![\"Browns](\"https:\/\/news2.watchtowatch.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2242022740-5-e1763152002546-1.jpg\")
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The\u00a0Cleveland Browns\u00a0provided a rare update on Shedeur Sanders ahead of their Week 11 matchup with the Baltimore Ravens.<\/p>\n
Cleveland has\u00a0remained relatively quiet about its high-profile backup quarterback\u00a0in recent weeks, but head coach Kevin Stefanski offered praise on Friday, highlighting Sanders\u2019 growth both on the field and in the classroom.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s doing a really nice job. Including just now coming off the field with the red zone drill we did,\u201d\u00a0Stefanski said on Friday. \u201cContinues to work really hard. Doing a nice job in meetings. Doing a good job on the field.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stefanski noted that nothing has changed with Sanders\u2019 workload in practice. He\u2019s still\u00a0not taking reps with the first-team offense. That marks a shift from earlier in the year, when Dillon Gabriel saw occasional first-team work while backing up then-starter Joe Flacco.<\/p>\n
With limited reps to go around, Sanders has been\u00a0working after practice to get more. It\u2019s not typical, but the Browns have tweaked how they do things this season with so many rookies in the mix, per Stefanski.<\/p>\n
\u201cGoing back to the spring, we\u2019ve done a lot of things we haven\u2019t done before because we have so many rookies. You\u2019re trying to maximize every minute you have out there,\u201d Stefanski said. \u201cCertainly, throughout this season, we\u2019ve tried to be extremely intentional in the development of our players.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not just assuming they\u2019re getting better by just sitting in meetings. You want to give them physical reps as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
That said, Stefanski has downplayed the idea of Sanders replacing Gabriel as the starter and being in the mix to see action on the field anytime soon.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s fair to speculate,\u201d\u00a0Stefanski said Monday\u00a0about a possible timeline for Sanders to see the field. \u201cWe\u2019re committed to getting better as an offense. Dillon is certainly committed to improving every which way he can. And all the while, all of our players, our young players are developing and working so hard behind the scenes to make sure that they\u2019re getting better on a daily basis.\u201d<\/p>\n
An interesting wrinkle for the Browns is the return of Deshaun Watson, which appears to be nearing. Watson has been\u00a0sidelined for more than a year\u00a0while recovering from a twice-ruptured Achilles tendon.<\/p>\n
\u201cDeshaun Watson continues to make excellent progress in his comeback from a re-ruptured Achilles, but the Browns aren\u2019t opening his 21-day practice window this week,\u201d\u00a0Browns insider Mary Kay Cabot said this week. \u201cThe Browns will wait at least until least Week 12 against the\u00a0Raiders\u00a0to designate Watson for return from reserve\/Physically Unable to Perform. They expect to have more clarity on his timeframe over the next couple of weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n
If Watson does return, it\u2019s unclear where he\u2019d fit in on the depth chart. He remains under contract through 2026 on his fully guaranteed $230 million deal, but the Browns appear focused on their long-term future. That includes giving extended evaluations to both Gabriel and Sanders to see what they can offer moving forward.<\/p>\n
The Washington Capitals have been unable to find consistent success through the first month and change of the 2025-26 season. However, with an even .500 record, not all hope is lost. There are some bright spots, along with areas of improvement. While they currently sit at the bottom of the Metropolitan Division, it\u2019s early still, and head coach Spencer Carbery remains hopeful.<\/p>\n
Washington is second in the league for expected goals and actual goals. Peter Hassett of Capitals blog Russian Machine Never Breaks\u00a0describes the team\u2019s performance, saying, \u201cthe five-on-five Caps keep company with the Colorado Avalanche and Carolina Hurricanes\u201d regarding their ability to control the puck and create offensive chances. At even strength, the Capitals control the puck more and do more on offense than their opponents, averaging 29.9 shots per game,\u00a0fifth in the league.<\/p>\n
Perhaps the paramount problem for the Capitals this season is their struggling special teams. The team that plays at five-on-five versus the team that plays on the penalty kill and power play feels like two different hockey clubs entirely. They are\u00a029th and 28th on the power play and penalty kill, respectively.<\/p>\n
