The Cleveland Browns are under fire for their decision to start Deshaun Watson for as long as they did after Jameis Winston led the team to a victory against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.
Winston passed for 334 yards and three touchdowns in the win, including the game-winning 38-yard touchdown strike to Cedric Tillman with less than a minute left. Cleveland was a 7.5-point home underdog for the matchup.
Watson had failed to pass for more than 200 yards in his seven starts this season and has never thrown for over 300 yards in a Browns uniform. Cleveland’s top three receivers — Tillman, Elijah Moore, and Jerry Jeudy — all posted season-highs against the Ravens.
The offense’s efficiency and explosiveness — previously lacking under Watson — was noted by the broadcast and analysts.
“If you don’t think Jameis hasn’t come in and energized this team and taken the black cloud away then check yourself,” former NFL quarterback Chase Daniel said. “Clearly running the offense better than Deshaun Watson.”
Ari Wasserman of On3 expressed a similar sentiment.
“Watching Jameis Winston play is nice reinforcement for everyone who knew the Browns wasted this season being too stubborn to bench Deshaun Watson,” Wasserman wrote on X. “It’s insane how bad he was. Winston isn’t even good and this team is at least competitive with him.”
Browns Continued to Back Deshaun Watson as Starter
The Browns were resolute in their decision to stick with Watson as their starting quarterback this season. However, their plans were derailed when Watson suffered a season-ending Achilles injury in Week 7. Before the injury, head coach Kevin Stefanski consistently emphasized that Watson provided the team with their best chance to succeed.
“Jameis Winston always gave the Browns the best chance to win. The decision moving forward is so clear. Deshaun Watson should never see the field in Cleveland ever again,” one fan said.
A similar situation happened last season with the Browns after Joe Flacco took over as quarterback following Watson’s season-ending shoulder injury. Flacco came off his couch and helped lead the Browns to the postseason. In five regular season games Flacco passed for 1,616 yards, 13 touchdowns and 8 interceptions, earning Comeback Player of the Year honors.
“It’s wild that pretty much every quarterback not named Deshaun Watson has been moderately to very successful for the Browns the last three years,” another fan said.
Browns Unsure of Future at Quarterback After Deshaun Watson Injury
The Browns still face a decision with Watson, who is under contract for two more years on a fully guaranteed $230 million contract.
Cleveland is backed into a corner regarding Watson’s future. Cutting him would result in massive cap penalties. Cleveland’s dead cap for a pre-June 1 cut would be $172.7 million and $119 million after June 1.
“Obviously I believe in Deshaun, but I also think it’s important just to acknowledge that he just had a bad injury and a bad break for him and we’re feeling bad for him,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said. “(I) know that he’ll bounce back, but not getting into all those things down the road. I’m looking forward to him getting the surgery and obviously getting his body back.”
The Browns are 2-6 after beating the Ravens but still face a tough road back to contention. However, the offense looked much different, with Winston being the quarterback and offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey calling plays.
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