One quarterback battle has been resolved with Kyler Murray being named the starting quarterback in Minnesota. There’s more than one important quarterback battle this preseason and there’s going to be a lot to decide over the next month. Teams like the Atlanta Falcons and the Cleveland Browns have a big decision to make. Here’s how the first week of the NFL’s preseason tilted the quarterback battle.
Deshaun Watson vs. Shedeur Sanders (Cleveland Browns)
Deshaun Watson played the first half of the Cleveland Browns’ preseason opener against the Chicago Bears and for what it’s worth, didn’t look bad, considering he hadn’t played football in over a year. It’s still a long way to deciding who will be the starter for the Browns in 2026, but Watson certainly has the leg up after Saturday. The offense’s only scores came with Watson in the game as well. Shedeur Sanders is going to start the second preseason game in Cleveland.
Last week, that meant something. But Todd Monken mentioned that the offensive starters might not play much if at all on Saturday against the Buffalo Bills, depending on how Thursday’s joint practice with Buffalo goes. That’s a glaring sign that Sanders is further behind in the quarterback battle than we might be led on to believe.
Monken says (again) that the offensive line starters may not play (or play much) next Saturday. Will be determined by how many reps they get in Thursday’s practice. https://t.co/YhVwG0hPuy
— Zac Jackson (@AkronJackson) August 15, 2026
This is very reminiscent of last season where Sanders’ chances with the first team were limited and that ended up shoving him to third on the depth chart. I believe he’s still QB2, but it’s clear Watson is the front runner. A decision isn’t made yet and Monken will take as much time as it takes to evaluate, but Watson is getting closer to being named the starting quarterback.
Tua Tagovailoa vs. Michael Penix Jr. (Atlanta Falcons)
If Kevin Stefanski had it his way, he’d love to give Michael Penix Jr. (back) the keys to this offense. Unfortunately, he’s not cleared for 11-on-11 drills, meaning he’s still stuck with Tua Tagovailoa. Based on his preseason debut, Stefanski probably has deja vu all over again from the last few years in Cleveland. Tagovailoa landed in Atlanta because Miami was done with him; now Atlanta has probable cause to move on before he ever makes an official snap. For now, Tagovailoa is in the lead.
When Penix gets cleared to play, that will ultimately determine if he can contend for the starting job. Tagovailoa could potentially lose the starting job and he really doesn’t have any competition. That tells you how bad things are in Atlanta right now. Penix can’t come back soon enough. Atlanta turned to Tagovailoa because they wanted a backup option as Penix recovers from his ACL injury. Now they may be forced to start him.
Kirk Cousins vs. Fernando Mendoza (Las Vegas Raiders)
Fernando Mendoza has been set on reaching a level of comfortability before being thrown into the starting role in Las Vegas. But is that media training or does he truly think he has a larger learning curve than most No. 1 overall picks are afforded? After Mendoza’s preseason debut, which featured him throwing for almost 100 yards and a touchdown in the loss to the Arizona Cardinals. I think, for now, Mendoza is still Kirk Cousins’ backup, but he’s certainly closed the gap. Now that Cousins was that far ahead of him, the fact that both quarterbacks looked really well just reinforces why the Raiders will probably opt to be more patient with Mendoza than not.
Las Vegas probably won’t be that good of a team this year, so I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see them ride Cousins until they have no choice but to make a change. This first year, if Mendoza learns behind Cousins, stays healthy and gets good practice reps, you have to see the value in unleashing him a year from now. Cousins is on a one-year deal and probably won’t re-sign, even if he does play well.
Preseason is hard to judge because you’re not facing first-team players or complex schemes. The fact that Mendoza looked good reinforces why patience is important. If both quarterbacks continue to play well, no need to rush Mendoza into the fold.
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