Hassett described the special-teams Capitals as \u201cnear the St. Louis Blues and Columbus Blue Jackets.\u201d The continued trend of taking penalties and allowing opponents to score on their man advantages has been costing the Capitals far too many games. If they are unable to defend on the penalty kill and score on the power play, they will miss the playoffs in what could be\u00a0Alex Ovechkin\u2019s final season in the league.<\/p>\n
With American Thanksgiving being one of the first benchmarks to assess how a team is doing, the Capitals will need to hone in and sharpen up their special teams quickly if they intend to be a real playoff contender.<\/p>\n
One player who has been finding his groove and producing is\u00a0Tom Wilson. He is the team\u2019s leader in goals (nine) and points (17), and has spent the fourth-most time on ice, 19:21, behind defensemen John Carlson, Jakob Chychrun, and Matt Roy.<\/p>\n
He also has scored half of the team\u2019s eight power-play goals, and his physical presence is an asset in defensive plays. Wilson wins 45.5% of faceoffs and is critical in goal-scoring beyond just his own tallies, having a plus-5 rating. He has taken 37 shots so far this season and converted 24.3% of those, second only to Brandon Duhame, who has three goals.<\/p>\n
He is the only player who has\u00a0lived up to last season\u2019s performance\u00a0and kept that momentum going. If other high scorers like Ovechkin, Aliaksei Protas, and Connor McMichael can follow suit, the Capitals could be in good shape.<\/p>\n
Pierre-Luc Dubois, a key component of the Capitals\u2019 middle-six lineup, underwent abdominal and adductor surgery and will miss three to four months of play. Since his injury on Oct. 31, the team has gone 1-2-1, so clearly his presence is missed.<\/p>\n
Though his season so far has been riddled with injuries, last season he played all 82 games and recorded a\u00a0career-high 66 points\u00a0(20 goals, 46 assists). He was a staple of the Capitals\u2019 second and third lines, spending an average of 17:18 on ice last season.<\/p>\n
Obviously, there has been some line shuffling to make up for the absence of such a reliable forward. McMichael has been the primary candidate to take Dubois\u2019 place in the lineup, though Justin Sourdif and Hendrix Lapierre have been given more ice time as well.<\/p>\n
This middle-six sans Dubois is not producing much offense. Its regular lineup of Wilson, McMichael, Protas, Lapierre, Sourdif, and Ryan Leonard have produced\u00a0just 43 points so far\u00a0this season, with 17 of those coming from Wilson.<\/p>\n
Clearly, there is some work to be done, and the Capitals will need to find a consistent second-line center to cover Dubois. It could be McMichael, Lapierre, or Sourdif; however, the Capitals could also begin looking to the waiver wire.<\/p>\n
While some fans have begun to question this Capitals team and its lack of success, Carbery remains hopeful that things will change for the better. The mark of a good head coach is to be able to encourage your team through failure, not just praise them when they are successful, and Carbery is one of the best in that regard.<\/p>\n
He said recently to the media,\u00a0\u201cOver time, things will shift, and hopefully, pucks will start to go in, and we\u2019ll be rewarded, and we\u2019ll get a few bounces, and special teams will flip and even itself out, and our shooting percentage will even itself out.\u201d<\/p>\n
After the team\u2019s recent loss to the Florida Panthers, Carbery indicated that all they can do is keep trying, and that\u00a0his process is not going to change. \u201cThe process isn\u2019t going to change just because we\u2019re not scoring goals. Like, that\u2019s just not how it works. We\u2019re going to continue to do things because eventually, you know, pucks should go in and players will get here that can shoot the puck in the net, and that\u2019s all you can trust in.\u201d<\/p>\n
The coach believes the team can and will get back to its previous level of success. A player will find prove worthy of covering for Dubois, special teams will shape up, and pucks will start to make their way to the back of the net.<\/p>\n
Overall, the Capitals have a long way to go if they are to improve their .500 mark and have a chance at reaching the playoffs, but now is no time to give up hope. They will be on the hunt for much-needed wins in a three-game homestand against the New Jersey Devils, Los Angeles Kings, and Edmonton Oilers in the coming days.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The\u00a0Cleveland Browns\u00a0provided a rare update on Shedeur Sanders ahead of their Week 11 matchup with the Baltimore Ravens. Cleveland has\u00a0remained relatively quiet about its high-profile backup quarterback\u00a0in recent weeks, but head coach…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11145,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hot-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t