As the boo’s rained down at Huntington Bank Field on Sunday, so too did the realization that the Cleveland Browns’ season could be over before it really even gets started.
Deshaun Watson went 24-of-45 with one touchdown (when the game was already out of reach) and two interceptions as the Browns lost to the Cowboys 33-17. And with every overthrow, underthrow, and ill-timed interception thrown by Watson in between one of the six times he was sacked by a Cowboys defender, it became more and more evident that he is simply cooked - and so are the Browns if they decide to keep playing him.
Watson’s contract is the worst in all of sports, and maybe the worst in sports history. He was given $230 million guaranteed over five years. This after over 20 allegations and lawsuits of alleged sexual misconduct, so it's really hard to feel any sort of sympathy towards the Browns for everything that has unfolded over the last two years.
In trading for Watson, Cleveland sent a boat load of draft picks to the Houston Texans in which they used to build a Super Bowl contender. In totality, the draft picks that Cleveland sent to Houston turned into:
- EDGE Will Anderson
- WR Tank Dell
- CB Kamari Lassiter
- RB Dameon Pierce
- G Kenyon Green
- LB Jamal Hill
- S Caden Bullock
Instead of keeping Baker Mayfield and trying to build around him, the Browns turned their former No. 1 overall pick into a scapegoat. And while it may have taken him a couple seasons to do so, it’s rather poetic that Mayfield found a home in Tampa Bay, led the Buccaneers to a division title and a playoff win all while Watson can’t seem to consistently complete more than 60 percent of his passes and gets booed out of every stadium he walks in.
Since being traded to the Browns, Watson has played 13 games. In those 13 games, he has completed north of 60 percent of his passes just five times while throwing for 15 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. In 2022, his QBR was 40.4. In 2023, it was 43.7. On Sunday in the Browns’ 33-17 loss to the Cowboys, it was 9.5. Of the 64 quarterbacks who have taken at least 150 snaps since 2022, Watson is 53rd in adjusted EPA per play, finishing behind the likes of Easton Stick and Desmond Ridder. He is 56th in success rate, sandwiched between Colt McCoy and Mike White. And he is 52nd in EPA+CPOE composite, one spot behind Josh Dobbs. His completion percentage in that span is 62.8, which is 55th in the league and behind Mitch Trubisky and Kenny Pickett.
The Browns may be 8-5 in the games Watson has started, but their All-World defense has done a lot of the heavy lifting. In each of Watson’s six starts in 2022, the Browns didn’t allow more than 14 points - they went 3-3 in those games. In 2023, Cleveland’s defense allowed three or fewer points in three of Watson’s six starts, and the game in which they scored the most points was a game Watson left with injury after going 1-of-5 passing.
The Browns actively got better after Watson was shut down for good with a shoulder injury last year, and they rode Joe Flacco and a magic carpet to the playoffs. The Browns went 4-1 in the five games Flacco started. In those five games, he had more yards, averaged 138 more yards per game, had six more touchdowns, and a higher passer rating than Watson. Flacco wanted to return to the Browns , but they neglected to do so. Why? Because they knew he was better than Watson.
How much longer can this go on? The Browns have one of the best, if not the best defense in football, a load of talent offensively, and a two-time Coach of the Year award-winning head coach that are all being completely wasted because of their owner giving $230 million guaranteed to a guy with two dozen sexual misconduct accusations, and at the time of writing, just received another lawsuit for an alleged sexual assault. Enough is enough, and it’s time for the Browns to pull the plug on this ugly, woeful, inexcusable experiment that couldn’t have possibly gone any worse.
Local News
