Kevin Stefanski did not give Shedeur Sanders the game to close. With 2:08 remaining and Cleveland trailing 17-16, the Browns’ head coach sent Tyler Huntley onto the field instead. Huntley needed six plays and a 9-yard scramble to the Rams’ 24-yard line — aided by three Los Angeles penalties totaling 25 yards — to put Andre Szmyt within range. The kicker’s 37-yard field goal at the final whistle gave Cleveland a 19-17 win over the Los Angeles Rams on August 23, 2025, completing a perfect 3-0 preseason at Huntington Bank Field.
The game put Cleveland’s quarterback situation under a sharper light than any of the three preseason weeks managed to resolve. Joe Flacco, the named Week 1 starter, was 9-of-10 for 71 yards and a touchdown across three first-team series — precise, unhurried, exactly what the role called for. Dillon Gabriel took over and produced the Browns’ best sustained drive of the night, an 86-yard, 11-play march before halftime that ended with a 3-yard touchdown to Gage Larvadain. Gabriel finished 12-of-19 for 129 yards. Sanders, the fifth-round rookie, absorbed five sacks and threw for 14 yards on 3-of-6 passing across five second-half series. For Los Angeles, Dresser Winn started 0-for-4 before completing 12 consecutive passes, finishing with 190 yards and a go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter that made the final drive necessary.
All player statistics and box score data from the matchup are listed below.
Table of Contents
Game at a Glance
Date
August 23, 2025
Venue
Huntington Bank Field, Cleveland, Ohio
Attendance
69,035
Final Score
Los Angeles Rams 17 – Cleveland Browns 19
Preseason Records
Rams 2-1 · Browns 3-0
Broadcast
NFL Network / ABC7
Referee
Brad Allen
Score by Quarter
Team
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Final
Los Angeles Rams
0
7
3
7
17
Cleveland Browns
7
9
0
3
19
Scoring Plays
Qtr
Time
Team
Score
Play
Drive
1st
6:29
CLE
7–0
Harold Fannin Jr. 15-yd pass from Joe Flacco (Dustin Hopkins kick)
7 plays, 44 yds, 3:44
2nd
4:18
CLE
10–0
Dustin Hopkins 28-yd field goal
15 plays, 70 yds, 6:25
2nd
1:55
LAR
10–7
Drake Stoops 1-yd pass from Dresser Winn (Joshua Karty kick)
6 plays, 67 yds, 2:23
2nd
0:17
CLE
16–7
Gage Larvadain 3-yd pass from Dillon Gabriel (Dustin Hopkins PAT failed)
11 plays, 86 yds, 1:38
3rd
2:20
LAR
16–10
Joshua Karty 45-yd field goal
11 plays, 48 yds, 5:09
4th
2:03
LAR
17–16
Jordan Waters 2-yd rush (Joshua Karty kick)
9 plays, 77 yds, 4:04
4th
0:00
CLE
19–17
Andre Szmyt 37-yd field goal
6 plays, 46 yds, 2:03
Team Statistics
Category
Los Angeles Rams
Cleveland Browns
Final Score
17
19
Total Yards
268
256
Passing Yards (net)
169
171
Rushing Yards
99
85
Total Plays
55
64
Yards per Play
4.9
4.0
Completions/Attempts
15/23
25/36
Yards per Pass
6.3
4.1
Sacks – Yards Lost
4–21
6–50
Interceptions Thrown
0
0
Rushing Attempts
28
22
Yards per Rush
3.5
3.9
1st Downs
14
22
Passing 1st Downs
8
14
Rushing 1st Downs
5
5
1st Downs via Penalty
1
3
3rd Down Efficiency
1/12 (8%)
5/13 (38%)
4th Down Efficiency
2/2
0/0
Red Zone (Made–Att)
2/2
2/4
Penalties
12–64 yds
5–35 yds
Turnovers
0
0
Fumbles Lost
0
0
Time of Possession
28:59
31:01
Total Drives
11
11
Passing Statistics
Cleveland Browns
Player
C/ATT
YDS
AVG
TD
INT
SACKS
RTG
Dillon Gabriel
12/19
129
6.8
1
0
0–0
100.5
Joe Flacco
9/10
71
7.1
1
0
1–9
129.6
Shedeur Sanders
3/6
14
2.3
0
0
5–41
56.2
Tyler Huntley
1/1
7
7.0
0
0
0–0
95.8
Team
25/36
171
4.8
2
0
6–50
—
Los Angeles Rams
Player
C/ATT
YDS
AVG
TD
INT
SACKS
RTG
Dresser Winn
15/23
190
8.3
1
0
4–21
105.3
Team
15/23
190
8.3
1
0
4–21
—
Rushing Statistics
Cleveland Browns
Player
CAR
YDS
AVG
TD
LNG
Ahmani Marshall
10
31
3.1
0
6
Pierre Strong Jr.
