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Deshaun Watson addressed recent comments from Washington Commanders defensive tackle Jonathan Allen, who suggested he might be lacking confidence in his play.
The Commanders got the best of the Cleveland Browns in their Week 5 matchup, coasting to a 34-13 win. Watson had one of his worst performances of the season, looking out of sync and leading to many calls for him to be benched.
Watson finished 125 yards and tacked on a late touchdown with the game out of reach. The Browns’ $230 million quarterback ranks near the bottom of every major passing category through five games.
“If I’m being honest, he looked like a player who’s had stuff going on above the shoulders,” Allen said during an appearance on 106.7 The Fan. “It’s definitely a confidence thing that’s going on. I always tell people, it doesn’t matter how great a player you are, if you don’t have confidence, you’re not a good player. I would say that is the biggest difference. Physically — I mean, he’s probably not as athletic as he was six, seven years ago, however long it was — but I think he still has that potential. I don’t know, I don’t know. Football is a weird game, man.”
Watson responded to those comments, shooting down the idea that he’s lacking confidence in his play.
“I mean, every time I step on the field, I just got to be able to go out there and play confident football and just go out there and do my job at the highest ability and that’s his perspective and things like that,” Watson said. “I played against Jonathan Allen multiple times in college and in the NFL. But at the same time, when I step on the field, I am confident, and I just want to go out there and just try to play the best football I can play.”
Browns Sticking With Deshaun Watson as Starter
The Browns will continue to use Watson as their starting quarterback despite a national outcry that he should be sent to the bench.
“I talk to Deshaun every week, every day. I talk to a bunch of our players,” Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said. “Respectfully, we have to focus on what’s going on inside of our building and not necessarily pay attention to what’s going on outside the building.”
Stefanski has continued to back Watson as the starter, putting the onus on the entire team to play better.
“It’s hard for me to single out our players in confidence. I think we as a team need to do better, we as in offense, defense, special teams,” Stefanski said. “That’s really our focus, less so confidence, if you will. We just have to play better.”
Deshaun Watson Says Browns Teammates Have His Back
There are a lot of problems for the Browns right now beyond Watson. But he certainly has not been part of the solution as a player who touches the ball every play. Watson has passed for 852 yards, 5 touchdowns and 3 interceptions this season. He’s 9-8 as the starter in Cleveland since the 2022 trade.
Despite his lack of success, Watson says he still has the support of the locker room.
“All those guys are making sure that I’m keeping my head up, staying locked in and focused. Not getting down on myself and not being too hard on myself,” Watson said. “And at the end of the day, I just have to continue to just put in that work and trust them, trust myself and go out there and perform at a high level.”
Watson and the Browns will try to turn things around this week against the Philadelphia Eagles.
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