Deshaun Watson's first game since 2024 a success because he wasn't as bad as Shedeur Sanders or Dillon Gabriel

We've all heard the joke about being in the woods with a friend and being chased by a bear, right? It's not necessary to be faster than the bear.

It's necessary to be faster than the friend.

That definitely applied to Deshaun Watson on Saturday in his first NFL action since 2024.

This was a grand success for Watson because he got on the field in a preseason game against the Chicago Bears (funny how that ties in) and he outran Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel in fleeing the bear.

No, Watson wasn't great in his one half of play.

But he didn't have to be because he was way better than the other two guys.

DESHAUN WATSON, SHEDEUR SANDERS GIVE BROWNS A PRESEASON QUARTERBACK BATTLE WORTH WATCHING "Definitely a good moment for myself," is how Watson described his outing.

And it was, in that it marked his first game action since he suffered not one but two Achilles tears in October of '24 and then early in 2025.

Watson even left the field as he entered: in one piece, which was a victory for the often-injured player.

But beyond that, Watson was neither terrible nor great during the game.

And that made him seem outstanding by comparison to Sanders, with whom he's competing for a starting job , and Gabriel, the team's No.

3 quarterback at the moment.

"Oh, it was awesome," Cleveland Browns coach Todd Monken overstated when asked about Watson's outing.

"I mean, it was so cool to watch him play.