The Todd Monken era got off to a painfully predictable start on Sunday.
Deshaun Watson was intercepted on the first series of his official return from two Achilles surgeries and it only went downhill from there for the Browns’ offense in a 34-10 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium.
The Jaguars scored the game’s first 31 points in what was an epic mismatch on the field. That was largely expected coming in, with Monken coaching his first game and the Browns fielding an extremely young roster.
But on the heels of a Browns offseason program that was all about competition, there was hardly any of that in Week 1.
Here are 10 knee-jerk reactions to what could be a sign of things to come for a Cleveland team that will play six of its first nine games on the road.
Deshaun Watson and the Browns gave fans plenty to worry about in Week 1
- Monken will have a hard time defending his decision to name Deshaun Watson as his starting quarterback after this one. Watson looked exactly like he did early in the 2024 season, often off-target on any throw that wasn’t close to the line of scrimmage outside of garbage time. The Jaguars dropped a second would-be interception during the first half and nearly had a strip sack as well as they built a 24-0 halftime lead. The calls for Shedeur Sanders will be loud on Monday morning.
- Speaking of tough debuts, it was a quiet day for edge rusher Jared Verse, who got the Myles Garrett treatment on the majority of his 37 defensive snaps. The Browns only got to Trevor Lawrence once, with defensive tackle Mason Graham notching the sack. But Jacksonville’s quarterback finished with a near-perfect QB rating. Verse should wreck his fair share of games, but he didn’t have much of a chance in this one.
- KC Concepcion got his welcome-to-the-NFL moment. The Browns made an effort to get their speedy first-round rookie wide receiver the ball, but one of his four receptions resulted in a lost fumble that the Jaguars later converted into a touchdown.
- The Browns avoided any substantial injuries on a positive note, but they did lose No. 2 running back Dylan Sampson to a knee injury. He was ruled out in the first half. Cleveland has a good option to turn to, if needed, on their practice squad in Jaleel McLaughlin, who starred in college at Youngstown State.
- Cleveland really has something in Austin Barber. The rookie started at right guard in place of the injured Teven Jenkins and more than looked the part. He was a career left tackle for the Florida Gators, but he appears to have found himself a role on the interior to open his rookie season.
- Mike Rutenberg’s defense got shredded in this one. The Browns surrendered 23 first downs and about 7 yards per play. Cleveland tried some zone looks with two deep safeties and surrendered some big plays in those coverages. The nickel spot with Myles Harden was shaky in 2025 and remained that way against Parker Washington and company on Sunday.
- Cleveland’s running game was nonexistent. All of Watson’s attempts were underneath in the first half, and with the Jaguars scoring points on their first four drives, the Browns were quickly taken out of their game plan. There was hope that Quinshon Judkins could be the engine of the offense, but he averaged 2.8 yards per rush.
- The most telling sign of a first-year head coach? Penalties. Cleveland was called for 11 of them, with the majority of them the avoidable, pre-snap variety.
- Special teams was a silver lining. The Browns averaged 38 yards per kickoff return, with Raheim Sanders taking one deep into Jaguars territory for 74 yards. Jacksonville barely had to punt, but Concepcion picked up 10 yards on his lone attempt. It was a chip shot, but Andre Szmyt made his lone field goal attempt.
- Second-round rookie safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren played a part-time role on defense. That wasn’t necessarily a surprise, but with Grant Delpit and Ronnie Hickman rarely leaving the field, it’s a reminder that fans should temper expectations for the former Toledo star, at least to start the season.
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