Deshaun Watson‘s return to regular-season action did not go the way the Cleveland Browns hoped. After nearly two years away from an NFL game, the quarterback struggled as Cleveland fell 34-10 to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 1.
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Watson finished 16-of-22 for 205 yards, one touchdown and one interception, while also taking five sacks and adding 38 rushing yards. The Browns did not reach the end zone until the final two minutes, when Watson connected with Denzel Boston on a 46-yard touchdown.
The performance has already raised questions about Cleveland’s decision to stick with Watson after he won the starting job over rookie Shedeur Sanders. Former Browns quarterback Garrett Gilbert was among those to voice serious concerns about what he saw.
“I want to give you guys hope, but the truth of the matter is, it has been a long time since we’ve seen any semblance of good football from the guy,” Gilbert said on the Big Play Cleveland Podcast on September 19.
Gilbert’s comments came after the podcast host questioned whether Watson’s play had reached a point where he could no longer be trusted. The host specifically pointed to Watson’s mechanics and his struggles throwing on the move before asking whether there was still a path to redemption against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 2.
Per NFL analyst Warren Sharp, Watson was pressured on 19% of his dropbacks in Week 1, and it was his fourth straight start with a double-digit sack rate. Watson, however, did not sound particularly concerned about his performance when he spoke after the loss. He pushed back on the idea that his mistakes were unusual for an NFL quarterback.
“Nah, bad plays are going to happen all the time. Look all around the league,” Watson said. “Everyone throws interceptions, everyone makes bad plays. You got to give defense credit; he made a good play on that.”
The quarterback also accepted responsibility for an offense that produced only 10 points.
“We got to put points on the board, and that’s what you got to do in this league,” Watson said. “Playing the quarterback position, you’re the leader in that role. We didn’t do that today. We only got 10. We left a lot out there.”
Head coach Todd Monken offered a different assessment after reviewing the game.
“It wasn’t all him,” Monken said. “It really wasn’t all him. That’s unfair. Certainly could have called it better, certainly could have played better around him.”
Monken also said there were “some really good things on film” and confirmed that Watson would remain the starter against Tampa Bay. His decision to stick behind Watson is puzzling, knowing that Cleveland has other options behind the veteran.
Sanders looked like the better quarterback most of the offseason and preseason. He gave Watson a constant fight for the QB1 job, and his improvements from Year 1 to Year 2 were noted and appreciated by the Cleveland staff. Yet, Monken was not confident enough to hand over the keys to Sanders.
This could only spell trouble for the Cleveland Browns. Last season, the staff rifled through quarterbacks and landed on Sanders in Week 11, after Joe Flacco and Dillon Gabriel won just one game each as starters. By that time, Cleveland had already lost seven games.
Sanders went 3-4 as QB1, including one great game against the Tennessee Titans. There were flaws in his game too, but he was the one who somewhat held down the fort at QB for Cleveland and was the favorite for the QB1 job entering this year. His inner circle is rallying behind him, too.
Cleveland has been looking for a stable quarterback since Baker Mayfield, which puts pressure on the team to find something to work with in Deshaun Watson.
He will now face a Tampa Bay defense that has blitzed 46% of the time, per Sharp. It’s the second-highest figure in this stat in the NFL. Only time will tell if the Brown top brass made the right choice by sticking with Watson.
