The Cleveland Browns were a successful two-point conversion away from victory Sunday afternoon against the New Orleans Saints. Alas, the team is now 5-4 and there is plenty to talk about following the loss.

This was a game that saw Shedeur Sanders start while Deshaun Watson watched from the sidelines. Sanders is certainly the top story from the game, but his play was not the reason the team lost.

Here are three takeaways that stand out as the Browns figure out where things went wrong in the 23-22 loss.

Shedeur Sanders did not seize the starting job...yet

Sanders had a slow start in this game, but a look at the box score tells the complete story. He finished with 297 passing yards and two touchdowns, adding 28 yards as a rusher.

His best moment of the game was his 64-yard touchdown pass to KC Concepcion. The ball was a bit underthrown, but not enough to prevent the rookie receiver from making a play.

He even led an impressive scoring drive in overtime with a 39-yard touchdown pass to Harold Fannin Jr., though the tight end did most of the work with a dominant run to the end zone. Add in some clutch runs, and Sanders showed he has the potential to be a starter in the league.

The negatives come with his five sacks and several missed reads, but he never turned the ball over and gave the Browns the lead late in the fourth quarter with his throw to Concepcion.

The defense simply couldn't hold on.

Sanders played well, just seemingly not well enough to suddenly seize the job from Watson. What he did do, however, was prove to everyone that he is indeed ready to step in and run this offense if Watson falters at all in the coming week.

Jared Verse is not living up to the hype

Jared Verse did a lot of talking this past week and even called out his own teammates at one point. He had a chance against a 2-5 Saints team to change the narrative and show his dominance as a pass rusher.

Verse ultimately finished the game with two tackles and no other stats.

Sacks are not the only stat to focus on for defensive linemen. Yet it is still a concern that he has zero sacks through nine games. The worst part of all? Myles Garrett returned to action for the Los Angeles Rams and had three sacks on Sunday.

The run defense remains a massive concern

Audric Estime ran for 72 yards on only 15 carries to lead the Saints on the ground. For those who think his name is familiar, it's because he spent some time with the Browns earlier this year and even scored a touchdown in the win over the Baltimore Ravens.

The Saints as a team combined to run for 160 yards on 32 carries, which comes out to five yards per carry.

This comes one week after the Browns allowed the Pittsburgh Steelers to run for 200 yards. A week before that it was Tony Pollard of the Tennessee Titans going for 129 yards on the ground.

The defense is seemingly getting worse at stopping the run ever since holding Derrick Henry to 58 yards back in Week 6. Opposing coaches are scheming well, and the Browns' defense seems to have no answer. That is a major storyline to watch as the Browns prepare to host the Houston Texans next week.