Cleveland Browns see Deshaun Watson have interesting but inconsistent game against the Washington Commanders
By Chad Porto
The Cleveland Browns defeated the Washington Commanders on Sunday.
The Cleveland Browns pulled off a rare second-half comeback against the Washington Commanders, defeating them 24-10 after heading into halftime down seven. The story of the game, however, wasn’t so much about the entire Browns’ team moving to 7-9, but the embattled franchise quarterback Deshaun Watson having undoubtedly his best outing as a member of the Browns so far.
The first half was a mess offensively. Watson looked lost, the receivers couldn’t get open, Kevin Stefanski predictably pooched free points he had already earned by being the offensive play-calling menace that he’s been all year and the offensive line couldn’t block a rocking horse.
It was nasty. Though, Nick Chubb did Nick Chubb things, so that’s always a delight to see.
The second half was better. Watson made four very good throws to Amari Cooper and Donovan Peoples-Jones, three of which went for touchdowns, but as far as throwing, those were his best moments. Those guys were wide open, and many quarterbacks can hit those throws. Take nothing away from Watson for hitting those throws, but let’s also be honest that those aren’t the throws the Browns gave him $240 million for.
A true concern that is mounting, however, is Watson’s decision-making. Outside of a Watson-designed rush, he didn’t move the chains with his feet. In fact, he often held onto the ball too long, which accounted for at least two of the four sacks he took. Twice, he was caught by the Commanders’ backup defensive end when he tried to take off. That’s not exactly what you want to see.
As for Watson’s game, you could easily say this is the first “good” game he’s all year, and you’d be right for saying so. You’d also be right in saying there’s still a lot of improvement he needs to make, because he’s still missing throws, and he’s still holding onto the ball too long. He only completed nine passes, for just a169 yards, and had the defense not inexplicably fallen apart on Cooper, it wouldn’t have been that much.
Still, he played significantly better against the Commanders than in any other game he’s played as a member of the Cleveland Browns. That can’t be denied. And if he can play this well in the season finale with another multi-touchdown game, then the Browns’ faithful should be optimistic about the offense heading into the 2023 season.