Browns’ Deshaun Watson did one thing near the end of the sloppy loss to the Cowboys that you must respect

Things were ugly for the Cleveland Browns in Week 1 and they were on the wrong side of a 33-17 score against the Cowboys. To put things a nice way, the final score did not tell how much better the Cowboys were.

Cleveland struggled mightily offensively along the line and at quarterback specifically. The Browns had just 230 yards of offense and Deshaun Watson was sacked six times. Watson finished the game 24-of-45 passing with 169 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions.

Following the game, Kevin Stefanski revealed that he did consider taking Watson out of the game, but that Watson did not want to come out. It is fair to say Watson had a bad game, but you can not question his toughness after taking a beating from Micah Parsons and the Cowboys’ defense. Watson very well could have packed it in and been protected on the sideline for the remainder of the game but he chose not to.

"He got hit way too often,” Stefanski said in his post-game presser. “We can't let that happen. He fought like crazy. We have to protect our QB better than that."

Cleveland started James Hudson at left tackle with Jedrick Wills Jr. and Jack Conklin inactive . Hudson and right tackle Dawand Jones had days to forget against the Cowboys. Stefanski considering taking Watson out was just about protecting his quarterback in a game the Browns were not winning at that point.

"He's as tough as they come. He's trying to make plays. That has never been in doubt."

Watson and the offense will have to be much better going forward and they can be, it is a young season. However, if things do not change they could tank their season quicker than it began. The sky is not falling like it may seem and things can be fixed, it is only Week 1.

Related: Browns’ biggest question mark entering the season falls flat in ugly loss to Cowboys