The Cleveland Browns are out of excuses when it comes to the failed experiment that has been quarterback Deshaun Watson.
The Washington Commanders destroyed Cleveland by a score of 34-13 in the early window on Sunday, October 6. The Browns eventually pulled Watson from the game, replacing him with backup quarterback Jameis Winston for the final drive.
Watson took a beating both on the field during the game and on social media after it, with analysts ripping his play right and left and a cavalcade of fans calling for a permanent change under center.
“I’m confident I can name 100 active NFL quarterbacks, XFL quarterbacks, college quarterbacks and retired quarterbacks who would be better at quarterbacking the Cleveland Browns than Deshaun Watson is right now,” Benjamin Solak of ESPN wrote.
Emmanuel Acho of Fox Sports posted video of wide receiver Jerry Jeudy dropping a TD pass from Watson that hit him in the hands.
“Deshaun Watson’s receivers hate him,” Acho captioned the video. “They must hate him.”
In fairness, Acho was actually directing his criticism at Jeudy in that instance. However, it isn’t unreasonable to believe that there is frustration throughout the locker room due to how poorly the offense has played through five weeks.
“At 3.8 yards per play through five games, the Browns have the worst offense that the NFL has seen to this point in the season since the 2018 [Buffalo] Bills,” Zac Jackson of The Athletic reported.
Deshaun Watson Getting Little Help From Browns’ Offensive Line
Amari Cooper was one receiver who came to Watson’s defense on Sunday.
“To be honest, I don’t think Deshaun is the problem at all,” Cooper said, per ESPN’s Daniel Oyefusi. “We can always play better for him.”
The offensive line could play better as well. After surrendering 7 sacks to the Commanders Sunday, the Cleveland O-line has now allowed its quarterback to be sacked 26 times on the season.
Watson was leading the NFL in that category coming into Week 5, as opposing defenses had gotten home 19 times through four games, and he is likely to remain the most-sacked quarterback in football when this week’s slate of contests is complete.
Fans on Social Media Call for Browns to Bench Deshaun Watson
Despite the truth that the offensive line has been terrible and his wideouts haven’t helped him as much as they could (Cooper had 6 drops coming into Sunday’s game), Watson has also been beyond bad.
His QBR is 31st in the league at 20.4 through five games and he has yet to throw for 200 yards in any contest this season. He has started just 16 times in nearly two and a half seasons in Cleveland and owns a record of 9-7.
Watson’s completion rate is just north of 60% on the year and he has thrown for a total of 852 yards, 5 TDs and 3 INTs. His statistics are extra problematic in the context of his $230 million contract that runs through 2026.
As a result, fans let Watson hear it on social media Sunday.
“The Browns are closer to the No. 1 overall draft pick than they are the playoffs,” one X user wrote. “The Deshaun Watson trade is the worst in NFL history. It’s set the organization back years.”
“Deshaun Watson is the worst starting QB in the NFL right now,” another person posted to X.
“Get Deshaun Watson off this team,” a third fan commented. “The experiment is over.”
Despite the overwhelming social media sentiment, however, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said during the postgame press conference that the team is not planning to make a change at QB.
