Shedeur Sanders, taken 144th overall after five quarterbacks came off the board ahead of him in the 2025 NFL Draft, completed 14 of 23 passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns in his NFL debut as the Cleveland Browns defeated the Carolina Panthers 30–10 on August 8, 2025, at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. Cleveland posted 308 total yards, surrendered no turnovers, and held a 3-to-1 rushing advantage; Carolina’s two giveaways and 60 penalty yards closed out whatever margin the Panthers had after a 7–0 first-quarter lead.
Date
August 8, 2025
Venue
Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC
Final Score
Cleveland Browns 30, Carolina Panthers 10
Attendance
71,205
Broadcast
NFL Network
Table of Contents
Quarter-by-Quarter Score
Team
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Final
Cleveland Browns
0
14
7
9
30
Carolina Panthers
7
0
0
3
10
Scoring Summary
Qtr
Time
Team
Play
Score
1st
3:36
CAR
Jalen Coker 5-yd pass from Bryce Young (Matthew Wright kick) — 9 plays, 73 yds, 4:35
CAR 7–0
2nd
14:54
CLE
Kaden Davis 7-yd pass from Shedeur Sanders (Dustin Hopkins kick) — 2 plays, 10 yds, 0:42
7–7
2nd
1:04
CLE
Kaden Davis 12-yd pass from Shedeur Sanders (Dustin Hopkins kick) — 5 plays, 60 yds, 1:58
Ryan Fitzgerald 32-yd field goal — 9 plays, 60 yds, 4:06
CLE 30–10
Team Stats
Stat
Cleveland Browns
Carolina Panthers
Total Yards
308
251
Passing Yards
183
211
Rushing Yards
125
40
Yards per Play
4.7
4.7
Total Plays
66
53
Total Drives
13
11
1st Downs
20
13
— Passing
8
11
— Rushing
11
1
— Penalty
1
1
Completions/Attempts
20/31
23/35
Yards per Pass
5.4
5.4
Interceptions Thrown
0
1
Sacks — Yards Lost
3–6
4–27
Rushing Attempts
32
14
Yards per Rush
3.9
2.9
3rd Down
6/15 (40%)
3/12 (25%)
4th Down
1/2
0/1
Red Zone (Made/Att)
4/5
1/2
Turnovers
0
2
Fumbles Lost
0
1
Penalties
6 — 34 yds
6 — 60 yds
Time of Possession
34:28
25:32
Passing Stats
Cleveland Browns — Passing
Player
C/ATT
YDS
AVG
TD
INT
SACKS
RTG
Shedeur Sanders
14/23
138
6.0
2
0
2–6
106.8
Tyler Huntley
6/8
51
6.4
1
0
1–0
130.7
Team
20/31
183
6.1
3
0
3–6
113.5
Carolina Panthers — Passing
Player
C/ATT
YDS
AVG
TD
INT
SACKS
RTG
Bryce Young
4/6
58
9.7
1
0
1–1
137.5
Andy Dalton
13/19
101
5.3
0
1
2–17
59.3
Jack Plummer
6/10
79
7.9
0
0
1–9
85.0
Team
23/35
211
6.8
1
1
4–27
82.8
Rushing Stats
Cleveland Browns — Rushing
Player
CAR
YDS
AVG
TD
LONG
Ahmani Marshall
8
32
4.0
0
11
Toa Taua
5
30
6.0
0
12
Trayveon Williams
5
26
5.2
0
13
Shedeur Sanders
4
19
4.8
0
10
Tyler Huntley
6
10
1.7
0
9
Dylan Sampson
2
6
3.0
0
5
Gage Larvadain
1
4
4.0
1
4
Kaden Davis
1
–2
–2.0
0
—
Team
32
125
3.9
1
13
Carolina Panthers — Rushing
Player
CAR
YDS
AVG
TD
LONG
Emani Bailey
3
21
7.0
0
19
Chuba Hubbard
3
10
3.3
0
6
Rico Dowdle
3
7
2.3
0
3
Trevor Etienne
2
3
1.5
0
3
Raheem Blackshear
1
0
0.0
0
—
Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams
2
–1
–0.5
0
—
Team
14
40
2.9
0
19
Receiving Stats
Cleveland Browns — Receiving
Player
REC
TGT
YDS
AVG
TD
LONG
Sal Cannella
3
4
32
10.7
0
19
Brenden Bates
2
3
30
15.0
0
25
Luke Floriea
1
2
30
30.0
0
30
Kaden Davis
3
3
23
7.7
2
12
Gage Larvadain
2
3
23
11.5
0
19
Trayveon Williams
2
2
17
8.5
0
15
Toa Taua
2
2
16
8.0
0
9
Cade McDonald
2
2
11
5.5
1
6
Jamari Thrash
2
2
9
4.5
0
11
Ahmani Marshall
1
1
–2
–2.0
0
–2
Diontae Johnson
0
2
—
—
0
—
Chase Cota
0
2
—
—
0
—
Kisean Johnson
0
2
—
—
0
—
Dylan Sampson
0
1
—
—
0
—
Team
20
31
189
9.5
3
30
Carolina Panthers — Receiving
Player
REC
TGT
YDS
AVG
TD
LONG
Tetairoa McMillan
2
5
43
21.5
0
30
T.J. Luther
2
2
34
17.0
0
26
David Moore
2
6
26
13.0
0
17
James Mitchell
3
4
25
8.3
0
12
Rico Dowdle
1
1
20
20.0
0
20
Jalen Coker
2
4
17
8.5
1
12
Jimmy Horn Jr.
