Cleveland Browns Vs. Chicago Bears Final Score: Each Qb Turns The Ball Over In 34-10 Loss

If the lens was on the Cleveland Browns’ quarterback competition in this first preseason game, then only one player did themselves a favor in the team’s 34-10 loss to the Chicago Bears. But even then, all three quarterbacks had at least one turnover. Let’s get to the full game recap. Or, you can just watch this:

1st Quarter – Browns vs. Bears

The Browns got the opening possession, with QB Deshaun Watson taking the field for the offense. He handed the ball off three straight times to RB Quinshon Judkins, the last of which was a 3rd-and-2 that went for no gain and forced a punt. Cleveland’s defense then forced a three-and-out on their end. WR KC Concepcion got his hands on a punt return and found an immediate opening, returning it out to the 41-yard line for a return of 31 yards.

Cleveland got in a hole in their next possession after RT Tytus Howard was flagged for tripping on first down. Watson got three straight passes off to TE Blake Whiteheart, WR Jerry Jeudy, and then WR Denzel Boston, the last of which came on 3rd-and-5 and went for 15 yards into Chicago territory. On the next set of downs, pressure came and Watson fired a strike over the middle to TE Harold Fannin, but he dropped it. That forced K Andre Szmyt to come on for a 50-yard field goal to give Cleveland a 3-0 lead.

On the Browns’ second defensive series, which appeared to have the reserves in already, Chicago also went three-and-out. Their next drive began at the 23 yard line. After an initial screen pass toRB Dylan Sampson was dropped for 2 yards, Watson got off a strike to Concepcion for 9 yards, setting up 3rd-and-2. Sampson’s third down run was just short, but a Watson sneak converted on fourth down.

A couple plays later, a very basic screen pass to Sampson sprung free for 43 yards. A rub route on 3rd-and-3 to Concepcion went for 11 yards, setting the Browns up with a 1st-and-10 at the Bears’ 14 yard line heading into the second quarter.

2nd Quarter – Browns vs. Bears

We’ve seen Concepcion get some handoffs on jet sweeps in camp, and that’s how Cleveland began the second quarter. Concepcion looked like he’d run out of real estate to the sideline, but he kept his balance and took it in from 14 yards out and a touchdown to give the Browns a 10-0 lead.

The Bears then got their first big play, as former Browns WR Kaden Davis was open over the middle for a catch-and-run of 41 yards into Cleveland territory.

A few plays later, CB Michael Coats blanketed the Bears’ intended target to deny a conversion. K Cairo Santos came on for a 50 yard field goal, but it was no good.

Another short pitch to Concepcion and run by Sampson led to a 3rd-and-inches, but then RB Ahmani Marshall was stuffed for a loss, and on 4th-and-2, Watson was stripped for a fumble and a turnover on downs at midfield.

That helped spark the Bears’ offense, On 3rd-and-3, a run went for 19 yards, and then QB Tyson Bagent found WR Maurice Alexander crossing for a 25-yard touchdown pass to make it a 10-7 game. S Christopher Edmonds had fallen down in coverage on the play.

Cleveland then went three-and-out, with an errant throw in the dirt on second down for Concepcion being a factor. On the other end, the Browns’ backup defenders were missing a few tackles.

As the Bears continued driving, right before the two-minute warning, DE Julian Okwara sacked Bagent after beating former Browns LT Jedrick Wills.

Coats continued his stellar game by jumping a route for an interception coming out of the break, which gave Watson a chance to lead a two-minute drill from their own 38 yard line.

Watson couldn’t capitalize. A scramble went for 1 yard, then an incomplete pass was followed by a dropped short pass to Marshall, and a quick punt down to the 14 yard line. Bagent continued pushing the ball downfield, but a sack DE Khordae Sydnor made Chicago wind the clock down and try a 51-yard field goal. Santos made it this time to have it be a 10-10 game at the half.

