CHICAGO ― Let the overreaction flow. After all, nothing creates them like a scarcity of evidence. The Browns have played one game since Jan. 5. And that one, a 34-10 preseason loss at the Chicago Bears, didn't even really count. Now, obviously there are going to be things from the game that are more real than others. There are also things that are absolutely going to be overreacted to for the next week until the Browns play another game that won't count in the standings, this time at home against the Buffalo Bills. Subscribe to Browns Insider newsletter
If you want to overreact, then feel free to overreact. Nowhere are those overreactions going to be more pronounced than the most important position on the field. Deshaun Watson was good against the Bears, but Shedeur Sanders' shot's coming next The advantage between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders when it comes to the Browns' ongoing quarterback competition was always going to belong to the one working with the No. 1 offense. That was true during practice and it remains true when it comes to the preseason games. That's why it was advantage to Watson against Chicago, since he started and played the entire first half. Now, he obviously had to take advantage of that opportunity, which he absolutely did by going 11-of-15 passing for 126 yards, although he did fumble on a sack. Sanders, who played the entire third quarter and into the fourth to finish out a drive, had a very good first drive himself. He made on-the-money throws to Gage Larvadain for 24 yards and to Luke Floriea for 35 yards, and only a fourth-down stop by the Bears prevented the Browns from likely scoring.
However, Sanders had his struggles after that, including an bad overthrow for an interception on his last play. Still, it's more than a touch unfair to hold his three drives with threes and fours up against Watson's six possessions working with the ones and top-level twos. It's why the next two checkpoints in the process ― the Aug. 20 joint practice and Aug. 22 preseason game against the Buffalo Bills ― are big. It's further context, and it will come with the roles reversed this time around, with Sanders starting the game. "I mean, the plan was always to get through the Bills game, switch up who was going to start, who's going to play in the second half, and then we'll go from there," Browns coach Todd Monken said. "Every day is important. Monday is going to be important, right? Being in the meeting rooms are going to be important, listening to the players talk about what they saw. That's part of it, too. What they saw, how they feel. "We'll go back to work Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, have a great practice against Buffalo, then we'll walk through on Friday and then we'll go compete our rear ends off against the Bills and see where we're at. And then we'll reevaluate then." KC Concepcion, Spencer Fano appear as advertised in 1st NFL opportunity The Browns' two first-round draft picks, left tackle Spencer Fano and wide receiver KC Concepcion, also received extended run beyond what many other starters received against the Bears. All it did was further confirm what had been learned watching the two perform in training camp. Start with Fano, who was taken No. 9 overall with the mission of becoming the long-term answer at left tackle. The rocky start to his camp has given way to what is now a full week of him seemingly improving every single time he's on the field. The greatest testament to Fano's development was Monken's decision to keep him in the game as long as Watson was in at quarterback. That was despite the other starting linemen departing after the second possession. "That's so freaking cool," Fano said of Monken's faith in him. "That's so freaking cool. And it just, yeah, I know it's my job to protect him [Watson] and to make sure that he's comfortable in that pocket. I'm just going to get better every day to make sure that that happens."
Concepcion almost made a highlight before the offense was even on the field. The No. 24 overall pick took the first shot at returning a punt, and got loose for 31 yards before slipping on the turf wet from morning rains. Once Concepcion was at wide receiver, the show really started. He was targeted four times by Watson, catching three for 27 yards, and adding a 14-yard touchdown run on an end-around. "Yeah, he's a very talented player," Watson said of Concepcion. "He is going to make a lot of plays for this team and he's going to continue to just get better as the more time he plays and get those reps and get out there. Once coach schemes plays to get him the ball, he can be very dangerous." Browns defensive injuries, absences can't be ignored There are always rules to follow when it comes to the preseason. There's no bigger one than to not place too much weight on results. Considering the state of the Browns defense health-wise for the game in Chicago, any reaction to what occured on the field would be an overreaction. Although the Browns only started maybe three players who might not be actual opening-day defensive starters, even those definitive No. 1s played just a series before they were pulled and relegated to being spectators for the remaining 57 minutes of the game. Are there definitive depth concerns with the defense, especially at defensive tackle and cornerback? You better believe it, especially after Michael Coats Jr. (ankle) and Nate Evans (quad), two more corners, left with injuries.
Monken gave a dismissive answer when asked about the depth issues. Among the normal starters who didn't play for injury concerns were linebacker Carson Schwesinger and defensive tackle Maliek Collins, and both starting cornerbacks ― Denzel Ward and Tyson Campbell ― didn't play despite being dressed. "Well, everybody at this point in the year has injuries, some longer than others, some nagging injuries that you're going to work through," Monken said. "So that just happens to be the position group now, right? So, again, we've got good depth there. We'll just next-man-up and go out there and compete." Buy Cleveland Browns tickets Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ. Sign up for Browns Insider newsletter at https://profile.beaconjournal.com/newsletters/browns-insider/ This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns preseason opener overreactions: QB competition still has ways to go