3 Browns Who Stepped Up After Deshaun Watson's Injury in Week 7
By Tyler Maher
The Cleveland Browns' Week 7 matchup against the Indianapolis Colts got off to a terrible start. Not only did they fall behind early in the first quarter, but they also quickly lost Deshaun Watson to injury again after just 5 pass attempts, evaporating any optimism about his return.
It wouldn't have been surprising to see the Browns quite right then and get lose to the Colts, but they persevered. They battled until the final whistle and ended up pulling out an incredible 39-38 comeback victory.
Here are three Cleveland players who stepped up after Watson's exit to bring the team back.
3 Browns Who Stepped Up Week 7
1. P.J. Walker
For the second week in a row, P.J. Walker saw extensive action under center in place of Watson. While he knew he was starting last time, however, this time he got thrown into the fire.
While Walker wasn't great by any means, he once again held his own and did just enough to win. He completed 15 of 32 passes for 178 yards. He didn't throw any touchdowns but only threw 1 interception, so he did a pretty good job taking care of the football for the most part.
If Walker had played poorly this game could've easily gotten away from the Browns. But he made some throws when he needed to, leaned on his running backs and got Cleveland into field goal range, letting Dustin Hopkins go to work.
Walker is now 2-0 for the Browns and has proven to be a great pickup for them, even if his stats don't necessarily show it. Cleveland needs a capable veteran backup given Watson's persistent injury issues (sorry, Dorian Thompson-Robinson), and fortunately Walker has been up to the challenge.
If Watson needs to miss more time, Walker can be counted on to keep producing in his absence.