Despite the fact that Deshaun Watson is sidelined for the rest of the season, his name continues to be the subject of plenty of debate for Cleveland Browns fans.
That's because in the aftermath of a 334-yard, three-touchdown performance from veteran backup Jameis Winston in the team's win over Baltimore last week, people can't help but compare the two signal callers.
Browns offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey brought some interesting perspective to the conversation on Thursday. Asked whether or not he thinks Winston sees the field better than Watson, Dorsey did his best to play politician in regards to why the two QBs have produced wildly different results this season.
"I wouldn't say better, I think they see the field differently," Dorsey said. "They see the game differently because their different people. Everybody kind of has their own way of playing, in a way. And they might have the exact same play, but they might see it a little bit differently. Not saying that's good bad or indifferent. It's just human nature."
The discrepancies between the two is too hard to ignore at this point. Watson has never had a 300-yard game during his three years with the Browns, while Winston accomplished that feat in just his first game under center. Dating back to last season, five of the last seven games started by a quarterback not named Deshaun Watson have featured a 300-yard passing performance. That list includes Joe Flacco, who had four 300-yard games in five starts for the Browns last season, and now Winston.
Watson had surgery to repair his ruptured Achilles last Friday and faces a nine-month recovery from the ailment ahead of the 2025 campaign. In the meantime, head coach Kevin Stefanski revealed that he expects Winston to be the team's starting QB moving forward for the rest of 2024.
If he continues playing like he did in Week 8, it could go a long way in getting the Browns miraculously back in the playoff picture. Conversely, it will continue raising further questions about Watson's ability at this point in his career.
