In the end, the Cleveland Browns‘ quarterback numbers from the preseason opener on Saturday against the Bears in Chicago were less than stellar. The combo of Deshaun Watson, Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel were 22-for-34 combined passing, with 206 yards and two interceptions . Coach Todd Monken implored his QBs to “let it rip” heading into the game, and they responded by dinking and dunking to an average of just 6.7 yards per pass play. Watson, who started, was the best of the three, though it was a low bar.
Monken, too his credit, was endlessly positive after the game, not easy to do when the final score is 34-10, even in a preseason game.
But while Watson firmed up his spot as the likely QB1 going forward, Sanders now faces more and more pressure heading into the second preseason game. In fact, he will be under pressure from the get-go this week, as the Browns have a joint practice with Buffalo that will get Sanders one last chance to sway Monken before Watson wins the job.
Shedeur Sanders’ Big Week Ahead
In fact, Browns reporter Daryl Ruiter of 92.3 The Fan in Cleveland, says that this is the most important week Sanders has had in his short NFL career.
Said Ruiter: “This is the biggest week of Shedeur Sanders’ professional life, because he has to absolutely kill it this week, not only in practice and joint practice with the Bills, but then in the preseason game. He just absolutely has to light it up.”
Shedeur Sanders Had 79 Yards, Interception in Browns Loss
That’s a lot to put on one stretch of practices, of course, but with all the momentum behind Watson winning the Browns job, it’s a reasonable statement. Sanders finished last year 3-4 in the final seven games for Cleveland and it was clear he had some promise as a potential starter, at 24 years old. But the aspects he needed to improve–mostly his pre-snap command and the speed of his post-snap decision-making–haven’t improved quite enough yet, and Sanders does not have the raw talent to overcome that.
He was 6-for-11 with 79 yards and an interception on Saturday. Also worth noting: If Sanders does not win the QB1 job coming out of camp, there’s nothing to say he won’t earn his way back onto the field during the season, as he did last year.
Monken: Browns QBs ‘Did a Good Job’
Monken met with Browns media and talked about what he has seen from Sanders to this point, and what he can to to move back to the fore of the QB battle.
Said Monken: “He’s improved so much. I mean he really has in terms of climbing the pocket and working through his progressions. … There are things, and operational, it’s still a part of it: getting in the huddle, getting lined up, getting the call. So does Deshaun. They’re both in the same manner, so we can stack plays together. We did a good job.
“Maybe the most positive thing we did was we overcame some penalties — we overcame a first-and-25, we overcame a couple other penalties, and we hit that big third-and-13 that Shedeur did. So how can we play cleaner at all positions, and certainly with him, how can he play cleaner?”
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