Biggest Takeaways From Browns Preseason Opener Loss in Chicago

The Cleveland Browns dropped their preseason opener on Saturday afternoon against the Chicago Bears.

Starting quarterback Deshaun Watson played the first half as planned. The 30-year-old quarterback put together a nice drive with the starting offense, but fumbled in the second quarter when backup right tackle Austin Barber was beat off the edge.

The Browns were up 10-0, and proceeded to give up 34 unanswered points, losing 34-10.

Ahead of next week’s pivotal joint practice and preseason game with the Buffalo Bills, here are Cleveland’s biggest takeaways from the preseason opener.

The team’s franchise quarterback will play on Saturdays

So much has been made about Watson’s quarterback competition against Shedeur Sanders this preseason. After the opener, it certainly looks like it’s Watson’s job to lose.

Which means Cleveland’s long-term answer at quarterback will be playing college football on Saturdays this season.

Sanders played the third quarter against the Bears and opened the fourth quarter with a crushing interception. He was 6-of-11 passing for 79 yards and an interception with a 39.6 quarterback rating. Gabriel threw a wild interception as well in the fourth quarter.

Sanders will have another opportunity in Week 2 of the preseason against the Bills, but the turnover woes, presnap issues and overall insanity with every dropback will have the Browns looking into the 2027 quarterback class.

The rookies showed up, and that’s all you can ask for

KC Concepcion was phenomenal in his first start with the Browns. He caught three passes for 27 yards and scored a rushing touchdown on a motion handoff. Denzel Boston caught one pass for 15 yards.

Since the Browns plan on starting both of these rookies Week 1 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, they were promptly removed from the game before Watson’s day was even finished.

On a questionable day for the offensive line, rookie left tackle Spencer Fano looked the part. Fano starting the season at left tackle next to Zion Johnson, Elgton Jenkins at center, Teven Jenkins at right guard and Tytus Howard at right tackle is likely how the Browns will utilize these linemen. Barber and Dawand Jones will be tackle depth while KT Leveston looks to be Cleveland’s preferred backup guard.

The Browns are going to get plenty of use out of their rookies again this year.

Defensive depth is questionable at best

The Browns used four undrafted rookie cornerbacks on Saturday and two of them suffered injuries. Behind Denzel Ward and Grant Delpit, the team doesn’t have much quality depth in the secondary.

Undrafted free agent rookie cornerback Michael Coats Jr. had an interception at the end of the first half, but was ruled out with an ankle injury. Cornerback Nate Evans was also ruled out with a quad injury.

On the defensive line, undrafted free agent tackle Tyreak Sapp joined last year’s UDFA Adin Huntington for significant snaps. During the regular season, this won’t be as big of an issue. But if injuries pile up, Cleveland’s top-ranked defense from a year ago will look very different because they don’t have much depth.

RB3 could be interesting

Browns head coach Todd Monken and offensive coordinator Travis Switzer proved they’re going to run the ball when Cleveland’s opening series consisted of three straight Quinshon Judkins runs. From there, the Browns used Dylan Sampson out of the backfield and as a passcatcher.

But Ahmani Marshall was Cleveland’s RB3 ahead of Raheim Rocket Sanders, which is a notable battle going into the final two preseason games.

Do we have a punter battle?

Wes Pahl was the first punter out for the Browns in their preseason opener. He held placekicker Andre Szmyt’s 50-yard field goal in the first half and kicked the ball off to start the second half.

Corey Bojorquez entered action in the second half, punting the ball once for 51 yards.

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