5
25
5.0
0
8
Jerome Ford
2
14
7.0
0
11
Tyler Huntley
2
8
4.0
0
9
Trayveon Williams
1
4
4.0
0
4
Dylan Sampson
2
3
1.5
0
4
Team
22
85
3.9
0
11
Los Angeles Rams
Player
CAR
YDS
AVG
TD
LNG
Jordan Waters
6
42
7.0
1
18
Brennan Presley
3
23
7.7
0
18
Jarquez Hunter
7
14
2.0
0
6
Cody Schrader
9
13
1.4
0
7
Dresser Winn
3
7
2.3
0
5
Team
28
99
3.5
1
18
Receiving Statistics
Cleveland Browns
Player
REC
YDS
AVG
TD
LNG
TGT
Jamari Thrash
3
42
14.0
0
16
5
Gage Larvadain
4
28
7.0
1
16
7
David Njoku
2
20
10.0
0
15
2
Sal Cannella
3
20
6.7
0
7
3
Pierre Strong Jr.
1
18
18.0
0
18
1
Ahmani Marshall
2
17
8.5
0
16
3
Harold Fannin Jr.
2
16
8.0
1
15
2
Dylan Sampson
1
14
14.0
0
14
1
Diontae Johnson
1
12
12.0
0
12
1
Blake Whiteheart
1
12
12.0
0
12
1
Trayveon Williams
2
10
5.0
0
6
4
Chase Cota
1
7
7.0
0
7
1
Jerome Ford
2
5
2.5
0
4
2
Jerry Jeudy
0
0
—
0
—
1
Kaden Davis
0
0
—
0
—
1
Team
25
221
8.8
2
18
35
Los Angeles Rams
Player
REC
YDS
AVG
TD
LNG
TGT
Brennan Presley
3
51
17.0
0
24
3
Terrance Ferguson
2
48
24.0
0
33
3
Britain Covey
4
32
8.0
0
15
6
Tru Edwards
1
25
25.0
0
25
2
Drake Stoops
4
23
5.8
1
15
6
Mark Redman
1
11
11.0
0
11
1
McCallan Castles
0
0
—
0
—
1
Team
15
190
12.7
1
33
22
Defensive Statistics
Cleveland Browns
Player
TOT
SOLO
SACKS
TFL
PD
QB HTS
Easton Mascarenas-Arnold
6
3
0
0
0
0
Dom Jones
6
2
0
0
0
0
Adin Huntington
5
2
1.5
2
0
2
Christopher Edmonds
4
2
0
0
1
0
KJ Henry
4
1
0.5
1
0
2
Donovan McMillon
3
2
0
0
0
0
Tony Brown II
2
2
0
0
0
0
Myles Harden
2
2
0
0
1
0
Cameron Thomas
2
1
1.0
1
0
2
Alex Wright
2
1
1.0
1
0
1
Nik Needham
2
1
0
0
0
0
Devin Bush
2
1
0
1
1
0
Charlie Thomas III
2
1
0
1
0
0
Keenan Isaac
2
1
0
0
0
0
Titus Leo
2
1
0
0
0
0
LaMareon James
2
1
0
0
1
0
Jerome Baker
2
0
0
0
0
0
Sam Kamara
2
0
0
0
0
0
Darius Rush
2
0
0
0
0
0
Ronnie Hickman
2
0
0
0
0
0
Damontae Kazee
1
1
0
0
0
0
Maliek Collins
1
1
0
0
0
0
Christian Holmes
1
1
0
0
0
0
Joe Tryon-Shoyinka
1
1
0
0
0
0
Isaiah McGuire
1
1
0
0
0
1
Mason Graham
1
1
0
0
0
0
Kaden Davis
1
1
0
0
0
0
Shelby Harris
1
0
0
0
0
1
Rayshawn Jenkins
1
0
0
0
0
0
Julian Okwara
1
0
0
0
0
0
Carson Schwesinger
1
0
0
0
0
1
Team
67
31
4.0
7
4
10
Los Angeles Rams
Player
TOT
SOLO
SACKS
TFL
PD
QB HTS
Tony Fields II
9
7
1.0
1
0
0
Malik Dixon-Williams
9
7
0
0
0
0
Tanner Ingle
9
5
0
0
0
0
Elias Neal
6
2
1.0
1
0
1
Chris Paul Jr.
