get there; he blew past it. Garrett finished the 2025 campaign with 23.0 sacks.
What's wild about that number isn't just the total. It’s the efficiency. He did it on only 540 pass plays. To put that in perspective, when Strahan set the record in 2001, he had 567 pass plays to work with. Garrett was essentially a one-man wrecking crew for a unit that recorded a franchise-record 53 sacks as a team.
The defense wasn't just about the pass rush, though. Denzel Ward and the secondary held opponents to the 3rd fewest passing yards per game (167.2). It was a "hungrier mindset," like Ward said in training camp. But you can only hold the line for so long when the other side of the ball is punting every three plays.
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The Quarterback Carousel: Stats Nobody Wants
If the defense was a Ferrari, the offense was a used sedan with three flat tires. The cleveland browns player stats for the quarterback position are, frankly, hard to look at.
We saw three different starters this year: Shedeur Sanders, Dillon Gabriel, and even a brief, nostalgic return from Joe Flacco.
- Shedeur Sanders: 8 games, 1,400 yards, 7 TDs, 10 INTs.
- Dillon Gabriel: 10 games, 937 yards, 7 TDs, 2 INTs.
- Joe Flacco: 4 games, 815 yards, 2 TDs, 6 INTs.
Shedeur Sanders showed flashes—his 175 yards per game average was the highest on the team—but he was under siege constantly, taking 23 sacks in just eight appearances. Dillon Gabriel was "safer" with the ball, but the vertical threat just wasn't there, evidenced by his low 5.1 yards per attempt. When your leading passer finishes the season with only 1,400 yards, you aren't winning many games in today's NFL.
The Rookies: A Small Beacon of Hope
Despite the 5-12 finish, draft experts like Aaron Schatz have actually ranked the Browns' rookie class as the second-best in the entire league. That feels weird to say about a five-win team, doesn't it?
But the numbers back it up.
Harold Fannin Jr., the rookie tight end, ended up being the team’s most reliable target. He led the Browns with 72 receptions for 731 yards and 6 touchdowns. For a first-year player to lead a veteran-heavy room (which included David Njoku and Jerry Jeudy) is massive.
Then you have Quinshon Judkins in the backfield. With Nick Chubb now playing for the Houston Texans (which still feels wrong to type), the rookie carried the load. Judkins finished with 827 rushing yards and 7 touchdowns on 230 carries. His 3.6 average isn't going to win him a rushing title, but behind an offensive line that was shuffling bodies every week due to injuries, he was basically the only thing moving the chains.
Key Statistical Breakdown: Offense vs. Defense
To really understand the 2025 Browns, you have to look at the gap between the two units.
The offense was ranked 31st in total yards (282.4 per game) and 31st in passing yards (185.4). It was a struggle just to get into field goal range for Andre Szmyt, who ended up being the team's leading scorer with 97 points. He was busy, hitting 24 of his 27 field goal attempts.
On the flip side, the defense was elite:
- Total Yards Allowed: 4th in NFL (283.6 YPG)
- Passing Yards Allowed: 3rd in NFL (167.2 YPG)
- Sacks: 3rd in NFL (53)
- Individual Tackles: Carson Schwesinger emerged as a tackle machine, finishing 8th in the league with 146 combined tackles.
What These Player Stats Tell Us About 2026
The numbers suggest that the Browns are a "Quarterback and a Left Tackle" away from being a playoff contender. That sounds like a cliché, but it's the reality. You don't have a top-5 defense and a record-breaking pass rusher and stay at the bottom of the league forever.
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The cleveland browns player stats highlight a massive imbalance. The defense did its job. The rookies (Fannin Jr., Judkins, Bond) did their jobs. The failure was almost entirely in the passing game's inability to protect the ball and find the end zone.
If you're looking for actionable insights from this season:
- Focus on the Offensive Line: The 51 sacks allowed is the primary reason no quarterback could find a rhythm.
- The Youth Movement is Real: Relying on Fannin Jr. and Judkins as the core of the offense is the only way forward.
- Build Around 95: Myles Garrett is in his prime. Every year the Browns don't provide him with a functional offense is a year of a legendary career wasted.
The next step for the front office is obvious. They have the defensive foundation. Now they need to find out if Shedeur Sanders can be "the guy" with a better line, or if they need to dip back into the draft to save a defense that is currently championship-ready.