3rd Quarter – Browns vs. Bears

The Browns’ defense then had a poor showing to start the second half, allowing RB Salvon Ahmed to catch a screen pass from QB Case Keenum and then go 49 yards across the field for a touchdown, giving Chicago their first lead of the game at 17-10. It at least gave QB Shedeur Sanders a chance to play from behind, I guess.

Sanders began with a playaction fake and a strike to WR Gage Larvadain for 24 yards. A botched center-quarterback exchange was then followed by a Bears defender tipping a pass. On 3rd-and-13, with a blitz coming, Sanders laid a perfect pass out for WR Luke Floriea in zero coverage for a big 35 yard gain.

Down near the goal line, Cleveland got it to a 4th-and-1 at the 5 yard line. He handed off to Marshall, but the Bears shot through to stop it for a turnover on downs.

After Cleveland’s defense got a stop, Sanders took over again at his own 22 yard line. Cleveland went three-and-out after Sanders’ 3rd-and-5 attempt for WR Malachi Corley was knocked away by the defender.

The Browns’ defense had Keenum facing a 4th-and-2 from the Browns’ 40 yard line, and they went for it. Keenum found WR Ray-Ray McCloud open for 28 yards down to the 12 yard line. A few plays later, Keenum found RB Brittain Brown for a 6-yard touchdown to make it a 24-10 game.

Sanders got a nice sideline pass off to Larvadain, but he got sandwiched by two defenders and couldn’t hang on. Cleveland faced a 3rd-and-5 heading into the final quarter.

4th Quarter – Browns vs. Bears

Sanders found Larvadain for 8 yards and a first down to begin the quarter. A few plays later, another pass was tipped right over the middle, leading to 3rd-and-8. Sanders had Corley open down the field, but way overthrew it to DB Beanie Bishop, who returned it 39 yards and into Cleveland territory.

On Cleveland’s next possession, QB Dillon Gabriel got his shot at running the offense. After picking up one first down, he took a sack for a loss of 9 yards. Because he didn’t want Sanders to feel so bad, Gabriel also sailed a ball right to Bishop for an easy interception.

Chicago hit a 49-yard field goal to make it a 27-10 game with eight minutes left in the game. Gabriel looked lost on 3rd-and-4 and ran into a sack for a loss of 8 yards, forcing another punt. Chicago continued their successful second half offensively, finishing the drive with a 3-yard touchdown run by RB Coleman Bennett to make it a 34-10 game.

RB Davon Booth had runs of 28 and 22 yards to gift Gabriel a chance to try scoring from a goal-to-go situation. His first try for Larvdain was overthrown, and his next pass was to Larvadain for a quick out. Monken had seen enough and didn’t call a timeout despite a few seconds being left.

Quick Hitters

• QB Deshaun Watson: 11-of-15 for 126 yards. 3 rushes, 4 yards.
• QB Shedeur Sanders: 6-of-11 for 79 yards, 1 INT. 2 rushes, 3 yards.
• WR KC Concepcion: 3 catches, 27 yards. 1 carry, 14 yards, 1 TD.
• My biggest gripe with Watson when he got to Cleveland was that he looked rusty or lacked confidence. I thought he looked more sure of himself. There are obviously still plenty of flaws, but he had an OK first start. Sanders was like last year: a couple of nice downfield throws, but he still just seems to have too many erroneous plays for a starting quarterback. Gabriel was a bummer, as he threw a pick right away.
• Cleveland’s receivers looked good.
• The Browns’ backup offensive lines, and backup defense, were not too sharp.
• Cleveland began the game up 10-0, then were out-scored 34-0. That’s going to make it very difficult for a hidden gem or back-end roster guy to make a case for a roster spot, although CB Michael Coats seemed to have a couple nice moments before exiting with an ankle injury.

Next up, the Browns will have a practice session with the Buffalo Bills, and then square off with them at home next Saturday, August 22, at 1:00 pm ET, with Shedeur Sanders getting the start.