Before and after Sunday’s game, Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders tried to clarify earlier comments he made about the New Orleans Saints’ defense. In both settings, once in a pre-game interview with CBS and then again after the Saints’ 23-22 overtime win, the 24-year-old attempted to blame the media for taking the moment out of context.

No, Sanders did not think the Saints’ defense was a joke — despite the quarterback initially laughing when asked what he saw from the unit.

“I apologize for that being taken out of context, but that’s just how media is sometimes,” Sanders said. “But then also that’s on me for not making it very clear. … I was never speaking negatively about anybody or any defense.”

That’s not how the Saints took it.

“I think it’s disrespectful for somebody to laugh at our defense, take us as a joke,” Saints defensive end Carl Granderson said. “So we went out there and balled out.”

The Saints ultimately got the last laugh. Using Sanders’ initial remarks as motivation, New Orleans’ defenders came up with five sacks, shut down the run and produced huge stops to prove that they shouldn’t be seen as a punchline.

Of course, the performance was far from perfect. Sanders, in his first start of the year, threw for a respectable 297 yards and two touchdowns on 19-of-31 passing. Most of Sanders’ yardage, too, came from four back-breaking plays. The second-year quarterback hit on gains of 60, 62, 30 and 39 yards, the last of which resulted in a touchdown that put Cleveland in position for a potential game-winning 2-point attempt at the end.

But the Saints still produced when it mattered. Sanders’ 2-point pass was broken up by cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry — and New Orleans’ defensive line flushed Sanders from the pocket, leading to an inaccurate throw.

That stop mirrored the pressure the Saints’ defensive line generated throughout the game.

Granderson got so much of a push that he drew a holding penalty on Browns tackle Tytus Howard. And Chase Young closed in quickly to speed up Sanders’ attempt. Even if the pass had somehow been completed, the pass rush ensured the play was coming back.

“We know at the end of the game, Grando know that I’m on regardless of how you feel,” Young said. “And I know that he on. And that’s just the standard of the room.”

Young and Granderson have been key cogs in setting the standard for the Saints’ defense this season. While the defense hasn’t played up to expectations overall, the pair of pass rushers consistently remind everyone how electric the unit can be. When this defense hums, it's thanks to its edge rushers.

After beating the Browns and sacking Sanders once, Young now ranks second in the league in sacks with eight. Not far behind him, however, is Granderson — whose two sacks Sunday brought his total to 7½, his most since 2023.

Their performance against the Browns was the latest example of how well the duo plays off each other. Granderson, for instance, cleans up on the attention that Young draws — the pass rusher’s second sack on Sanders came on a play in which Young was double-teamed. And Young said he feeds off Granderson, comparing the dynamic to his former repertoire with edge rusher Montez Sweat in Washington.

But to beat Cleveland, the Saints needed more than a dominant game from Young and Granderson. They also had their best run defense of the season, holding Cleveland to just 2.8 yards per carry (95 yards on 34 attempts).

No run stop proved to be more critical than the Saints stuffing the Browns on fourth-and-goal from the 1 in the second quarter.

The resulting turnover on downs meant the Browns did not score points on Barion Brown’s costly punt-return fumble.

“They kept us in it, quite honestly,” Saints quarterback Tyler Shough said. “We had too many turnovers early.”

Added Granderson: “I was hoping they’d run the ball (on the 2-point attempt), so we could stop them again.”

The Saints, meanwhile, weren’t asked about Sanders’ apology. But the damage was done, and the Saints had their fun with it.

Granderson said the Saints entered the game with a “chip” on their shoulder, and an ESPN report indicated that coach Kellen Moore even brought up Sanders’ remarks in a team meeting — something Moore neither confirmed nor denied.

After sacking Sanders, Khristian Boyd poked fun at Sanders’ signature watch celebration by pretending to yank a watch off his wrist instead of pointing at it as the quarterback does. The team’s social media account also tweeted the final score with the caption, “when I smile, just know that means something” — a line Sanders said shortly after initially laughing when he was asked about the Saints defense.

But comment aside, Sanders did plenty to earn the Saints’ respect — if he didn’t already have it. Young praised Sanders as a “good young quarterback,” adding he loves the Sanders family and what Hall of Famer Deion Sanders has “done for his sons.”

Young even initially tried to downplay the impact Sanders’ remarks had on the defense, noting the game was simply played between “the white lines.”

But in a follow-up, when a reporter asked if they provided “bulletin-board material,” Young paused for five seconds — before getting his own little dig.

“If he was Tom Brady or something,” Young said. “Maybe.”