Cleveland Browns: Grading the quarterbacks after the preseason opener

The Cleveland Browns had three quarterbacks take the field in Thursday’s preseason opener, but one stood out above the rest.

Cleveland Browns fans who went to bed early Thursday night missed out on not only a great showing by DeShone Kizer, but an actual win. It’s preseason, but it is much better than the winless preseason a year ago.

Fans got to see great debuts from both Myles Garrett and Jabrill Peppers, but all eyes were on the quarterback position. Nothing new for Browns fans.

Brock Osweiler got the start and Cody Kessler came in second, but Kizer easily stole the show. His two touchdown drives, albeit against third and fourth-string players, led the team to the win.

He showed off his arm strength and mobility, along with great patience and no sense of panic. He was rushed a few times thanks to the offensive line he had in front of him, but he never made a big mistake. Think, the opposite of Mike Glennon‘s night in Chicago.

Yet one game won’t be enough for Kizer to assume the starting role, the same way it isn’t enough for Osweiler and Kessler to immediately be relegated to the bench.

The writing for Kizer to eventually be the starter is certainly on the wall, so it will be nice to see what he can do against first-team defenses if Hue Jackson decides to let that happen in the coming weeks.

There is a lot of excitement after this one game, and honestly it is just nice to have football back. Let’s now take a look at how each quarterback performed in the win.