Not everyone walked away from Saturday’s preseason loss to Chicago with a negative view of Deshaun Watson’s performance. Breiden Fehoko, who spent time in the league as a defensive lineman before transitioning into media work, watched Watson’s outing closely and came away with his own view following the 34-10 defeat.
Fehoko did not hold back when addressing anyone dismissing Watson’s showing against the Bears.
“If you said Deshaun Watson played badly today, you’re legitimately being dense. Even without that screen pass, there were multiple occasions where the Browns running game was nonexistent, and he got them back ahead of the chains with good throws and decisions. His lone turnover was his tackle getting smoked,” Fehoko wrote.
If you said Deshaun Watson played badly today, you're legitimately being dense. Even without that screen pass, there were multiple occasions where the Browns running game was nonexistent, and he got them back ahead of the chains with good throws and decisions. His lone turnover…
— Breiden Fehoko (@BreidenFehoko) August 15, 2026
Cleveland’s ground attack struggled to generate consistent movement for long stretches, forcing Watson to bail out drives through the air. He finished 11-15 for 126 yards with a 98.2 rating under those circumstances.
Watson avoided the kind of turnover-riddled outing that had occasionally cropped up during camp, having thrown nine interceptions across his first 13 days of practice before this game. Delivering a clean, mistake free half against a real opponent, even amid shaky offensive line play and a stagnant running game, represents the kind of positive signal Browns fans should be taking from this performance rather than fixating solely on the final scoreboard.
With Shedeur Sanders set to get his own opportunity to lead the offense next Saturday against Buffalo, perspective like Fehoko’s serves as a useful reminder that evaluating this quarterback competition requires looking beyond box scores and final results toward the actual quality of decision making and execution each passer displays when given the opportunity.
NEXT: Former Browns QB Defends Shedeur Sanders' Rough Outing
