In the lead-up to Saturday’s preseason game, Deshaun Watson discussed how important it was for him to simply take the field to play real football again after almost two years away following a pair of Achilles surgeries.
But while Watson’s stats from his full first half of work against the Bears tell one story, the eye test told another.
Per ESPN’s Daniel Oyefusi, Watson ended up dropping back to pass 18 times in the game. He completed over 70 percent of his throws (11 for 15) for 129 yards and a 98.2 passer rating, and led a touchdown drive that ended with a highlight-reel KC Concepcion rush from 14 yards.
But Watson often looked uncomfortable in the pocket, at times holding onto the football and missing open targets. He took a strip-sack on a fourth-and-2 opportunity in the second quarter and averaged just 4.4 air yards per attempt overall.
That was against the Bears’ backups, too, as Ben Johnson opted not to play any of his starters in Saturday’s game.
Head coach Todd Monken has talked up Watson’s rushing ability throughout camp, but he didn’t look very decisive or explosive in that area on Saturday. On one rollout to his right during a two-minute drill, Watson gained the edge but couldn’t run away from Bears special-teams linebacker Nephi Sewell, instead heading for the sideline for a 1-yard gain.
It’s early, but Watson didn’t flash anything in preseason Game 1 to convince fans that Shedeur Sanders shouldn’t be the starting quarterback when the games start counting for real.
Deshaun Watson’s shaky debut could open the door for Shedeur Sanders entering a pivotal week in Cleveland's QB competition
To be fair, Sanders’ first couple of series were a mixed bag as well.
After a nice throw to Gage Larvadain down the left sideline on his first snap, Sanders botched the exchange with center Kingsley Eguakun and had his next pass batted down inside a clean pocket.
But on third and long, the Bears sent an all-out blitz, and Sanders did his thing, taking a couple extra steps into his drop to buy time before delivering a strike to Luke Floriea under pressure for a chunk gain of 35 yards.
With Sanders, the Browns would be setting themselves up for a weekly roller-coaster ride. He threw an ugly interception in this game early in the fourth quarter. But at least he looks the part of a young, developmental passer who has a knack for making big plays.
Watson looked about how Browns fans expected — like a washed-up former star whose injuries have stripped him of his former superpowers.
It’s only one preseason game, but anyone watching knows Watson didn’t look like a $46 million franchise quarterback. His indecisiveness in the pocket against the Bears’ second unit was impossible to ignore.
If Watson is out there and plays the same way against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sept. 14, the Browns will be in for a long day, no matter how the box-score stats from Saturday’s debut may look.
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