Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson was a long way from the Pro Bowl form he achieved during his early years with the Houston Texans on Sunday, and the offense produced just 10 points in a season-opening blowout loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars as a result.
Watson played regular season football on September 13 for the first time in nearly two years since tearing his Achilles tendon in October of 2024. The quarterback injured the tendon again during his rehabilitation, which prolonged his time on the sideline.
After winning the starting role over Shedeur Sanders in training camp and the preseason, Watson completed 16-of-22 passes for 205 yards, one TD and one INT. His touchdown pass came on a 46-yard play late in the fourth quarter, long after the game was already decided.
Fans and media alike criticized Watson’s performance over the course of the day, even though his final stat line came out looking decent. The QB spoke with media members following the loss and addressed the offense’s issues.
“Of course everyone’s gonna look at the quarterback in this situation. Overall I haven’t even looked at the box score or whatever, the stats, so I don’t even know what that looks like,” Watson said after the game, per Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. “But yeah, we gotta put points on the board. That’s what you gotta do in this league.”
Head coach Todd Monken immediately dismissed questions about potentially benching Watson for Sanders following the loss.
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Watson continued, offering optimism that the team can turn things around next week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“Each week is different. Regardless, if it would have went the other way, we’d have been saying, ‘Move on from this one, tomorrow we watch the tape,'” Watson added. “So, you know, we get another opportunity next week and try to put one together and get a [win]. We’ve got a lot to learn on from this tape and keep pushing forward.”
Watson dealt with Browns fans booing him at home during the final preseason outing of the summer, after which he was defensive. Cleveland fans who showed up to the game in Florida also did some booing of their own, chanting for the team to make the switch to Sanders.
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But despite the criticism, much of which came after an early interception, Watson said he was able to shake off the bad vibes from the turnover.
“Nah, bad plays are going to happen all the time,” Watson said, per Camryn Justice of WEWS. “Look all around the league. Everyone throws interceptions, everyone makes bad plays. You got to give defense credit. He made a good play on that.”
Watson was also optimistic about the way he responded physically after so long away from the game.
“It was a lot of emotions, honestly. Two years off, back against the wall,” Watson said, per Dan Labbe of Cleveland.com. “A lot of anxiety — in a good way — because you just don’t know how the game is gonna go. You don’t know how your body is really gonna hold up for a full four quarters at a high tempo.
“So it’s my first time being able to put my body through that and came out healthy, which is a positive,” Watson continued. “Wish we would have got the [win] … but I’m happy that I was able to come out healthy.”
Browns QB Deshaun Watson Sounds Off on Critics After Brutal Blowout Loss