Week 12 Predictions for the 2025-2026 NFL Season: Shadeur Sanders Becomes Number 43

As we head down the stretch of the 2025 football season, it’s been a wild ride and now another Sanders makes his NFL debut. Since leaving the city of Cleveland years ago to become the Baltimore Ravens, the Cleveland Browns made it back to the league in 1999. There have been a few solid seasons by the Brownies since then but for the most part, it’s been a dismal experience for the team taking over the city once again.

Perhaps one of the most incredible facts coming out of Cleveland is the number of starting quarterbacks the Browns have put behind the center in the last 26 seasons. Still looking for a franchise signal caller since 1999, when Shadeur Sanders takes his first snap in Las Vegas in Week 12 while playing the Raiders, he will become the 42nd starting quarterback for Cleveland since 1999.

41 different quarterbacks in 25 years! That’s simply hard to wrap your head around. Those 41 other QBs and the number of games they started for the Browns is as follows:

• Tim Couch (59)
• Baker Mayfield (59)
• Derek Anderson (34)
• Colt McCoy (21)
• Brandon Weeden (20)
• Charlie Frye (19)
• Deshaun Watson (19)
• Brian Hoyer (16)
• DeShone Kizer (15)
• Kelly Holcomb (12)
• Brady Quinn (12)
• Trent Dilfer (11)
• Josh McCown (11)
• Jacoby Brissett (11)
• Jeff Garcia (10)
• Joe Flacco (9)
• Cody Kessler (8)
• Doug Pederson (8)
• Jason Campbell (8)
• Johnny Manziel (8)
• Seneca Wallace (7)
• Jameis Winston (7)
• Dillon Gabriel (6)
• Dorian Thompson-Robinson (5)
• Robert Griffin III (5)
• Jake Delhomme (4)
• Luke McCown (4)
• Tyrod Taylor (3)
• Ken Dorsey (3)
• PJ Walker (2)
• Austin Davis (2)
• Ty Detmer (2)
• Case Keenum (2)
• Kevin Hogan (1)
• Bailey Zappe (1)
• Spergon Wynn (1)
• Jeff Driskel (1)
• Thad Lewis (1)
• Nick Mullens (1)
• Connor Shaw (1)
• Bruce Gradkowski (1)

If Sanders does not produce, the Browns may have to return to searching for a player who can manage and take over the offense for the long-term next year. Meanwhile the games go on, and playoffs positions are still up in the air and divisions undecided. Before my picks are made, a review of the week 12 action.

Week 11 Knee Jerks

New England 27 New York Jets 14: Another dreadful day at the office for Justin Fields and now he has been benched. The Patriots’ long winning streak continues but it must end sometime…right? (Harv’s score: Patriots 35-17).

Miami 16 Washington 13 OT: It’s a hard pill to swallow for Commanders fans knowing their team was in the conference championship last season and now they probably won’t even make the playoffs. Miami is starting to find their way a bit. (Harv’s score: Dolphins 27-14).

Houston 16 Tennessee 13: A season to forget in Tennessee and the Texans are desperately trying to hang around. (Harv’s score: Texans 31-15).

Chicago 19 Minnesota 17: Are the Bears that good? We may find out in week 12 when they face the Steelers. The Vikings are blowing their chance at returning to the post season. (Harv’s score: Vikings 23-21).

Pittsburgh 34 Cincinnati 12: As a Pittsburgh Steelers fan there is one thing we’ve learned over the years. Put our boys with their backs to the wall and they will come out to the field and scratch and claw. After losing to the Chargers a week before, the Steelers regrouped and played an outstanding defensive game as Mason Rudolph replaced the injured Aaron Rodgers and once again impressed. The Bengals season is probably over, and it may have ended when Joe Burrow was injured. (Harv’s score: Steelers 24-20).

Jacksonville 35 Los Angeles 6 Chargers: Try to figure this one out. The ‘Bolts shut down Pittsburgh in week 11 while the Jags blew a 29-point lead. In their next game against each other, each team did a 180 on their earlier performance. (Harv’s score: Chargers 37-13).

Carolina 30 Atlanta 27 OT: Michael Penix suffers yet another injury and the Falcons continue to disappoint their fans. The Panthers might be the guiltiest team in the league for going up and down. (Harv’s score: Falcons 31-24).

Buffalo 44 Tampa Bay 32: A wild shoot out with two very offensive quarterbacks. Advantage Josh Allen. (Harv’s score: Bills 30-24).

Green Bay 27 New York Giants 20: The Micah Parsons theory continues to be disproved. The Packers won’t win the Super Bowl because of him. Especially if they continue to struggle with teams like the Giants. (Harv’s score: Packers 28-12).

Los Angeles Rams 21 Seattle 19: Matthew Stafford keeps building his M.V.P. candidacy while the Seahawks while losing a close game are still dangerous. (Harv’s score: Rams 28-27).

San Francisco 41 Arizona 22: The Cardinals season is dwindling fast, and Brock Purdy returns with a win. (Harv’s score: Cardinals 20-19).

Denver 22 Kansas City 19: The Broncos may have very well ended the Chiefs playoff chances and perhaps the fall of their dynasty. There are some who still don’t believe in the Denver Broncos. I’m one of them. (Harv’s score: Broncos 17 Chiefs 13).

Baltimore 23 Cleveland 16: The Browns kept it close but just could not seal the deal. Shadeur Sanders came into the game in relief and did not fair so well. Now he’s the starter. (Harv’s score: Ravens 41-6).

Philadelphia 16 Detroit 9: Just when you think Detroit is one of the top teams in the NFC, they blow a chance to prove it. A buzz continues questioning the play of Philadelphia. (Harv’s score: Lions 25 Eagles 21).

Dallas 33 Las Vegas 16: It’s easy to pick against the Raiders. They don’t win much. Dallas has one of the best offenses in the league and if they can shore up their defense they might go places. (Harv’s score: Cowboys 30-24).

Week 12 Picks

I finally climbed out of my current slump and scored a 10-5 record in week 11. Now I need to keep the momentum with another round of crucial games for some and meaningless games for others. Week 12 kicks off with a doozy of a game and we will see a new starter at quarterback in one and possibly the return of another one as well as perhaps one that will sit because of injury. Let’s break down the games.