Facing third-and-long on their second drive of the game, Washington Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels evaded incoming pressure and threw deep to wide receiver Terry McLaurin on a 66-yard pass. This was far from the last big-time play Daniels made during the game.
On multiple occasions, Daniels escaped pressure and created plays that gave his team a dominant 34-13 win. Daniels played far from perfectly — he threw an interception in the red zone early — but he made more than enough plays to give his team a blowout victory.
This was a stark contrast to the other offense in the game led by Deshaun Watson. The Commanders held Watson and the Cleveland Browns out of the endzone until midway through the fourth quarter during Sunday’s victory. The Browns punted seven total times and converted only one of their 13 third-down attempts.
The Browns have yet to score 20 points in any of their five games this season and came into Sunday ranking fifth-last in points per game and fourth-last in passing yards per game. Watson has not thrown for 200 yards in any game this season.
Against a Commanders defense that gives up an average of 357 yards per game, Watson threw for just 125 yards and was sacked a total of seven times. This ineptitude is par for the course with Watson this season. Through five games he has thrown for 852 yards, five touchdowns, and three interceptions.
Despite the offense’s struggles with Watson in at quarterback, and Jameis Winston coming in for the team’s final drive, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said they are not considering a quarterback change.
“We’re not changing quarterbacks,” Stefanski said, via Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN. “We need to play better. I need to coach better.”
“This is not a one-person issue on offense. We have the guys. We have the coaches. We will get things fixed.”
Wide receiver Amari Cooper agreed that Watson isn’t the problem.
“To be honest, I don’t think Deshaun is the problem at all. We can always play better for him,” Cooper said, via Oyefusi.
Stefanski and Cooper might deny that Watson has been the issue, and they are unlikely to publicly bash their quarterback either way, but Watson has undoubtedly disappointed since arriving in Cleveland.
This became most evident last season when Joe Flacco took over as the team’s starting quarterback last season. Flacco played in six games for the Browns during the 2023-24 season and threw for over 300 yards and multiple touchdown passes in five of those six games. The Browns went 4-2 behind Flacco and simply played better with him in at quarterback.
Flacco is now with the Indianapolis Colts, and the Browns have taken large steps back as a team.
The Browns might continue hoping that Watson will play better, but there’s no evading that their decision to trade three first-round picks and reward Watson with a five-year, $230 million fully guaranteed contract — after he was accused of sexual misconduct toward over 20 women — has gone down as one of the worst decisions in NFL history.
Meanwhile, the quarterback Watson replaced — Baker Mayfield — is playing some of the best football of his career. Mayfield has thrown for 1,164 yards, 11 touchdowns, and two interceptions while leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a 3-2 start. Last season, Mayfield threw for over 4,000 yards, 28 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions while leading the Buccaneers to the playoffs.
The Browns gave up lots of assets to acquire Watson rather than stay with Mayfield, but that does not mean they have to stick with him as quarterback.
The Denver Broncos moved on from Russell Wilson, surrendering to the $53 million dead cap hit. Both the San Francisco 49ers and Carolina Panthers were not afraid to either bench or trade Trey Lance and Bryce Young after the two players did not play effectively despite giving up multiple high picks to draft them in the first place.
Like they have done many times in their franchise’s history, the Browns made a mistake at the quarterback position, yet this one might stink the worst of all.
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