6
2
0
0
0
0
Cam Lampkin
4
4
0
0
1
0
Jack Heflin
4
3
0
0
1
0
Da’Jon Terry
4
1
0
1
0
0
Desjuan Johnson
4
0
0
0
0
0
Derion Kendrick
3
2
1.0
1
0
0
Bill Norton
2
2
1.0
2
0
1
Shaun Jolly
2
2
0
0
1
0
Brennan Jackson
2
1
1.0
1
0
1
Jamil Muhammad
2
1
1.0
1
0
1
Decarius Hawthorne
2
1
0
0
0
0
Nate Valcarcel
2
1
0
0
0
0
Charles Woods
1
1
0
0
0
0
Josh Pearcy
1
1
0
0
0
0
Team
72
43
6.0
8
3
4
Special Teams
Kicking
Player
Team
FG
PCT
LNG
XP
PTS
Dustin Hopkins
CLE
1/1
100%
28 yds
1/2
4
Andre Szmyt
CLE
1/1
100%
37 yds
0/0
3
Joshua Karty
LAR
1/1
100%
45 yds
2/2
5
Punting
Player
Team
NO
YDS
AVG
TB
IN 20
LNG
Corey Bojorquez
CLE
7
359
51.3
0
4
67
Ethan Evans
LAR
7
365
52.1
0
1
58
Punt Returns
Player
Team
NO
YDS
AVG
LNG
TD
DeAndre Carter
CLE
3
32
10.7
11
0
Gage Larvadain
CLE
3
30
10.0
13
0
Britain Covey
LAR
1
14
14.0
14
0
Drake Stoops
LAR
1
0
0.0
0
0
Kick Returns
Player
Team
NO
YDS
AVG
LNG
TD
DeAndre Carter
CLE
1
10
10.0
10
0
Cody Schrader
LAR
1
29
29.0
29
0
Brennan Presley
LAR
1
7
7.0
7
0
Fumbles
Player
Team
FUM
LOST
REC
Shedeur Sanders
CLE
1
0
0
Sebastian Gutierrez
CLE
0
0
1
Dresser Winn
LAR
1
0
0
Drake Stoops
LAR
1
0
1
Mike McAllister
LAR
0
0
1
Injury Report
Ethan Pocic – C, Cleveland Browns: Left knee. Went down on the first series of the first quarter and did not return. Replaced at center by Luke Wypler. Pocic walked off under his own power. Stefanski confirmed post-game that an MRI was scheduled for the following day, August 24.
Cleveland went 3-0 through the 2025 preseason, but nothing about the night fully settled. Sanders’ five-sack, 14-yard performance stood in direct contrast to his two-touchdown debut at Carolina two weeks earlier, and Stefanski bypassing him on the final drive put a hard edge on what had been a fluid depth chart conversation all summer. Winn’s 190-yard showing for the Rams — 12 consecutive completions after a four-miss start — gave Los Angeles its clearest look at its backup situation before the season began.
Both teams opened the 2025 regular season on September 7: the Browns hosting the Cincinnati Bengals at Huntington Bank Field, the Rams welcoming the Houston Texans in Los Angeles.
Cornelia Lindqvist is a Swedish-American sports journalist with 4 years of experience covering professional athletics. She previously worked at Sports Illustrated before joining Newzire. Cornelia reports on the NFL, NBA, MLB, WNBA, international football, and cricket, covering game results, roster moves, trade deals, playoff standings, and player statistics. Her sports analysis background helps readers understand the strategies and numbers behind wins and losses.
