Instant reactions to Shedeur Sanders' second preseason game: Where he stands in Browns QB battle

Deshaun Watson has been the favorite to earn the starting quarterback role in Cleveland, and understandably so. Not only is he making a boatload of money and is by far the most proven option in the room, but the other options, mainly Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel, are seen as underwhelming at best.

Well, Saturday's game served as a reminder that there is a competition for the Cleveland Browns' QB1 job, and while Watson could very well still be the favorite, Sanders showed that he should be taken seriously after his performance against the Buffalo Bills.

Shedeur Sanders looked more like a starting quarterback in Browns' preseason Week 2 game

Sure, it's only preseason, and most of the starters on both sides did not appear in this game, but if preseason is used in evaluation when determining the winning of this quarterback competition, it's hard to think this game didn't help Sanders' case.

Sanders started the game with a near-flawless drive. He went 4-for-4, and on 11 plays, he led the Browns to the end zone. He even completed a fourth-and-2 on that drive to keep it going, and threw the touchdown pass on third-and-7.

Now, that first drive was the highlight of the day for Sanders, but he was better than the box score reads. In his third drive, in particular, he had converted a first down, only for a penalty to move them back 10 yards, creating a third-and-15. Sanders converted the first down anyway, completing a 23-yard pass to Luke Floriea to move the sticks. Later in the drive, Sanders was picked off, but can we really blame him for this result? Sanders could've made a better throw, but c'mon.

This was an instance of Sanders and the Browns being burned by not having their best weapons on the field. Still, that incompletion was one of Sanders' two of the day. He went 9-for-11 overall for 74 yards, a touchdown and an interception while playing the entire first half. Was he perfect? Of course not. Was he better than expected in a lousy Browns quarterback room? I'd say so, especially given the lack of talent around him.

Shedeur Sanders has work cut out for him in Browns quarterback battle

Ultimately, the starting job has always felt like it's been Watson's to lose, and while I believe Sanders played pretty well, was this performance really good enough for him to overtake the veteran? He was better than his stat line might suggest, especially after a weather delay, but the Browns only scored seven points, after all.

The answer to that question is probably not, and a lot of the reasons why have nothing to do with Sanders. It feels like Watson is being put in a position to win this job, mainly by starting the first preseason game and getting to play with the starters, while Sanders has been stuck with backups.

The leash should be short for Watson, but even with a pretty good showing from Sanders, it's hard to believe he did enough to flip the QB battle.

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