Todd Monken never considered pulling Deshaun Watson as the Cleveland Browns struggled through a lopsided loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Watson absorbed eight sacks in Cleveland’s 27-6 defeat Sunday, with the Browns failing to reach the end zone. The loss dropped Cleveland to 5-3 and handed Pittsburgh sole possession of first place in the AFC North.
Asked afterward whether he considered sitting Watson with all the hits coming his way, Monken made his position clear.
“Did not. I want to see him play. I want to see him continue to play and battle and he did,” Monken said.
The Browns coach then turned the attention toward his own role in an afternoon that exposed problems beyond the quarterback position.
“There are some things that we need to clean up in coaching. There’s things that come up during the game, and you’re like, ‘man I could have done it better as a coach.’ Who are you if you don’t say that? Everything starts with me.
“We certainly be better on how we do things offensivley and how we get our team prepared as a whole team in terms of poise and handling things better. That’s something we can learn from, all of us, coaching and playing.”
Deshaun Watson’s Numbers Mask Browns’ Offensive Struggles
Watson finished 27 of 39 for 324 yards, with no touchdowns or interceptions. He also lost a fumble, and much of his passing production came after Pittsburgh had taken control.
The Browns managed minus-1 yard of offense in the first quarter and finished with just 34 rushing yards. Pittsburgh led 20-6 at halftime and pushed the advantage to 21 points in the third quarter.
Watson’s difficult afternoon started on the opening possession, when a high hit from Steelers safety Jaquan Brisker sent him to the medical tent. Shedeur Sanders briefly replaced him, completing both of his passes for two yards before Watson returned for the next series.
Watson did not put the blame for the sacks on the offensive line, instead taking responsbility for the plays.
“I’m never going to put it on the guys up front. They have enough on their plate. As the quarterback, I’m the one that’s controlling the ball,” Watson said. “If I can find checkdowns and throw it away as much as possible, that’s what I need to do. Sometimes I was trying to make big plays and extend plays, because that’s what I do. I need to know the situation of where we are on the field. At least get us back to where we started. Not behind the line of scrimmage.”
Watson entered Sunday having led a fourth-quarter game-winning drive in each of Cleveland’s five victories. Against Pittsburgh, the Browns never got close enough to give him another opportunity to deliver a late comeback.
Monken Addresses Browns’ Pregame Trash Talk
The Browns’ performance was especially difficult to stomach after a week of back-and-forth involving Jared Verse and the Steelers.
Cleveland’s lack of poise carried into the game. The Browns drew two taunting penalties while trailing by 21 points, and linebacker Quincy Williams was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. Monken offered little defense of how his team handled the matchup.
“We certainly earned that. We earned that one and we’ve earned being 5-3. We are certainly capable of a hell of a lot better than that,” Monken said. “It’s a good learning lesson for this young team that it’s week-to-week and the bottom line is in this league is you speak with your play.”
The Browns will try to regroup on the road against the New Orleans Saints next Sunday
Browns Coach Todd Monken Addresses Sitting Deshaun Watson