QB Shedeur Sanders and Titans QB Cam Ward have taken different paths to earn the chance to lead their respective offenses in their rookie seasons. Sanders earned his first regular season start in Week 12 against the Raiders after being drafted in the fifth round. Ward was the first player selected in the draft and has started all 12 of Tennessee's games this season.

No matter when they started their first NFL game, Sanders and Ward will try to lead their team to a win on Dec. 7 when the Browns and Titans play at Huntington Bank Field.

"I think every rookie's journey is different," Ward said. "We just both want to be great players. I just think it's going to be exciting for a lot of people to see what both of us would be able to do when we play at a high level."

Sanders and Ward's teams will meet in Week 14, marking the first meeting between the two quarterbacks since 2023 when Sanders was at Colorado and Ward was at Washington State.

Sanders left the game in the second quarter with an injury but completed 6 of 10 passing attempts for 60 yards and threw a 45-yard touchdown. Ward led the Cougars to a 56-14 victory with 288 passing yards and four total touchdowns. Ward said expects another battle this time around and is looking forward to seeing how Sanders fares.

"Just being in another dog fight, from the game that we played in college to now, he's a good quarterback," Ward said. "But then really just seeing both of us grow, just within ourselves, within the game of football, learning everything. So, I'm excited to see what he does."

Sanders has thrown for 401 passing yards and two passing touchdowns in three games, including completing 64 percent of his passes against the 49ers in Week 13. He showed he can push the ball downfield and create big plays against San Francisco. Sanders navigated the pocket and avoided the 49ers pass rush to find TE Harold Fannin Jr. for a 34-yard touchdown before the end of the first half.

He has also shown the ability to extend plays and turn them into big gains. Against the Raiders, he avoided a blitz and rolled out to his right before throwing the ball 44 yards downfield to WR Isaiah Bond. The play resulted in a 52-yard completion, and Cleveland scored a play later to take a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.

"I think the one thing you've seen him do is when he gets outside the pocket, the explosive plays that he can make," Titans interim head coach Mike McCoy said. "So that's a tribute to him to always knowing where everybody is on the field and when he gets out of the pocket, making plays. But he has done a nice job, and I think each week as a young player, you get better the more experience you get."

Titans DT Jeffrey Simmons will be key to Tennessee's efforts to contain Sanders, as he leads the Titans with 6.5 sacks and 10 tackles for loss. He has stopped plays from the interior for the Titans, leading the defense from the first level. Simmons has recorded 11 total tackles, two sacks and four quarterback hits in Tennessee's last three games.

Simmons said Cleveland's offense starts with the run game and RB Quinshon Judkins. Judkins has 758 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on a Browns' offense that has run the ball 20 or more times in four of their last five games. While they will have to stop Judkins and the run game, Simmons also emphasized Tennessee needs to stop Sanders' explosiveness.

"When you let him out of the pocket, he does what any other quarterback does – they extend plays and they throw the ball downfield," Simmons said. "We have to keep him in the well. We have to stop the run first, but we have to make sure we keep him in the pocket."

Sanders is still finding his rhythm, while Ward has spent the entire season navigating the pressures of being a No. 1 pick. As Cleveland and Tennessee prepare for the game, the focus shifts to how each rookie continues to handle the responsibility of leading an NFL offense.

"At the end of the day, it's really about what we have to do individually and what we have to do for the building to help put everyone in the best situation," Ward said.