It’s only natural that a fanbase starving for football for the past few months will make anything into a story, even if it isn’t one. The Cleveland Browns preseason loss to the Chicago Bears is the best example of that. The team is allegedly holding a quarterback competition between Deshaun Watson and Sghedeurt Sabnders, and people eager for any update on the situation will look at this game as some sort of indicator. It’s not.
The Browns lost 34-10, but winning and losing in the preseason means absolutely nothing. Case in point: The Browns went 3-0 last year, beating three playoff teams (Carolina Panthers, Philadelphia Eagles, and Los Angeles Rams). Then they went 5-12 during the regualr season. In these exhibitions, if a team scores 50 points or gets shut out, not a single thing is revealed about them. The same can be said of position battles.
Watson got the start for Cleveland and went 11 of 15 for 126 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. Sanders finished six of 11 for 79 yards, no touchdowns, and a pick. People will spin that straw into social media gold and fake news clicks, suggesting that Watson now has the edge in the competition. If hwe does, it’s not because of anything he did against the Bears. Coaches make these decisions based on what they see in practice, not what players do against backups.
Cleveland Browns Preseason 2025 Was The Same Story
Last season, Joe Flacco was the starter before a single preseason snap and, as such, did not play in the first two games. The 2025 camp quarterback battle was between Sanders and third-round pick Dillon Gabriel. In the first preseason game last year, Sanders went 14/23 for 138 yards and two touchdowns, while Gabriel didn’t play a snap. The following game, Sanders sat on the bench and watched Gabriel go 13/18 for 143 yards and an interception.
The result of the quarterback’s preseason successes and struggles was Gabriel getting second string, despite being outplayed by Sanders. Why? Because preseason games don’t matter. The team runs a skinny version of the playbook, and opposing defenses don’t disguise coverages. It’s an exercise in game readiness, where the outcome is irrelevant.
So, Watson outplayed Sanders in game one this year. He was also playing with the first team, while Sanders played every snap with the second unit. Next week, against the Buffalo Bills, Sanders will get the start, and Watson will play with the backups. No matter how each of them plays, the game will not play a role in who starts the season.
These battles are won and lost in the film room and on the practice field. Did the quarterback make the right read, the right audible, or did he mess it up? The coaches see these things every day, and the fans see several snaps a week. The coaches have a better idea of who will help the team win than someone who watched every snap of the game 10 times.
It’s a fun story, and it gives writers things to write about and fans things to talk about during a slow time of the season. It’s more fun to pretend than it is to live in reality, so fans will believe any story that says what they were already thinking and disregard any story that says the opposite. At the end of the day, nothing of consequence happens in preseason football games.
