Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders had all eyes on him when he took center stage in the preseason opener against the Chicago Bears. While Deshaun Watson started the game, Sanders entered in the third quarter. But the former Colorado quarterback failed to deliver the performance many expected from him.
Sanders showed some signs of promise when he completed a 24-yard pass to Gage Larvadin and a 35-yard pass to Luke Floriea. But that was about it. Outside of those two completions, Sanders managed just 20 passing yards on his remaining eight attempts. What made matters worse was an interception that capped a shaky performance.
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While Sanders struggled, Deshaun Watson had a relatively better day despite one costly fumble. The veteran quarterback completed 11-of-15 passes for 126 yards, helping the Browns score 10 points. Despite his efforts, the Browns were handed a 34-10 defeat by the Bears.
Next up for the Browns is the Buffalo Bills. Browns head coach Todd Monken announced before the Bears game that Sanders would start the preseason game against the Bills. The performance against the Bears raised some doubts, but Monken has been quick to quash them.
Monken, addressing the reporters after the Bears loss, reiterated that both quarterbacks deserve their opportunities in the competition, saying, "going in the last game that it was relatively close, you know, in terms of both having an opportunity at the starting position. So it would be unfair to not go to the next game and allow Shedeur that opportunity, albeit a different team, certainly at home."
"There's no guarantee that, you know, the same players will be playing this game, but it's the closest you have, and we owe it to both players who have really handled it well and have competed at a high level," he added.
As the Cleveland Browns quarterback competition enters its final stage, opportunities of this magnitude will be few and far between. So, it becomes imperative for Sanders to fire on all cylinders against the Bills, or it could very well be curtains for his chances of winning the starting job.
