Did Deshaun Watson Show Enough To Earn Starting Role in His First Preseason Start?

The Cleveland Browns finally have a preseason game under their belt, a 34-10 loss to the Chicago Bears.

The Bears, despite resting a majority of their starters, handled the Browns easily in the second half en route to the win, but not all is lost for the Browns.

After all, it is only the preseason, and the Browns now have in-game information to evaluate who their starting quarterback will be in 2026.

Deshaun Watson’s Strong Start

Deshaun Watson started the game for the Cleveland Browns and put together a solid outing. Watson went 11-for-15 for 126 yards in the first half, showing solid accuracy with his passes. Watson was even 8-for-9 for 102 yards at the end of the first quarter. When the Browns’ starters rotated out, Watson's performance changed.

Dylan down the line!!!#CLEvsCHI on News 5 and NFL Network pic.twitter.com/f3iHjGWAaA
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) August 15, 2026

As the half continued, Watson started to falter as he had two separate pre-snap issues that led to a wasted timeout and a delay of game, respectively. Furthermore, Watson was strip-sacked and never threw a touchdown pass. The downward momentum continued with Watson going three-and-out and then finishing his day by doing effectively nothing in a two-minute situation.

Shedeur Sanders Was a Mixed Bag

Shedeur Sanders, Watson’s competition for starting quarterback, took over the offense when the second half started and shined right away, completing a 24-yard strike to Gage Larvadain. Not all was great for Sanders, however, as he fumbled a snap and had a tipped pass on the next two plays of the drive.

deep shot through pressure 😮‍💨#CLEvsCHI on News 5 and NFL Network pic.twitter.com/QzfpBciGE0
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) August 15, 2026

Sanders bounced back when he stood in the face of a blitz to hit Luke Floriea deep for 35 yards. Sanders then had a pre-snap miscommunication, which led to a slow handoff and the Browns being stuffed on fourth down on the Bears’ five-yard line. Later on, Shedeur also overthrew a wide-open Malachi Corley, which led to an interception.

The Verdict

Shedeur Sanders was a mixed bag: he had the Browns' most explosive throws of the day, but he also had the worst passing play of the day when he threw the interception. Watson, too, was a mixed bag, starting strong in the first quarter and struggling in the second.

The quarterback competition is still open. Browns head coach Todd Monken said that himself:

“I’m not ready to say it yet. Plan was always to get through the Bills game…go from there. Every day is important.” https://t.co/YhVwG0hPuy
— Zac Jackson (@AkronJackson) August 15, 2026

While ultimately Watson had the better day against better competition in the Browns' first preseason game against the Bears, his second-quarter struggles led to him not doing enough to win the starting job, at least not yet.

Shedeur Sanders will have a chance to respond to the veteran in the next Browns preseason game against the Bills, as well as in the joint practice before the game. Sanders now has an idea of what the baseline is to beat Watson after the first preseason game.

Will Sanders rise to the occasion, or will he fumble the opportunity given to him? That is the question for the Orange and Brown now.

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