One of the most telling moments for the Cleveland Browns in their season opener came long after the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars was out of reach. Holding a huge lead, the Jaguars removed their starting quarterback, Trevor Lawrence, early in the fourth quarter and replaced him with backup Nick Mullens.
Instead of responding in kind and using backup Shedeur Sanders, Browns head coach Todd Monken decided to keep Deshaun Watson in the game, despite an awful performance by him up to that point. Watson did wind up throwing a touchdown pass to Denzel Boston in the final two minutes, which padded his stats to a more respectable level, despite the 34-10 loss.
Yet, Browns legend Hanford Dixon revealed he was disappointed by the decision to keep Sanders on the bench in Week 1, saying he deserved at least a few snaps.
“I’ll tell you where I was disappointed late in the ballgame. Maybe you guys can tell me why we kept running him out there and the end of the ballgame when they had taken their starter out, Trevor, and not throw Shedeur in the ballgame? I thought he should’ve been out there. For some reason, we kept Watson out there to the end of the ballgame,” Dixon said.
"Throw Shedeur in the ballgame, I thought he should've been out there. For some reason we kept Watson out there to the end of the ballgame." #DawgPound@HanfordDixon29 is shocked the Browns didn't switch QBs on Sunday. pic.twitter.com/uezdENGooi
— BIGPLAY Cleveland (@BIGPLAYcle) September 15, 2026
There are plenty of possible reasons Monken decided to let Watson finish his first NFL game in almost two years, though he has not addressed any. It may have been important for Watson to walk off the field after the Browns’ final offensive snap, after being carted off the field with a torn Achilles tendon the last time he played, back in October 2024.
Monken may have also seen some benefit in Watson getting as many reps as possible, especially because the coach is now saying the QB’s poor performance was because his work with the first team was limited by this summer’s competition with Sanders. The fact that Monken let that go on as long as it did seems to be beside the point.
But perhaps most of all, Monken likely realized that if he did insert Sanders, and he then threw for 105 yards and a TD in the fourth quarter, as Watson did, the cries for him to be the starter in Week 2 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would have been overwhelming. Monken’s already diminishing credibility with the fans would have been gone for good.
Watson will be back as the starter on Sunday, and it will be interesting to see if he is the only quarterback Monken uses in that game as well.
NEXT: Insider's Take On Benching Deshaun Watson Isn't What You'd Expect