4
5
15
3.8
0
9
Trevor Etienne
1
1
14
14.0
0
14
Dominique Dafney
1
1
11
11.0
0
11
Adam Thielen
1
1
10
10.0
0
10
Kobe Hudson
1
1
7
7.0
0
7
Jacolby George
1
1
7
7.0
0
7
Mitchell Evans
1
1
5
5.0
0
5
Raheem Blackshear
1
1
4
4.0
0
4
Chuba Hubbard
0
1
—
—
0
—
Team
23
35
238
10.3
1
30
Defensive Stats
Cleveland Browns — Defense
Player
TOT
SOLO
SACKS
TFL
PD
QB HTS
Adin Huntington
6
5
1.0
1
0
2
Carson Schwesinger
6
3
0
0
0
0
Christopher Edmonds
4
3
0
0
1
0
Winston Reid
4
2
0
0
0
0
Nathaniel Watson
4
2
0
0
0
0
Easton Mascarenas-Arnold
4
2
0
1
0
0
Chigozie Anusiem
3
3
0
0
0
0
LaMareon James
3
3
0
0
0
0
Tony Brown II
3
1
0
0
1
0
Donovan McMillon
3
1
0
0
1
0
Myles Harden
3
1
0
0
0
0
Dom Jones
3
0
0
0
1
0
Julian Okwara
2
2
2.0
2
0
2
KJ Henry
2
2
0
1
0
1
Alex Wright
2
1
1.0
1
0
1
Jerome Baker
1
1
0
0
0
0
Cameron Thomas
1
1
0
1
0
1
Keenan Isaac
1
1
0
0
0
0
Cade McDonald
1
1
0
0
0
0
Rex Sunahara
1
0
0
0
0
0
Sam Kamara
1
0
0
0
0
0
Trayveon Williams
1
0
0
0
0
0
Devin Bush
1
0
0
0
0
0
Ralph Holley
1
0
0
0
0
0
Jowon Briggs
1
0
0
0
0
0
Mason Graham
1
0
0
0
0
0
Nik Needham
0
0
0
0
1
0
Team
63
35
4.0
7
5
7
Carolina Panthers — Defense
Player
TOT
SOLO
SACKS
TFL
PD
QB HTS
Thomas Incoom
5
5
1.0
0
0
1
Michael Reid
5
4
0
0
0
0
Isaac Gifford
5
3
0
0
0
0
Corey Thornton
4
4
0
1
1
0
Lathan Ransom
4
3
0
0
0
0
DJ Johnson
4
2
0
0
0
0
Bam Martin-Scott
4
2
0
0
0
0
Demani Richardson
3
2
1.0
1
0
1
Bobby Brown III
3
2
0
1
0
0
Trevian Thomas
3
2
0
1
0
0
Princely Umanmielen
3
1
0
0
0
0
Nic Scourton
2
2
1.0
2
0
0
Shy Tuttle
2
1
0
0
0
1
Christian Rozeboom
2
1
0
0
0
0
Krys Barnes
2
1
0
0
0
0
Sam Roberts
2
1
0
0
1
0
Jaden Crumedy
2
1
0
0
0
0
Nick Scott
1
1
0
0
0
0
Boogie Basham
1
1
0
0
0
0
David Moore
1
1
0
0
0
0
Tre Swilling
1
1
0
0
0
0
Shemar Bartholomew
1
1
0
0
1
0
Jacoby Windmon
1
1
0
0
0
0
Trevin Wallace
1
1
0
0
0
0
Cam Jackson
1
1
0
0
0
0
Chau Smith-Wade
1
1
0
0
0
0
DJ Wonnum
1
0
0
0
0
1
JaTravis Broughton
1
0
0
0
0
0
J.J. Weaver
1
0
0
0
0
0
Jack Henderson
1
0
0
0
0
0
Patrick Jones II
0
0
0
0
0
1
Team
68
46
3.0
6
3
5
Interceptions and Fumbles
Interceptions
Team
Player
INT
YDS
TD
CLE
Nik Needham
1
0
0
CAR
—
—
—
—
Fumbles
Team
Player
FUM
LOST
REC
CLE
Luke Floriea
1
0
1
CLE
Nathaniel Watson
0
0
1
CAR
Trevor Etienne
1
1
0
Special Teams
Kicking
Player
FG
PCT
LONG
XP
PTS
Dustin Hopkins (CLE)
1/1
100%
23 yds
3/4
6
Ryan Fitzgerald (CAR)
1/1
100%
32 yds
0/0
3
Matthew Wright (CAR)
0/0
—
—
1/1
1
Punting
Player
NO
YDS
AVG
TB
IN 20
LONG
Corey Bojorquez (CLE)
5
255
51.0
0
2
62
Sam Martin (CAR)
7
355
50.7
0
3
59
Punt Returns
Player
NO
YDS
AVG
LONG
TD
Gage Larvadain (CLE)
2
38
19.0
30
0
Kaden Davis (CLE)
1
16
16.0
16
0
Luke Floriea (CLE)
2
9
4.5
5
0
CLE Team
5
63
12.6
30
0
T.J. Luther (CAR)
1
8
8.0
8
0
Trevor Etienne (CAR)
2
7
3.5
7
0
Raheem Blackshear (CAR)
1
2
2.0
2
0
Jimmy Horn Jr. (CAR)
1
0
0.0
0
0
CAR Team
5
17
3.4
8
0
Kick Returns
Player
NO
YDS
AVG
LONG
TD
Luke Floriea (CLE)
1
25
25.0
25
0
Kaden Davis (CLE)
1
15
15.0
15
0
Trayveon Williams (CLE)
1
13
13.0
13
0
CLE Team
3
53
17.7
25
0
Jimmy Horn Jr. (CAR)
2
29
14.5
19
0
Trevor Etienne (CAR)
1
20
20.0
20
0
T.J. Luther (CAR)
1
17
17.0
17
0
Raheem Blackshear (CAR)
1
15
15.0
15
0
CAR Team
5
81
16.2
20
0
Game Notes
Muffed Punt — Turning Point: Trevor Etienne’s muffed punt return in the second quarter, recovered by Cleveland at the Carolina 10-yard line, directly preceded Sanders’ first touchdown pass. The Browns scored two plays later.
Ejections: WR Xavier Legette (CAR) and CB Rayshawn Jenkins (CLE) were ejected in the first quarter after Legette threw punches at Jenkins following a play. Both were removed by the officiating crew. Legette’s ejection left Carolina a receiver short for the remainder of the game.
Sanders — PFF Advanced Metrics: Sanders posted a 79.8 PFF grade on his 14 completions, with two big-time throws and zero turnover-worthy plays. His uncatchable throw rate was 9.1 percent. Carolina pressured him on 40.7 percent of his dropbacks, above the NFL average, and he still finished with a 106.8 passer rating.
Officiating Crew:
Role
Official
Referee
Clay Martin
Umpire
Paul King
Down Judge
Jerod Phillips
Line Judge
Brian Perry
Field Judge
Alonzo Ramsey III
Side Judge
Dave Hawkshaw
Back Judge
Greg Meyer
Sanders posted those numbers facing above-average pressure rates and finished without a turnover in nearly three full quarters of work — a stat line that meant more to Cleveland than the preseason record ever would. For a franchise that spent two drafts looking for an answer at quarterback, the August 8, 2025 box score at Bank of America Stadium was, at minimum, a number worth returning to.
Stats: ESPN, Pro Football Reference. Advanced metrics: Pro Football Focus. Game date: August 8, 2025.
Bobby A. Smith is a Senior Sports Analyst with over nine years of professional experience, specializing in forensic analysis of game strategy and player performance.
His work provides a definitive lens on a broad spectrum of professional sports, delivering expert commentary on the NFL, NBA, MLB, WNBA, Soccer, Boxing, Cricket, F1, and NASCAR. Unlike surface-level reporting, Bobby’s analysis is known for identifying the critical, game-deciding patterns that raw statistics often obscure. Every article is grounded in rigorous, fact-based research and an unwavering commitment to journalistic integrity.
